Ministers have rejected a decision by the present chairman of Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) to lease its Channel Eye to Lyca Group.
An agreement had been reached by the two in end-July, but approval had not been obtained for that from the SLRC director board or the Media Ministry.
A paper seeking the approval submitted to the cabinet at its meeting today (14) by media minister Bandula Gunawardena was strongly rejected, reports said.
Premier Dinesh Gunawardena and several other cabinet members criticized the action taken without any transparency.
As Channel Eye has been incurring losses, the former chairman and directors of SLRC had proposed to lease it to a private investor.
Accordingly, the Media Ministry called for tenders on 03 February 2023.
With a 17 February closing date, two leading communication institutions forwarded bids.
However, soon after media minister Bandula Gunawardena appointed a new chairman for SLRC, the latter gave the channel to Lyca on lease.
