AWARDS CEREMONY
It was a privilege to be invited to a ceremony organised jointly by the International Chamber of Commerce headed by Dinesh Weerakkody and CIMA recently. The first awards were for the most admired businesses followed by certificates of merit to another five. Many of our best known companies and Banks were the lucky recipients. This was followed by speeches . The best were by The keynote speaker Sandeep Chaudary and The Prime Minister. Sandeep from India was eloquent and won our hearts by his belief in our country and his admiration for its progress and development during the past three years.
The Prime Minister who was in excellent form, gave us a peep into what has happened and what will happen, interspersed with his usual wit and humour. Later on the highlight of the evening was the presentation of special awards to the three most admired personalities in three categories. The first was for The National Leader who had contributed most to the country, through several years . This was awarded to the Prime Minister.
The next for business management went to Sohli Captain and the one for the businessman with the greatest sense of social responsiblity to Merril J Fernando, Chairman, Dilmah.
All three were well deserved honours and got enthusiastic ovations from the audience but I was surprised to see a prominent businessman, who recently publicly expressed his desire for a dictatorship refraining from clapping for the PM’S award. His manners, unfortunately haven’t improved along with his bank balances. singing by the De Lanerolle brothers, Alston Koch and Shaveen delighted the guests.