Jungle Telegraph

9th August 1998

Old boy ring still at work

If there is a lull in the battlefield, there is feverish activity outside it.

The talk of the town is about a plethora of procurement deals running into billions and billions of rupees. Some of the overseas dealers are in the City's star class hotels wining and dining those influential and powerful.

At least in one case involving Rs 300 million, insiders say, the old cartel is still at work though new faces took over many months ago.

Although the deal itself is through a Cabinet Appointed Tender Board (CATB). Sitting on top of the evaluation team, they say, is a member of the old boy network.

From nearly a half a dozen offers, this expert who claims he can detect anything from a fire cracker to TNT and RDX, had conducted trials on the offer made by only one source, one with close and powerful connections. And he had concluded theirs is the best.

The others, quite naturally, are furious. They say they were not called upon to show their stuff. They also allege that the expert was wrong in conducting field tests without the approval of the CATB.

Compounding the issue now is the blunt refusal of one service representative to sign the evaluation report prepared by the expert who has aired only one opinion, the suitability of the single supplier.

The angry representative is saying he would not do so even if he is offered ten million rupees. Other suppliers are now appealing for a fresh evaluation team.

A case of who will evaluate the evaluators !!

Court Martial

Army Headquarters has ordered the Court Martial of the young Lieutenant Colonel who allegedly busted Rs 200,000 in a City casino.

As Alia reported last week, he has already been placed under close arrest after it was found that the money was part of a training grant imprest.

Unseated

If Deputy Defence Minister, Gen. Anuruddha Ratwatte, gave a slip to the SAARC summit and undertook a tour of the People's Republic of China, it appears he was keen to mark his presence when he returned to Colombo.

So he asked his aides to secure a place for him at the concluding sessions at the Presidential Secretariat on July 31. Alas, he was told there were no seats.

A photo opportunity missed. That was not all. Another Cabinet Minister who played a key role during the summit found there was no seat for him when he arrived for the concluding sessions.

He was ushered to a balcony seat in the one time Parliament. But soon embarrassed officials found a seat and brought him downstairs.

That was Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Professor G.L. Peiris.

Editorial/Opinion Contents