Can the Transport Sector Continue to be a Driver of Economic Activity in Sri Lanka ?

Abstract

Mr. John Diandas was born in India as a British Citizen in April 1924. He was a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, and a Senior Partner of A.I. Macan Markar & Co, Chartered Accountants. Though being an Accountant by vocation, there were many professionals in Mr Diandas. He was an active Energy Economist, and was among the first few non-Engineers to be awarded the membership of the Sri Lanka Energy Managers’ Association. His knowledge in Environment and Urban Planning was profound, but the discipline closest to his heart was transportation. Mr Diandas, during his long and exemplary professional career, was actively involved in a number of fields, including bus operations planning and policy, rail transportation, company law, energy management and economics, climate change and national environment. He held the position of the Chairman of the National Transport Commission from December 1994 to March 1997. He also served as a Director of the Ceylon Transport Board in the early 1960s, and as a member of the Boards of the Ceylon Tyre Corporation (1970-1974), the Building Materials Corporation (1976-1977), the Urban Development Authority (1994-1997), the Western Province Transport Authority (1995- 1998), and the Railway Management Council (2000-2001). Mr Diandas served as the Chairman of the Central Advisory Committee to the Minister on CTB affairs in the early 1980s. He also headed the Transport Policy and Pricing Sub-Committee of the National Development Council’s Working Group on Transportation, and contributed in compiling the Bus Policy Report in 1999/2000. Mr Diandas served, without accepting any payments in consideration, in many other policy advisory committees appointed by the Government. In recognition of his services, the then Chartered Institute of Transport – Sri Lamka elected Mr Diandas as its Chairman for the years 1988 and 1989, and he was the third to hold this position. He passed away on the 15th of July, 2002.