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CMC file pyre: Commissioner comes under fire
Among Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) files secretly set ablaze at the Borella Cemetery last Saturday were vital documents related to recent irregular recruitments and assets of the Municipal Secretary’s Department, an internal audit said. The files were burnt in an area reserved for funeral pyres. Four CMC officials oversaw the incineration on the written instructions of Municipal Commissioner Bhadrani Jayawardhane. They were the Municipal Secretary, in whose office the documents had been kept, the Assistant Municipal Secretary and two Administrative Officers.
CMC Councillors show some of the recovered and partially burnt files to Colombo Mayor A.J. M. Muzamil
The files were burnt without due notice to the Council or to the CMC’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, under whose purview the Borella Cemetery comes. Colombo Mayor A.J.M. Muzammil has now sent a copy of the preliminary internal audit report to Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga and Governor Alavi Moulana for action. Further investigations by the Criminal Investigation Department and internal and external auditors are continuing.
“The (Council) procedure in destroying the files was, in my view, totally violated,” the Mayor said. “The Council has to be notified. This is a most serious issue that has to be investigated.” Internal auditors last week examined remnants of files that were saved from the flames by some Municipal Councillors. They found documents dated 2003 and between 2006 and 2011. This belies Ms. Jayawardhane’s claim that she had ordered the destruction of old document to organise and relieve the CMC of clutter.
Some were applications from just two years ago for the lowest grade of office worker while others were recruitment papers dated 2010 for light vehicle drivers. There was also an inquiry board report from 2010 pertaining to the fixed assets (equipment and machinery) of the Municipal Secretary’s Department.
“Nobody knows how many files were burnt,” Mr. Muzammil told the Sunday Times. “The destruction of public documents is a grave, punishable offence.” Ms. Jayawardhane turned down the request for an interview saying it was not appropriate for her to comment when “so many inquiries” were in progress.
The documents were removed from the Municipal Secretary’s Department in a vehicle that left the CMC premises around 3.55 pm through a back gate, a security log shows. Information gathered from caretakers at the Borella Cemetery reveals that two other vehicles had also arrived at the location. The burning of files had started around 4.30 pm.
However, the four CMC officials delegated the task of overseeing the incineration had left before all the documents were destroyed. In another twist to the story, these officials later complained to police that the key to the Municipal Secretary’s Department was missing.
“I was made to understand that, after burning the files, the people responsible for burning the files had lodged a complaint with the Cinnamon Gardens police that the key to the Municipal Secretary’s Department, where the documents were kept, was missing!” the Mayor said. “But within a few hours, they came back saying the key was found.”
The files were still burning around 11 am the next day. Some of them were salvaged by UNP Municipal Council Members Eric Chandrasena, Mahendra Silva and Roy Bogahawatte and handed over to the Mayor.
There is a history behind these files, CMC sources said. In June, the Council decided that the recruitment of unsuitable security personnel in violation of accepted procedure should be investigated and punishment meted out. Accordingly, Mr. Muzammil instructed Ms. Jayawardhane to hand over the relevant files to internal audit officials.
The Council also resolved to suspend the acting head of the CMC’s Flying Squad on the grounds that his division had not carried out its duties in a suitable manner. The Mayor directed Ms. Jayawardhane to remove and replace the incumbent official.
Neither of these directives has been followed to date, the CMC sources claimed. They also said that the files were destroyed on the same day that two newspaper articles appeared in State media alleging that the Commissioner’s misdeeds were being covered up at higher levels.
“The Commissioner does not implement resolutions or decisions of the Council as she is supposed to do,” Councillor Silva told the Sunday Times. “For instance, we passed a resolution three months ago that the unauthorised structures on either side of the Maligakanda courthouse should be pulled down. She has still not carried this out.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Muzammil stressed that his efforts to expose corruption in the CMC were not politically motivated. “They are trying to twist this whole episode to say we are trying to disrupt preparations for the CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting),” he said. “This is not true at all. The Council has supported all of the Government’s development projects. I spoke to the President two months ago and emphasised the importance of the CMC’s contribution towards making this international event a success.”
“I have also extended my fullest support to the Defence Secretary and the Urban Development Authority for the beautification of Colombo city,” he elaborated. “I’m cooperating with the Government in no uncertain terms and without any political difference and they are also working with me.”
“However, people should not to conceal these lapses, these fraudulent acts, by giving it political connotations,” he stressed. “This is about corruption, not politics.”
The key question
The Chief Security Officer of the Colombo Municipal Council was suspended on Thursday. The reason given was that he was the custodian of the key to the Municipal Secretary’s Department where documents were stored.
When he was asked by the authorities how the files were stolen when he had held the keys, he had responded that he was not aware of the removal of documents from the main record room.
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