No complaint, no advice: CAA
Consumer Affairs and Information Director H.D.C.N. Thilakarathne said Consumer Affairs Authority could not investigate dubious awards without consumer complaints.
“We haven’t received any complaints. So we cannot advise consumers on that topic,” she said. “Besides, regulating international trade is the responsibility of the foreign groups involved.”
American Center Director Christopher Teal said the US embassy could not “vouch for any individual American company" involved in awards schemes.
Dilipan Tyagaraj, the European Chamber of agencies.
Yoshitha Jayasuriya, Second Secretary at the Sri Lankan embassy in Paris, denied that the SEC asked the embassy to check the legitimacy of the BID. The SEC only asked to forward an email to Mr. Perera, she said.
The SEC chairman claimed that the corporation did not use any public funds for the award or for travel. However, he did not disclose the total amount the SEC spent on travel and accommodation.
The SEC comes under the purview of the Ministry of Construction but is a self-financed agency with an independent budget, the Ministry's Chief Accounting Officer S.A.E.P. Gunawardena said. SEC accounts are overseen by the Ministry Secretary and state auditors.
Ministry Secretary P. H. L. W. Perera said he could not comment on the case as the transaction occurred before he assumed duties.
Deputy Auditor General U. G. S. Wijesinghe said government Administrative (AR) and Financial Regulations (FR) apply for state-sponsored institutions only if the agency doesn't have approval for its own AR and FR. Chairman Perera said SEC goes by government AR and FR.
Explaining the SEC's decision to get the award, Chairman Perera said, "We got this award with genuine intentions to use it as a marketing tool. We didn't use it in a bad way. We've had our problems in the past recovering dues. We are currently working on borrowed credit Commerce of Sri Lanka President, said consumers and potential victims should remain vigilant as to “apply the principles of prevention versus cure.”“There are specific European Union regulations in place with regard to unsolicited mail communication, and other regulations pertaining to anti-fraud measures,” Mr. Tyagaraj said in a statement. “There are further regulations in place with regard to organisations awarding certifications… ECCSL is in a strong position to ascertain the credibility of such organisations and provide advisory and policy recommendations when requested." and we wanted to build up our name."
Last year, the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprise (COPE) investigated the SEC on several cases. It was questioned about an unrecovered debtor balance of Rs. 335 million, losses in 47 contracts between 2007 and 2010 and a loss of Rs. 301.3 million on 64 constructions in 2009 and 2010.
Not an isolated incident
An industry observer said paying for international recognition was a widespread practice in the business community.
"These unknown foreign companies expect you to pay hotel fees, entry fees and PR fees. These are all moneymaking tactics," he said. "The media or a government body should check the veracity of these awards, certificates or ratings."
Dubious awards-selling companies are not confined to Europe. In the United States, the League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) has even offered its awards to wellknown private sector companies in Sri Lanka.
Just as the BID website, the LACP's website, lacp.com, does not name anyone associated with the titular league or state the company's credentials. The website lists five "entry options" for "2011 Vision Awards", the cheapest "Basic" package going for US$ 295 and the "Complete" package going for US$ 895.
The phone number listed online for LACP goes to an automated voice system, and a representative named Joshua on live chat described the company as a "host for competitions and resources for public relations professionals." LACP refused to disclose its panel of judges "as per privacy terms," and refused to answer when asked whether it had been accredited in the US.
An LACP award participant defended the organisation claiming even big international companies such as the British advertising agency WPP and Netherland's Heineken admit winning LACP awards. The LACP also lists big American companies such as Walmart and Exxon Mobile as participants but these companies do not acknowledge receiving LACP awards.
Mr. Perera also defended the BID award claiming that Walmart and India's Tata Group had won BID awards, all listed only on the BID's websites.
Award-selling companies with dubious credentials cite well-known companies as award recipients so that they could woo more customers.
The Sunday Times learns that the BID had requested recommendation quotes from the award-winner SEC to include it in a letter to be sent to an Indian company.
Even private individuals can be targets of awards schemes. An official in the Ministry of Health recently won the "Man of the Year 2012" award by the American Biographical Institute (ABI). Other ABI awards recipients include former National Institute of Education Director General Upali M. Sedere, former Lions Club President M. Ashroff Hussain, and Dr. Romesh Jayasinghe who claims to be a "Non-Diplomatic Sovereign Ambassador" for ABI.
ABI awards, all for a price, have been denounced as "scams" by foreign journalists, agencies and government officials including John Lenders, former Consumer Affairs Minister in Victoria, Australia.
"WA ScamNet suggests that ABI is just a 'vanity' publisher who appeals to people who want a plaque on their wall or see their name in a book, even if the honour has no real credibility," says the Western Australian Department of Commerce website. "Don't be a 'Fool of the Year' by falling for this nonsense."