When the buck stops…
View(s):“However much the lids are off the scandalous growth in corruption at the hands of our politicians and bureaucrats and at the cost of tax payers’ money, the continued emergence of corrupt deals both in public and private sectors has not been arrested or mitigated” – words of Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, an opposition legislator.
This was stated in Transparency International’s 2008 Sri Lanka Governance Report just after Rajapakshe, a UPFA Minister under Chandrika Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa, crossed over to the opposition in November 2007. Rajapakshe chaired the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) which issued a scathing report in January 2007 saying corruption had cost the country Rs. 150 billion and that there was great hope and faith that all responsible would be brought to task.
Its recommendations included the expulsion of two Cabinet ministers held responsible for corruption by COPE, the removal of the Treasury Secretary and Inland Revenue Chief.
What has happened more than seven years later? A notable development is that Treasury Secretary, Dr. P.B. Jayasundera continues in this office –more powerful than ever. He was first ejected by the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva and then re-installed by a new Chief Justice. The public didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, express frustration, despair or just be resigned to a fate that the rule of law does not apply to some sections of society.
That 2007 COPE report blew the lid of many a corrupt activity while a more significant development was that parliamentarians from all parties acted as they should at all times (then, now and in the future) – being entrusted the public role of ensuring the people’s money, wealth and assets (owned and handed over in trust to an elected body) is properly utilised for the people, and that any abuse will be firmly dealt with by law.
While the effort to expose the corrupt must be applauded without hesitation, what has been the follow up action? Corrupt deals involving the privatisation of LMS, Water’s Edge and Insurance Corporation were reversed by the Supreme Court. Another corrupt deal – the oil hedging scandal – came under severe criticism but when the Executive chose to ignore a directive by the Chief Justice, the latter was forced to dismiss the fundamental rights action against the hedging contracts.
The absurdity of the lengths to which abuse of power can take place and total disregard for accountability to the public is exemplified by one example: Lakshman Hulugalle, a former powerful boss of a government agency dealing with the media. Despite a court finding him guilty (that is a conviction) and imposing a suspended sentence, he continued in office and further broke all traditions when he was appointed a bank director violating rules of ‘fit and proper’ governance. Then when he falls out of favour with the political hierarchy and becomes suicidal, what awaits him? Appointment as the country’s Deputy High Commissioner in Australia.
There are many examples of this blatant abuse of power, blatant disregard for public property and public positions. People have lost faith in the systems of governance – rule of law, judiciary, police, military, public service. On the other side, private sector corruption is rampant and the few influential private sector executives who are shocked and appalled at what happens, choose to be silent; rather than lose their jobs contracts or face threats to self and family.
“Democracy is a government of the people, by the people, for the people. All power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely. The State is made for man, not man for the State. Forces of capitalist society, if left unchecked, tend to make the rich richer and the poor poorer” – again the words of Wijedasa Rajapaksa. It is worth recalling what he said in an article in the Transparency International Report referred to earlier: “Corruption in the state sector has eaten into the core of the social fabric of our society. Decadence in financial control and the deleterious effect of it on the economy is mainly due to the abdication of the powers of Parliament in particular the arrogation of legislative powers of Parliament by the executive and bureaucrats. Overall, there was, and there is no political will to establish and implement a system of accountability and transparency. As a result, corruption has spread from the public into the private sector too by eliminating all democratic values and a democratic ethos.”
This editorial is reflecting on these points in the context of the latest COPE report by the committee chaired by Minister D.E.W. Gunasekera which again exposed corruption and spoke of a phenomenal sum lost to the country. Again evil forces worked against the will of the people, spending their money without accountability.
This report too would remain in a parliamentary server – those days it would gather dust in the form of a file in an old cupboard – with hardly any action, unless parliamentarians from all sides ensure it happens. Public action against corruption has been severely constrained by the recent government crackdown on NGOs backed, willingly or unwillingly by pro-state actors. Another right of the people has been affected.
Within this space, opposition UNP parliamentarians in COPE came out last week urging changes in the mechanism in the COPE process rightly pointing out that relatives and friends of ruling party ministers should not be appointed to high posts, and also pushing for the chair of COPE to be given to an opposition member.
In the case of Wijedasa Rajapaksa, he chaired the committee as a government nominee but crossed over to the opposition while remaining on the committee and, one could argue that, the critical report partly reflects his disillusionment of the government that he once belonged to. Whatever it is, the strong report set a precedent in how an independent parliamentary committee should operate in representing the interests of the people rather that the party they represent and such a process must be maintained at all costs; even if the Executive and the government of the day chose to disregard the recommendations.
At a time when reasonable public voices are far and few in an environment that is not condusive for objective and unbiased comment, reports from parliamentary committees like COPE that maintain some independence are vitally important to provide some hope to the people that truth will prevail, eventually.