Veteran politician Vasudeva Nanayakkara this week called for a strong people’s movement to investigate, unearth and disseminate information on corrupt deals and to prevent the misappropriation of public property.

Speaking at a public meeting on Wednesday Mr. Nanayakkara called to recognise the role of those who petitioned the Supreme Court against the privatization of Lanka Marine Services Ltd (LMSL), Mr Nanayakkara said there should be some mechanism for this purpose as Sri Lanka does not have an act to protect the right to obtain information.

He asserted that the country is experiencing the last days of an era of robbing public property in the name of privatization and said the landmark Supreme Court judgment on the LMSL case where the privatization was overturned, clearly indicates that the judicial supervision is always in the interest of the country and it upholds the rule of law irrespective of personalities concerned.

Mr Nanayakkara, petitioner in the LMSL case and also a Presidential advisor, was addressing a packed audience of lawyers, law students, NGO members, scholars, businessmen, media personnel and others at a meeting organised by the Kumar Rupasinghe-led Prayathna People’s movement.

He added that people’s action against corruption should be launched soon as there is a risk and threat to the lives of individuals who expose corrupt practices and misappropriation of public property. Nihal Sri Ameresekere, a consultant and public interest activist who was also a respondent in the case and appeared on his behalf, said the LMSL judgement had prevented the plunder of the resources that rightfully belong to the people.

He noted that all respondents of this case should respect the court ruling in the interest of the country and upheld the rule of law irrespective of the personalities concerned. Mr. Amaresekere pointed out that the LMSL transaction needs to be considered in the context of misappropriation or criminal breach of trust of public property.

He added that maximum punishment for any of those offences was imprisonment not exceeding 20 years and a fine of 300 percent of the value of the public property. He revealed that the document relating to the transaction of the land belonging to Sri Lanka Ports Authority falsely stated that the money was paid and received by the government to the land when there had been no such payment to the treasury. However, he said the then President Chandrika Kumaratunga had placed a public seal of the republic on this instrument of transfer.

Ravaya newspaper Editor Victor Ivon said, in today’s context political influence could rob public property and state finances and this right has been vested in politicians under the Constitution introduced by former President J.R Jayawardane in 1977. He said that there was no provision in the Constitution to protect the public property.

“People have given politicians power to plunder public property and therefore politics has become a big business today,” he said.

PBJ heading for another ‘fracas’ in SLIC privatisation
A few weeks after Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera made history as the highest ranking public official to be personally fined for his involvement in the illegal and unlawful privatization of Lanka Marine Services Limited (LMSL), he has once again been called out for his role in the highly controversial 2003 privatization of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC), again during his tenure as Chairman of the Public Enterprises Reform Commission (PERC).

Nihal Sri Ameresekere, a former PERC Chairman and 13th respondent to the fundamental rights petition filed in January 2008, gave his written submissions last Monday in which he says Dr. Jayasundera initiated the entire privatization through a concept paper and subsequently manipulated the process by violating Cabinet decisions.

The judgment in this case is due after the Supreme Court reopens on August 21 after mid-year vacations.
One of the crucial points Mr. Ameresekere makes in his written submissions is that Aitken Spence and Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka (DCSL) were admitted as bidders by Dr. Jayasundera despite the fact that they had not submitted Expressions of Interest (EOI's) and were never shortlisted. He said this was in gross violation of Government Tender Guidelines and Procedures, given under the very hand of the 7th respondent (Dr. Jayasundera).

Six parties submitted Preliminary Technical Proposals and on the basis of the information submitted, the following five parties were shortlisted to continue to the next stage. They were (1) Commercial Bank and DFCC Bank, (2) Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka Ltd together with Aitken Spence & Co. Ltd, Aitken Spence Insurance Ltd, CT Smith Stock Brokers (Pvt) Ltd, and Asia Box Consultancy Pte Ltd. (3) Eagle Insurance Co. Ltd, (4) Asia Capital Ltd and Asian Alliance Insurance Company Ltd, and (5) Janashakthi Insurance Co Ltd and National Insurance Corporation Ltd.

Mr. Ameresekere stated that in fact, the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) minutes and the Cabinet Appointed Tender Committee (CATB) minutes did not disclose the additional names referred to at (2) above, particularly Distilleries and Aitken Spence who had been subsequently permitted to come through the 'back door'.

He goes on to say that the statement that the aforesaid five parties were shortlisted 'is false' and contrary to the parties that were short listed by the TEC and the CATB. Mr. Ameresekere stated that it is evident that the 7th respondent, Dr. Jayasundera prepared the Cabinet Memorandum for the signature of the then Minister of Economic Reform, Milinda Moragoda, and deliberately and knowingly mislead the Cabinet of Ministers. (NG)