Year on the Web
Year on the Web
While party strategists and political pundits of all hues in the coming days analyse the results of Friday’s local elections, what is clear at first glance is that it was an impressive victory for the People’s Alliance.
Despite all the broken promises and unsolved problem, despite widespread feeling that the people had little to choose between the two, it was indeed surprising to see how well the PA fared with a virtual landslide in the pradeshiya sabhas though the UNP maintained control of the big cities including Colombo and Kandy and reduced the PA’s vote from 62 percent to 49 since the 1994 Presidential elections.That is what analysts will try to figure out, as much as the clout or non-clout of the third force in the form of the JVP and MEP.
As the dust settles down and hopefully as the unprecedented pre- polls violence dies down we hope every council small or big or whatever party it is affiliated to will get down fast to the primary task of serving the people of the area. After all that is what local government is all about-repairing roads and drains, clearing the garbage and catching the stray dogs.
One key factor must not be forgotten in the process. These elections were conducted in only two-thirds of the country. One- third of Lanka is in a state of siege where the noise and chaos of democracy has been replaced by the noise and chaos of a civil war. It is time we forgot partisan politics and worked as one Nation; one people to regain control of that one-third of our land.
Attorney General Sarath Silva called a newsconference in his office mid this week probably thinking that he would see the last of the controversy in which a senior officer of his department is the key player. The officer concerned has functioned as a supervising officer in a case of alleged fraud involving his own brother-in-law and the AG says there’s nothing amiss in that.
It is our view that conflict of interest is of paramount concern when it comes to public confidence in the discharge of public functions by public officers. That is why judges refuse to hear cases if they are even acquainted with the litigants. That is why State Counsel do not prosecute in cases where friends are involved. That is why accountants are prohibited by law from auditing accounts of companies in which they are directors. The root principle here is that justice must not only be done but must seem to be done.
The fact is that the public is not familiar with the inner workings of the AG’s department. Neither can the public be satisfied by an explanation of all those esoteric ways. As far as the public is concerned, a supervising officer is responsible for all the work he initials, perhaps in the same way an editor is responsible for all the articles in a newspaper.
The new AG’s new doctrine is an astounding one. There have been a string of cases in the AG’s department where in the pursuit of high moral standards officers have been asked to leave on much lesser allegations of conflict of interests.
In each professional assignment undertaken, the underlining principle universally accepted is that a member in public practice must be and be seen to be free of any interest which is incompatible with objectivity. In determining whether a member in public practice is or is not seen to be free of any interest which is incompatible with objectivity, the criterion should be whether a reasonable person could conclude that the member has placed himself or herself in a position where his or her objectivity would or could be impaired.
And the AG must take the rap though bigger failings have taken place in holier places, and there have been scandals in the Vatican under the nose of the Pope.
Return to the Editorial/Opinion contents page