Sri Lanka Food Processors Association Held on 27th Annual General Meeting
The Sri Lanka Food Processors Association (SLFPA) held its 27th Annual General Meeting on 4th October 2024 at Waters Edge, Battaramulla, Colombo, amidst a gathering of its members. Founded in 1997 as an advocacy group, SLFPA currently consists of over 140 member companies, including large multinationals as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) committed to the development of the country’s processed food and beverage industry.
The event featured a keynote speech by Mr. Sheran Fernando, Chief of Economic Policy Advocacy at The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. In his speech, he focused on “Sri Lanka’s Economic Outlook, IMF & Debt Restructuring, and the Role of Sri Lanka’s Food Processors Association.”
SLFPA President, Mr. Thusith Wijesinghe, also delivered a speech in which he acknowledged all past presidents and admired their contributions in bringing the association to its current level.
The Sri Lanka Food Processors Association comprises twenty members. At the event, a new committee was appointed for the years 2025/2026, which includes:
President: Mr. Thusith Wijesinghe (Transcontinental Packaging & Commodities (Pvt) Limited)
Hon. Secretary: Mr. Hemantha Balasuriya (Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka)
Treasurer: Mr. Sanjeewa De Silva (Unilever Sri Lanka Limited)
Immediate Past President: Mr. Delano Dias (former CEO, Cargills Quality Foods)
President Elect: Mr. Aruna Senanayake (C W Mackie PLC)
1st Vice President: Mr. Nadishan Guruge (Mead Lee Trading Co. (Pvt) Ltd)
2nd Vice President: Mr. Vasantha Chandrapala (Vishvaka Marketing (Pvt) Ltd)
3rd Vice President: Mr. Rasika Senavirathna (Diesel & Motor Engineering (Pvt) Limited)
Assistant Secretary: Mr. Deepal De Alwis (Neochem International (Pvt) Ltd)
Assistant Treasurer: Mr. Dineth Alahakoon (Country Style Food (Pvt) Ltd)
In addition to the above office bearers, the association includes ten executive members:
Mr. Nirosh Lalantha (Ceylon Cold Stores)
Mr. Sheran De Alwis (Ma’s Tropical Food Processing (Pvt) Ltd)
Mr. Damitha Perera (Forbes & Walker Commodity Brokers (Pvt) Ltd)
Mr. Sameera Jayathilaka (Westmann Engineering (Pvt) Ltd)
Mr. Kolitha Amarasinghe (SGS Lanka (Pvt) Ltd)
Mr. Niroshan Dalpethado (C D De Fonseka & Sons (Pvt) Ltd)
Mr. Amila Weerasinghe (Nestle Lanka Limited)
Mr. Thusitha Ekanayake (Anods Cocoa (Pvt) Ltd)
Ms. Praharshi Wickramasekara (International Commodity Traders (Pvt) Ltd)
Mr. Ruwan Kumara (Fonterra Brands Lanka Limited)
Unilever Sri Lanka Limited and Bureau Veritas were the main sponsors for the event. The Hon. Secretary, Mr. Hemantha Balasuriya, delivered the vote of thanks, and the event concluded with a cocktail party and fellowship networking session.
CA Sri Lanka pays tribute to Veteran Chartered Accountants
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) recently paid tribute to three distinguished Chartered Accountants for their remarkable contributions to the corporate, society and country spanning many decades.
At the inauguration ceremony of the 45th National Conference of Chartered Accountants held at Monarch Imperial on October 14, CA Sri Lanka bestowed the Lifetime Achievement Award on veteran Chartered Accountant Lal Nanayakkara, while Gamini Epa and Rajasekaran Vijayasekaran were inducted to the CA Sri Lanka Hall of Fame for the year 2024 in recognition of their extraordinary contributions.
Lal Nanayakkara was admitted as a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka in 1975 and commenced lecturing at the Institute from then on, for almost three decades. Elected in 1997, Nanayakkara is the fourteenth President of CA Sri Lanka and served as a Council member for 17 years, the longest served by any member. He was also a member of the Company Law Advisory Committee.
In 1981, Nanayakkara chaired the Committee to report on Financial Discipline in Public Corporations, Boards and Companies and other Business Undertakings. He served as a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka and as a member of the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board. Nanayakkara was the Chairman of People’s Bank and People’s Merchant Bank in 2002.
Gamini Epa, a fellow member of CA Sri Lanka, held the post of Auditor General of Sri Lanka from 1983 to 1993. Epa has served as a member of the Council of CA Sri Lanka from 1983 to 1994 and functioned as a member of several committees such as the Examination Committee and Professional Conduct Committee and chaired the Auditing Standards Committee. He was also a pioneer in the implementation of the new scheme of accreditation of Chartered Accountants.
Upon retirement, he has served on consultancy assignments with the Bank of Ceylon, ADB and World Bank.
Vijayasekaran was articled at Turquand Youngs and in January 1968 he was admitted to the Partnership of the firm. He relinquished his Partnership of Ernst and Whinney (Ernst and Young) in 1984 to emigrate to Australia. He was a Lecturer and Examiner at CA Sri Lanka for a number of years and was a member of several Committees of the Institute.
He has published several papers in Sri Lanka, the UK and Australia. He has been Project Manager for a number of major consulting assignments in the Sri Lankan Public Sector. He served on the Boards of several Government organisations including the Ceylon Mineral Sands Corporation, Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE), Lanka Milk Foods (CWE) Ltd.
