Columns

President Maithripala Sirisena will be packing his bags next month to fly to two major talk-fests: The Non-Aligned (NAM) Summit in Caracas, Venezuela and the annual United Nations General Assembly sessions in New York. After participating in the 17th NAM summit on September 17 and 18, he will be heading to the UN where on September 21 he is scheduled to address the 71st session of the General Assembly.

This year’s Assembly has triple significance: The UN and the US are hosting back-to-back summit meetings on “Refugees and Migrants” September 19-20. The US summit is being hosted by President Barack Obama, who will make his last address to the UN Assembly, as his term in the White House ends in January.

A third key event will include farewell tributes to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who relinquishes his office after a 10-year tenure. The current speculation is that Mr. Ban, a former Foreign Minister of South Korea, is planning to run for President when he returns to Seoul in January 2017.

The NAM summit was originally scheduled for July in Venezuela but was postponed, mainly due to a political and economic crisis fuelled by a growing shortage of food followed by unruly demonstrations in the streets of Caracas. Last week, the Time magazine quoted a 69-year-old Caracas resident as saying: “We are now living on (President) Maduro’s diet: No Food, No Nothing.”
When President Sirisena was at the UN last year, he attended a much-publicised UN luncheon for world leaders. The menu, it later transpired, was recycled food saved from garbage (as part of the UN’s policy that no food should go to waste when more than 800 million people worldwide are living in extreme hunger).

Missing MiG files: FCID to interview Air Force commanders
Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) detectives are to record statements from commanders of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) who have served from 2006.

The detectives want to ascertain from them how files containing contracts relating to the last procurement of a fleet of MiG-27 fighter jets remained in their respective custody and have suddenly gone missing.

Highly placed Police sources said yesterday that a serving SLAF officer was facing arrest over the loss of the purchase contracts and other documents. An FCID team under Senior DIG Ravi Waidyalankara is now conducting investigations. He has already written to Air Force Commander Air Chief Marshal Gagan Bulathsinhala about the investigations, seeking his assistance and cooperation.

It was the result of an order issued to the FCID by the Colombo Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne. The FCID had sought the original documents through a court order in June this year. The Magistrate summoned the Legal Officer of the SLAF on July 15 and directed that the documents be handed over.

Later on July 27, the Legal Officer appeared before court to inform it that the contracts in question together with other documents had gone missing. An SLAF Court of Inquiry set up to inquire into the matter had made some findings.
When the matter came up again on August 8, Magistrate Jayaratne directed that the FCID should conduct an investigation into how the documents went missing. The detectives have been told not to base their inquiries on the SLAF Court of Inquiry but pursue the matter on their own.

He directed that appropriate action should be taken against anyone trying to scuttle the inquiry into MiG-27 procurements by removing documents. The FCID has also been told to obtain a copy from the Mount Lavinia Courts where certified contracts of MiG-27 purchases have been produced earlier by the Ministry of Defence in respect of a case.

Shifting of Welikada jail:  Talks with Horana groups
The Government is to initiate a dialogue with groups which have raised objections to the shifting of the Welikada Prisons to a spacious area in the suburbs of Horana.

The shifting is being done so that valuable properties in and around Colombo are utilised for the Government’s proposed development programme, it has been decided.

Finance company breakdowns:
CB wrote off staggering Rs. 6.1 billion
The Central Bank’s Monetary Board gave approval in 2011 to write off Rs. 6100 million (or over 6.1 billion) provided to six unsuccessful finance companies.

The revelation is made in the report by the Committee of Public Enterprises (COPE) in its report for the period January 26 to April 8 this year. Sunil Handunetti, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentarian, is the Chairman of COPE.
The report notes that these six companies, which have not been named, had paid back only Rs. 18.4 million by September 2014 after liquidation. Thereafter repayments increased to Rs. 317.1 million, the report notes.

The report calls for action against these six companies. The COPE has recommended that the Chief Executive Officer or the Accounting Officer should send a comprehensive report giving details of the write-offs and the reason for such decisions.\

Muzammil  as envoy to Malaysia
M.J.M. Muzammil is to be named the new Sri Lanka High Commissioner to Malaysia.
He has already been asked by President Maithripala Sirisena to serve in this position.
He served as Colombo’s Mayor until the Municipal Council was dissolved this year.

Tussle for post of STF chief
The Special Task Force (STF), the Commando arm of the Police Department, is without a head.
This is after the retirement of DIG Ranjith Perera.

The Police Commission has recommended Senior DIG M.R. Latiff but Police sources alleged that moves are afoot to change this decision. Some bureaucrats are said to be lobbying for another candidate contrary to the decision taken by the Police Commission.

Duty free vehicle for late minister’s widow
The Government is to approve a duty free vehicle permit to the wife of former minister M.K.D.S. Gunawardena (SLFP – Trincomalee District).

Mr. Gunawardena, Minister of Lands passed away after an illness in January this year.
He was one of the early defectors from the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government and played a major role in the election of President Maithripala Sirisena.

Cabinet to decide on extension for National Security Chief
The Cabinet of Ministers will decide on an extended term of service for retired DIG Sisira Mendis, Chief of National Security. It is to take effect from July 27 2016.

Recently the Ministry of Public Administration and the Ministry of Finance made their observations on an extended term for him.

CSN’s Rs. 157.5 million transferred two days before seizure
At 10.36 am August 11, the Pan Asia Banking Corporation Plc in Colombo transferred Rs. 157.5 million to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. This was just two days before the Government announced that it had seized this amount of money that lay in the Carlton Sports Network Channel associated with the Mahinda Rajapaksa family.

FCID detectives are conducting an investigation into alleged money laundering and other illegal acts by this television network. The money was discovered in the course of investigations.