Sunday Observer journalist Benzie Roche who completed 51 years of uninterrupted service at Lake House being recognised with a special memoir by Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardana. Chairman Prof. Harendra Kariyawasam, Director Editorial Sisira Paranathanthri, Director Finance Dr. Sunil Jayantha Navaratne, Director Legal and Administration Janaka Ranatunga, Director Operations Manjula Makumbura and ANCL General Manager Sumith Kotalawala were present.

A ceremony was held on Thursday at Lake House to felicitate employees who have provided more than 25 years of service to the Company. Five employees who completed 25 years of service were presented a gold coin.

 

Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardana said that Lake House has so far conducted itself in an admirable manner setting an example for all the service providers. “Today, I went to a ceremony held for those who completed 38 years of service at Ratmalana railway station, where the employees said that they are afraid to tell that they work in the railway department, because people are angry with them.

 

Even after 38 years of service, institutions have deteriorated in such a way that there is fear and doubt about the institutions and their employees”.

 

The year 2022 is the year in which the country’s regression is the most after freedom. The former Chairman and Secretary Anusha Pelpita tried to run this institution sparingly, efficiently and responsibly under the challenging situations. We are very thankful to the Director Board and Editors who took steps to carry out work well during this difficult period.

 

People such as Martin Wickremesinghe who worked at Lake House disseminated knowledge to change the direction of the country. You are now sitting in the chairs where such remarkable people were sitting.

 

Lake House chairman Prof. Harendra Kariyawasam who also addressed the event said, “According to the tradition of our company, employees who complete 25 years of continuous service were recognized.

 

However, with the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic situation of the country we couldn’t give the appreciation for our employees during the past few years. We are now giving one gold coin each spaced out every two months to five chosen employees who worked over 25 years, in the order of their selection.

 

I would like to express my thanks to the trade unions of the Company and the recipients of these gifts for arriving at this agreement by understanding the financial situation of the institution.

 

In an era where the traditional reading pattern of today’s young generation is also changing as the written medium is facing a tough challenge internationally, we are moving along new traditional and non-traditional paths, trusting in the use of new media and introducing new dimensions such as artificial intelligence to our institution.

 

I would like to express my thanks to the entire staff, including the Board of Directors, who is dedicated to running this institution without burdening the Government and maintaining strict financial discipline. We aim to end 2023 as a profitable year for Lake House”.

 

At this event, websites for the Sunday Observer, Silumina and the Vaaramanjari were also re-launched by the Minister and editors of the newspapers.