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When an Indian businessman walked with two stuffed bags in his hands to the parking lot at Hotel Taj Samudra, two senior bureaucrats were waiting anxiously in the backseat of a car on Thursday.

The duo – Dr I.K. Mahanama, Chief of Presidential Staff at the Presidential Secretariat, and P.D. Dissanayake, Chairman of the State Timber Corporation – received the packages. Hurriedly the duo opened the two packages. There were bundles of five thousand rupee currency notes.

They began counting the money hurriedly. In the melee they did not realise that a third person, the driver, was watching them through the rear view mirror from his seat. Little did they realise that the driver was a bribery sleuth who was part of an undercover sting operation.

Soon, other sleuths from the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) swooped down on the duo. They were arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe from an Indian businessmen to facilitate the sale of the Sugar Corporation’s installations in Kantale. Sleuths said the initial payment of the bribe was Rs 20 million. Originally the duo had allegedly sought Rs 350 million, said CIABOC chairman Neville Guruge. Other sources said that after protracted discussion two top officials had settled for an alleged bribe of Rs 100 million.

Mr Dissanayake had earlier served as Chief of Staff of the Presidential Secretariat under the then President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. He was succeeded in this position by Gamini Senarath during the tenure of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Thereafter, when President Sirisena took over, Dr I.K. Mahanama was appointed Chief of Staff. Mr. Dissanayake was, in the meantime, appointed as Chairman of the State Timber Corporation.

A UNP minister who did not wish to be identified gloated at the CIABOC detection. He said, “All this time people were trying to make out that all the rogues were associated with the UNP. This is clear proof that there are others too.”
However, a Presidential spokesperson said, “It is President Sirisena who ordered the immediate interdiction of the two officials. He has made clear that he will in no way interfere with cases of bribery or corruption.”

Police smash helmet camera

Is it a traffic offence to ride a motorcycle with a camera fixed firmly on the helmet?

A motorcyclist who did so found his camera destroyed by the police in Tissamaharama. They accused him of having a camera on the helmet to photograph young women. Therefore the camera was destroyed.

But, the Ceylon Motorcyclists Association which is fighting for the rights of riders claims that police officers unaware of the regulations are challenging the riders unnecessarily. Chirantha Amarasinghe, President of the Association says that similar incidents have been reported in Kirulapone and Dematagoda as well.

Sajith Premadasa

Sajith strikes discordant note
UNP Deputy Leader and Minister Sajith Premadasa seems to have struck a discordant note when he spoke at a ceremony in Hulftsdorp to mark his late father’s death anniversary.

He said he was opposed to liberalisation much the same way his father, the late Ranasinghe Premadasa, had been.
This is in marked contrast to his leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who firmly believes there should be liberalisation – a process that was begun by the late President J.R. Jayewardene.

Norway diplomatic position raises questions
President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to appoint an Australian resident with Sri Lankan citizenship as Ambassador to Norway has raised eyebrows in the corridors of the Foreign Ministry.

Insiders say the appointment would mean that the current envoy in Norway, Jayantha Palipane, a senior career officer, who has a three year term would have to cease working. Career Foreign Service officers are also concerned that most of them are compelled to remain in Colombo but political appointees are being named increasingly.

Foreign Ministry sources said the new candidate for Norway had made a pitch for the appointment by writing to a local newspaper praising the features of the controversial Free Trade Agreement with Singapore.

This is besides the fact that some of the important stations like the United States and Britain are still without a head of mission. Attention had not been paid even to the appointment of one before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London.

Ven. Athureliya Rathana Thera

Navin Dissanayake

President told Navin to announce lifting of glyphosate ban
It was President Maithripala Sirisena who telephoned Plantation Industries Minister Navin Dissanayake to announce that the government has lifted the ban on the use of glyphosate. This led to Mr Dissanayake holding a news conference to announce the decision.

However, Ven. Athureliya Rathana Thera MP who was campaigning for the ban claimed no such decision was made by the Government. The news on the lifting of the ban is now being conveyed to different government agencies.

Shocking abuse of power by ministry officials
Officials of a ministry swooped down on a suburban police station, as they claimed, to teach a lesson to accident victims.
All because the Minister’s car had knocked down three persons, leaving one with a broken leg, a second with a broken hand and the third a damaged hip.

The driver had been detained, not in a cell, but at the police station after the accident. The officials whisked him away. Ever heard of such abuse of power after wounding people on the road? A bystander remarked, “This is not yahapalanaya.” Certainly not when the minister has now turned more powerful.