Presidential directive makes Export Development Board headless

By Charumini de Silva

The country’s apex agency tasked with export development is now headless, after President Maithripala Sirisena directed a new criteria and approval process for the appointment of heads of State sector organisations. 

Until recently, subject veteran Indira Malwatte was the Chairperson and Chief Executive of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board. 

The private sector has been in the dark over the status quo, which prompted Malwatte to tell an apparel exporters forum to which she was invited last night that she was no longer holding the EDB Chief post. “I stand here as a friend of the export and apparel sector. As you know all the Boards and Chairs have resigned on the request of the Presidential directive,” Malwatte told the 36th Annual General Meeting of Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association (SLAEA). 

«But my former Minister Malik Samarawickrama met the Members of the Association and he gave me a directive to attend today’s event, So here I am as Indira Malwatte attending the event,” she added. “I followed the directive that was set out by the President, which a lot of people didn’t follow. I realised that if you don’t follow the procedure, your Board decisions can be challenged. Being the Chairperson is not the end of all for me, so I resigned. I have been invited to so many events, but I only attend them as Indira Malwatte,” she told the Daily FT on the sidelines of the AGM.

Malwatte had a long-standing career at EDB before she was appointed as Chairperson. 

The Daily FT learns that Malwatte has been offered the Chairmanship of Sri Lanka›s apex investment promotion body, the Board of Investment (BoI), which she had refused unless given a five-year term to turn around the institution, as she did at the EDB.  

There was some speculation that the same EDB Board and Chair, recommended by Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama to the Presidential Committee, was approved last week. This, however, is pending ratification by President Sirisena.

As the former head of the EDB, Malwatte also commended the members of the SLAEA for surpassing their target and achieving $5.02 billion revenue from apparel export in 2018.

“On behalf of my former organisation, the EDB, I congratulate all of you who contributes more than 50% of Sri Lanka’s exports for your achievement. The apparel sector was given a target of $5 billion by the end of the last year and you all recorded $5.02 billion, excluding fabric. If we account fabric to the value-added products as well, I am sure it is more. It was an uphill task, and it is not often that we set targets and achieve them,” she added.  

Malwatte also expressed confidence that Sri Lanka would have achieved the total export target of $17.4 billion, with the exporters now sorting out some of the data with the Customs Sri Lanka. EDB announced earlier this month that the country has achieved merchandise and service exports of $17 billion.