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The chairman quits

His resignation is welcome, as the best thing to do is to retreat when under a cloud.

Thilan Wijesinghe did not have to sacrifice a lucrative career in the private sector for public office, for he was paid handsomely for the services he would provide the country's public realm. This is contrary to the experience of most efficient middle-managers of the private sector, who do not take public office because it just doesn't pay.

But, despite the extraordinary circumstances of his hiring, Mr. Wijesinghe still had to go the way he did, which is unfortunate, as the circumstances of his resignation are in all probability a result of the betrayal of the confidence reposed in him by the President of the Republic.

Public servants or political leaders are not immune from any suspicion of corruption, and this is a universally accepted political axiom. They must, at all times, be beyond any hint of suspicion.

But yet, it is curious that the President of the Republic has stated that a Supreme Court Judge has been guilty of accepting bribes, and a letter from that court to the President to name the said Judge still remains unanswered. The public will now not know which judge the President referred to, leaving the accusation in mid air tainting the integrity of all the judges and tarnishing the image of the entire court.

But our carapace of cynicism gets thicker these days, when we see that the carnival continues in the form of a son of a Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana, no less, being caught smack in the middle of a gold smuggling racket. But, no honourable resignation in this instance, and instead the public is treated to the spectacle of some formidable powers coming to the aid of this errant prodigal. After all these are the days when prodigal sons gatecrash big matches, selling their father's name. So what's a little bit of gold smuggling too.

In the final analysis, this then is the example imparted by the political leadership of this country to its public service. The prevailing credo is that as long as your are 'ape miniha' — our man — you would be able to get away with gold smuggling, bribery or murder.

In the backdrop of such a political ethos, there will be a suspicion cast on the government of protecting the perpetrators, unless the killers of a Customs officer who was shot dead last week are apprehended. The state has an inviolable responsibility and duty to infuse some confidence among the Customs officers that they can carry on their duties with a reasonable degree of security, sans interference from state and vested interests. The Customs Department is of the key sources of revenue for a state with a badly depleted exchequer.

The new Minister of Justice has at least made some progress in a context of a large and gross reversal of public accountability, probity and rectitude by reactivating a Bribery Commission that had gone to sleep. It's a good start, and the Commission deserves to be complemented for making tangible efforts on the matter of the BOI Chairman's investigation, which has led to the resignation of the said officer. We do express our hope that this is not some token attempt at tackl ing corruption aimed at cosmetic public relations advantage, and that Mr. Wijesinghe was not just a victim of big power politics, but that it is a solid start in exposing the larger morass of corruption that lies beneath the glittering veneer of public and political office. 

The Political Column

Editorial/ Opinion Contents