News
Horse has bolted, critics claim, as Govt. moves on corruption
Rising displeasure over slow progress by the government and the bribery commission to investigate corruption has led to a raft of new measures to tackle the problem but many believe the government has moved too late.
Civil society organisations and others claim wrongdoers among politicians, public administrators, top businessmen and other elite personalities have been left free during the past month to erase evidence of corruption committed during the last regime as a result of negligence by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.
The JVP: One of the main complainants taking its case to the Bribery Commission
The commission’s newly appointed Director General, Dilrukshi Dias Wickremasinghe, said she had spoken to staff on the first day of her appointment to improve procedures so that action could be taken this month against offenders.
Ms. Dias Wickremasinghe said two media spokespersons would be appointed next week to update the public and media on investigations and maintain transparency between the public and the commission.
On Friday, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) submitted a file to the Inland Revenue Department on alleged corruption and fraud by Gamini Senarath the chief of staff to ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
On Thursday, a cabinet paper was submitted by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe to initiatea special Secretariat of Anti-Corruption to investigate and take legal action on macro-scale corruption under the previous government.
The Cabinet has also approved the establishment of a Financial Crimes Investigation Division under the supervision of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to investigate large-scale financial transactions including money-laundering.
President Maithripala Sirisena pledged on Monday to appoint a Presidential Commission with the power to take legal action against culprits involved in large-scale fraud, in accordance with his “100 days” programme.
The JHU and the Anti-Corruption Front held a protest in front of the bribery commission offices on February 5, urging its Chairman, Jagath Balapatabendi, to resign from his post over his alleged involvement in corruption and failure to take measures to apprehend the politicians and other officials involved in such corruption.
Shiral Lakthilaka, coordinating secretary of President Maithripala Sirisena told the SundayTimes the government has been hampered in taking initiatives to apprehend culprits because of loopholes in regulations and inadequate laws to evaluate large-scale corruption.
He criticised ministers for failing to conduct a management audit to evaluate the types of corruption such as financial, management, technical and manipulation in their respective ministries and departments even 30 days after assuming duties so that legal action could be taken against officials.
He said one alleged offender had attempted to withdraw Rs. 45 million from an account of a state bank opened with two false identification numbers belonging to an NGO.
Three weeks prior to this, the commission had been in receipt of complaints regarding the account and the culprits but had not carried out any inquiries.
Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe, Convener of Anti-Corruption Front said that his organisation had received more than 1,700 complaints of corruption in relation to public assets, with more than 300 emails coming in since the presidential election.
He said, after screening the complaints, the front had submitted 12 documents to the bribery commission regarding corruption by top political brass in state institutions such as the Ports Authority, Sri Lankan Airlines, Mihin Lanka and the Lotteries Board as well as corruption that had occurred over cultural monuments such as the Temple of the Tooth Relic (Daladha Maligawa).
Mr. Sri Warnasinghe said, the names of a few private organisations alleged to have been involved in corruption of the state, have been sent to the commission.
Parliamantarian Sunil Handunetti said the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), with the support of civil society organisations, trade unions and other individual groups had laid complaints before the commission naming 12 individuals including Mahinda Rajapaksa, parliamentarians Sajin de Vaas and Mahindananda Aluthgamage, top state officials and the former governor of the Central Bank Ajith Cabraal.
State institutions such as the Ceylon Electricity Board, Sri Lanka Cricket Board, Tourist Board and other institutions were also named in relation to large-scale corruption after reviewing 4,000 complaints received from members of the public and from issues raised in parliament.
Mr. Handunetti was highly critical of the inadequate staff levels and the lack of expertise of staff at the bribery commission which, he said, made it difficult to conduct widespread investigations of bribery and corruption.
He said the mechanism in investigating corruption cases should be improved and the Constitution amended to establish a commission with special privileges including judicial authority in order to take swift actions against the state and non-state wrongdoers.