Investigations must be conducted in an organised manner
It is impractical for the public to believe that investigations into so called corruption/waste and political interference into public service appointments, irregularities can be investigated in haste.
This country has been suffering from political interference as far as I know since 1956. In 1965 when the UNP was in power and Dudley Senanayake was Prime Minister the backbone of the administrative structure, the Permanent Secretaries, were done away with by J.R. Jayawardena when he was Minister of State appointing his loyalist Anandatissa de Alwis as his Permanent Secretary by removing the Permanent Secretary who held office at the time and precedence was created from then on.
Had Sri Lanka retained the Permanent Secretaries structure, they would have guided the politicians on the correct path and even stood up to stop/prevent irregular procedures and ensured that laid down procedures were adopted to without permitting interference and ensuring fair-play.
The government should, if they are to initiate investigations:
(a) Not transfer public officers from their posts but hold them accountable for their actions
(b) Initiate investigations by independent professionals who are aware of the systems, procedures, legal and financial aspects.
(c) Ensure the preservation of evidence, documentary or otherwise
(d) Strengthen the administration of the Police, Judiciary and Security and Armed services and those holding responsible public office including the corruption squads, prisons and other essential services.
The government cannot get swayed by wild allegations or unfounded allegations made by suspects in custody but rather should depend on valid evidence before pursuing judicial action. This country is democratic and has its own democratic systems and procedures to follow unlike a “Kangaroo Court”. Just because persons who have committed/suspected of committing crime confess or make statements alleging the involvement of others, one cannot accept them without sufficient proof.
This country will end up being the laughing stock of the world if haphazard action is taken to satisfy the ego of certain politically motivated individuals.
If action is to be taken it must be done in an organised manner. I remember how T.B. Illangaratne who nationalised Insurance and Petroleum and virtually killed the blackmarket in the dry fish trade and labelled as corrupt and allegedly owning hotels in Switzerland, etc, was found to be an innocent victim of baseless allegations as I knew him very closely. When he lost his seat at Kolonnawa in 1977 he didn’t have a house to stay as there was a tenant at the only house he had at Havelock Road built by him on a bank loan and was desperate. Fortunately, for him a gentleman of a politician K.W. Devanayagam who became Minister of Justice in 1977 informed him that he could stay in his official residence at Keppetipola Mawatha until Mr. Illangaratne’s tenant vacated. I was one of the few who visited him frequently to give him some moral support and any other assistance.
The government should have in the first instance taken protective action to ensure the security of all documents, etc through the Inland Revenue, Auditor General and the police at all institutions and not complain that ‘documents’ are missing. This clearly shows that the government which came into power was not been properly geared to handle irregularities and alleged corruptions in an organised manner.
This government must also prove that they are above board and not adhere to appointing of family/kith and kin in positions of importance and bring in past “Secretaries” and manipulators as consultants and positions when there are sufficiently educated and intelligent young economists and even not young but persons with administrative capability who have an unblemished record in the government and private sector. The government could use the facility of the intelligence unit to ensure and expedite such processes of screening them before appointing
Hurling accusations against the previous regime which had inevitably performed well in road development, etc will not be sufficient for this government to commit mistakes brazenly. Action should be taken by this government to ensure that the newly-appointed politicians and public officers declare their assets ensuring accountability
Nihal de Alwis
Colombo
5 % interest on NRFC/RNFC deposits yet to be implemented
One of the proposals in the recent interim budget was to pay an interest rate of 5 per cent per annum for NRFC/RNFC deposits. However this proposal has not yet been implemented by the banks.
At a time when the interest rates in the international markets are very low, this is a great way to attract foreign currency deposits of Sri Lankan expatriates, held by them in other countries, either as savings or investments (in capital markets/real esate etc). This will also greatly benefit the NRFC/RNFC account holders who are contributing much needed foreign currency deposits to the country and encourage them to increase their remittances. The authorities should therefore take urgent steps to implement this proposal.
Clarity is also required whether this rate of 5 per cent is applicable to all currencies (USD, GBP, AUD, JPY etc.), for all types of NRFC/RNFC deposits, including savings deposits as well and will be granted by all banks.
A.Silva
Nugegoda