Making corruption possible in a democratic country

By Victor Ivan

These questions are in fact discussed not only in Parliament but also outside, among the people and in the business society. In an old feudal monarchy, the question whether the king was corrupt did not arise because the king was considered to be the owner of the land and all its resources. However, in a democracy the ruler is only the temporary trustee and manager of public resources. Therefore, the suspicion might arise in the minds of people as to whether the trustee elected by them is misusing those public resources.

Every head of State may have a selected group of friends who are closely associated. Those friends have the possibility of making huge amounts of wealth by publicising their closeness to the head of State. In the case of projects which require state approval, the investor usually approaches these close friends of the head of State. The idea is to get government approval for the expected project by making a payment to friends of the head of State. 

When heads of State allow friends to sell their friendship, it can lead to serious consequences, and the results of helping friends for such purposes can be still worse.

The main issues raised by the Channel Nine scandal which has submerged now, as well as the bribery case against Mr. Wijesinghe, are related to this theme.

Mr. Wijesinghe belonged to the group closest to the President. The President gave her testimonial to the effect that Mr. Wijesinhe is an extremely honest and efficient person. However, now an extremely serious accusation has been levelled against him, and the Bribery and Corruption Commission does not seem to have any doubt about his bribery involvement.

What Mr. Wijesinghe says about the complainant is queer. According to Mr. Wijesinghe, Ranjith Athukorala is a rogue of the highest order. Strangely, he had been introduced to Mr. Wijesinghe by Minister Mangala Samaraweera. If this allegation is true, his revelations about the investors, too, have to be accepted. The full amount of the bribe is allegedly five million US Dollars. Part of it was supposed to be for Mr. Wijesinghe and Minister Samaraweera. A sum of US Dollars two million was supposed to be for the President. The balance was reported to be for Mr. Athukorala and Nimal Perera. It is not clear why, in this incident, the Bribery and Corruption Commission has paid attention to Mr. Wijesinghe only. Its attention should be paid to matters divulged in connection with these two persons too.

The manner in which the transaction relating to the Diyawanna Oya Project had taken place too, creates serious suspicions in the minds of any one. The person alleged to be the individual behind that transaction is Ronnie Peiris. Mr. Peiris is supposed to be the person who gave shelter to the President when she had gone to England during the period of terror before her election.

If the government wanted to find a suitable investor to develop the land around Parliament, what the government should have done was to call for tenders. However, the question is how that process had not taken place, and approval was given to a project with Mr. Peiris in the background.

The President as the Minister for Finance and Planning had made available 136 acres for this project in the first instance through a Cabinet paper submitted on February 8th, 1998. However, according to a condition contained in that Cabinet paper, if the investor failed to start work on the project within six months, he loses his rights, and all the land made available should go to the Urban Development Authority. However, surprisingly, no work on the project had started even after three years had passed, and the new Minister of Urban Development has allocated 84 more acres free of charge through another Cabinet paper submitted on January 31, 2001.

How the value and the price of the land has been fixed, too, is strange. The value of 136 acres has been assessed at Rs. 300 million. The investor had stated that he had to spend Rs. 100 million for control of floods. Therefore he is left with Rupees 200 million. Thus the price of a perch of land is Rs. 919. That price too need not be paid by the investor immediately. What has to be paid is only 02%. per year, of the total value.

However, the investor has the right to block and sell this land for various purposes which he gets for a negligible price along with the 84 acres which he gets totally free. How can one say that such a transaction in advantageous to the country?

The writer is the Editor of Ravaya

PARLIAMENT

Buzz over budget vote ends with 'aye, aye'

By Chandani Kirinde

The third reading of the Appropriation bill was passed by a nine vote majority with 116 members voting for the motion and 107 against with one absentee - the TELO member P.Selvarasa. As tension built up during the last day with the marathon sessions of Parliament coming to a close bringing to an end 26 days of sittings, rumors were afloat of a UNP led opposition move to defeat the government during the vote on the third reading.

Speculation grew as UNP's Dr.Rajitha Seneratne who spoke in the afternoon hinted that the government would fall and it would be the headlines in the 6.30 news bulletin on radio.

However, such speculation evaporated when the members were called by name to vote on behalf of or against the motion with all government members including the SLMC and CWC members loudly voicing their "ayes' in favour of the motion. President Chandrika Kumaratunga who visited the Parliament complex on Tuesday evening held talks with both SLMC and CWC members late into the night to persuade them to continue with their support of the PA. Several UNP MPs who spoke on Friday said the two parties had been promised several concessions including two more deputy ministerships .

The votes of the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Estate Infrastructure and livestock development were taken up for debate on Monday. With the presence of Speaker Anura Bandaranaike after an absence of several days and Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake, the days proceedings could be called tame compared with the fireworks of the previous weeks.

Premier Wickramanayake who is also the Plantation Industries Minister speaking on the developments in the plantation sector said that the tea industry had made considerable progress in the past seven years. Galle district UNP member Gayantha Karunatilleke, one time Chairman of the Tea Small Holders Association said more facilities were needed for this sector.

Several of the Opposition members who spoke lambasted the CWC for its failure to win the Rs400 pay for the people in the estate sector.

S.Sathasivam, the UNP Nuwara Eliya district MP accused the CWC of betraying the estate workers. "You have cheated these people by showing them false figures to convince them they were given the pay raise. This is not true," he said. Tuesday saw the votes of three other ministries being taken up for debate. The debate on their powers and functions were as confusing as their names.

They were the ministries of Development, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of the North and Tamil Affairs, North and East and, Development, rehabilitation and Reconstruction of the East and Rural Housing Development, Ethnic Affairs, national Integration and Mineral resources Development. TULF's Jaffna district MP V.Anandasangaree opened the debate which soon erupted into an attack on EPDP members.

"You are good stooges. You have come here with several hundred votes, that also with mass scale impersonation," he charged the EPDP amidst shouts from the EPDP members calling him an LTTE agent.

He accused EPDP leader Douglas Devananda who is the minister in charge of Rehabilitation in the north of not consulting all the legislators in the Jaffna peninsula about their activities.

EPDP's S.Thavarajah who is the most vocal of Mr.Anandasangaree critics said the TULF could not run a single municipal council in Jaffna and was accusing the EPDP of inefficiency.

"Our leader is always in Jaffna with the people there," he said.

It was also the day that the widow of the late SLMC leader A.H.M.Ashraff, Ferial delivered her maiden speech.

In her tri-lingual speech, Mrs. Ashraff thanked her husband for the work he had done during his time in government and spelt out the work undertaken by her ministry

Her fluency in all three languages won her praise from members on both sides of the House including congratulations from Speaker Bandaranaike. "Let me congratulate Mrs. Ashraff for her excellent and eloquent speech," he said.

Speaking later in the day while winding up the debate, Mrs. Ashraff displayed her political maturity by answering charges against her husband by Sihala Urumaya's lone Parliamentarian Thilak Karunaratne. To accusations by Mr. Karunaratne that Mr. Ashraff had bulldozed Buddhist areas in Digawapi Ms. Ashraff shot back asking him to leave dead men out of the debate and stop playing racist politics. Calling himself the sole voice of the Sinhalese people in Parliament, Mr. Karunaratne spoke of the disintegration of the Sinhala race.

The final day of the budget saw the votes of the Ministries of Internal and International Trade and Commerce, Muslim religious Affairs and Shipping Development, Food and Marketing Development, Constitutional Affairs and Industrial development and Rural Industrial Development being taken up for debate.

JVP's Wimal Weerawansa who spoke next said throughout the lengthy debate, the Government had offered few constructive answers to questions raised by the Opposition or even spelled out what it would do to free the country from the deteriorating economy.

"The government is caught between satisfying the demands of its allies that are helping it to stay in power on one side and the two lending organisations the IMF and the World Bank on the other," he said. JVP members during the almost month long debate stuck to the subjects under discussion and put forward many proposals keeping out petty squabbling that were routine occurrences between PA and UNP members.

UNP's Mahinda Samarasinghe who gave the final speech on behalf of his party asked the government to make a clear statement on proposed talks with the LTTE.

"We feel a cease-fire should not be declared but we are for a political solution that is supported by all communities . We will join the government to ensure that peace returns to the country," he said.

The day ended with Leader of the House and Public Administration Richard Pathirana and Chief Opposition Whip W.J.M.Lokubandara thanking all MPs and the staff of the Parliament for their support during the sessions.

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