From the Green corner

"Jayawewa" to those with Access

By Viruddha Paakshikaya

My unseen friend, Paakshikaya, seems to be a passionate man.

Last week, he went on a flight of fancy attacking one of our leader's closest confidantes.

He referred to this young man as an "Ambassador Extraordinary" and said he has done something "illegal" and "unconstitutional" together with a "Super Secretary" and that for all these "illegal" and "unconstitutional" things he or they must be asked to pay back whatever "gains" they made to the Government of Sri Lanka.

Unfortunately, it seems that only Paakshikaya is concerned. If the Government of Sri Lanka of the day is not bothered about it, I see no reason why Paakshikaya should be. After all, the present Government is bothered about probing the "malpractices" of their political opponents in a big way through commissions too numerous to mention!

Paakshikaya also went on to discuss other issues within our party. Obviously he's been fed a dead rope, a 'Dirachcha Lanuwa', by someone in our party who has told him that this "Ambassador Extraordinarily" (without plenipotentiary) is being appointed as our party's organiser for Colombo East. He must have been worried that their own Dr. G.L. Peiris who was appointed SLFP organiser for Colombo East (but campaigned with 'dustbin posters' all over Colombo) was going to get a formidable opponent.

Well, he couldn't have timed it sweeter.

Paakshikaya would have seen for himself or heard of the spectacular show in Colombo East, West and Central over the past week by our party organisers. Colombo was a sea of green - and the man appointed by our leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to be the organiser for Colombo East was not his one time "illegal" or "unconstitutional" Ambassador Extraordinary (without plenipotentiary). Instead, it was none other than Karu Jayasuriya, the unassuming, unambitious, honest and hardworking Mayor of Colombo who ironically was our one-time Ambassador to Bonn, an Ambassador extra-odinary and plenipotentiary.

His appointment also had nothing to do with any "clan" votes the UNP is trying to muster. The UNP is a party of all the people, by all the people for all the people. We believe, Paakshikaya, in people casting their votes and not voting their castes.

Now, Paakshikaya, I was originally not going to get drawn into Paakshikaya's Murali-type wrist-spin bowling (though, unlike Murali's, I do suspect Paakshikaya's bowling action). That is why I published the PA's leadership's Top Ten Businessmen in one reading without having to labour over it as Paakshikaya is now doing with much ado.

But, reading The Sunday Times last week got my pecker up. That is when I read the investigation done by The Sunday Times on the deals done by Access, the new rich kids on the block. Their defence seems worse than the offence.

Paakshikaya, you may recall that when I came out with the PA Top Ten, the name of Access was contained therein.

Thereupon, I called two people this week - the sub-Editor at The Sunday Times doing my page and one of my sources in the defence establishment (I still have such sources, Paakshikaya, because we did run the government for 17 years!)

First, I told the sub-Editor not to put advertisements on my page. Paakshikaya was given a full page a fortnight ago; surely, I can have my share this week.

Then I told my source to update me on Access, and to get me some documents from the Ministry of Defence.

Here, Paakshikaya, I thought I must enlighten our readers also about Access because even though you know who they are and what they are doing our readers may not. Well, they were a relatively unknown company in 1994 that has become one of the richest business houses in the country during the tenure of the PA government.

In The Sunday Times interview, the owner of Access is on record saying the company's earnings last year were Rs. 30 million. When asked whether he did not give out Christmas hampers to the tune of several millions, his answer was evasive.

Well, this is a company which claims it earned Rs. 30 million last year but purchased for one of its directors a specially made, fully computerized Mercedes Benz valued at Rs. 15 million!

They claimed their new building - nicknamed the 'War Memorial' - was put up at a cost of Rs. 650 million, without any bank loans. But, on Rs. 30 million a year, that would take about 22 years!

Are we to believe that here is a company that has spent half of its annual earnings on one solitary car? Tell it to the Marines, or shall we say the Airmen!

Now, Paakshikaya, these people with Access also have national team cricket links in their midst and were in London recently having a ball as it were, partying in the flat of another young Sri Lankan millionaire exporter of tea (who owns a palace in Nawala).

Even in Colombo, it is one big party after another. They are getting into the film producing business as well and for good reason too - with "sapphire and silk" style productions.

My source tells me that it appears now that none other than President Chandrika Kumaratunga referred to "Komis Kaakkas" in a nationwide TV address, the Access people have decided to do only civil tenders; that they will keep out of military deals (but do these through another transnational company!).

A business buddy of mine said he was laughing his sides out at how Access must be laughing all the way to the Banks the way they tender on mainly Japanese funded projects in Sri Lanka - as mentioned in The Sunday Times investigation last week.

But my main concern here is the categorical denial (also last week) that Access is not in the arms business and that people in Access are not arms dealers.They are so holy that they are not engaged in the sale of offensive weapons. And how when one of their principals Aerotech of Switzerland was to sell ammunition they said they cannot be the local agents and it was given to Aristons. This is all bunkum and claptrap together.

Why I say this, Paakshikaya, is because on August 5, just a month ago, the Ministry of Defence closed a tender for the supply of several thousand rounds of rockets (we will not say how many millimetres). This was for the Sri Lanka Air Force. Access bid on behalf of this Swiss company, Aerotech.

The bids were as follows:

Global Omarus (Singapore based) - US $194 for each rocket;

Access - Aerotech - US $237 per piece; and

Amnex (Bulgarian) - US $245 per piece.

I can bet all my Premadasa commemorative coins as to who will get the tender. But my point here is, is not Access an Arms Dealer if they are tendering for rockets?

Now, Paakshikaya, don't get me wrong. No one is against arms dealers. The Sri Lankan military requires arms and ammunition and someone has to get them.

But the question is whether, in that process, some dealers are getting down arms and ammunition by bribing officials and thereby getting sub-standard equipment for our forces to fight one of the world's most fascist and gruesome guerrilla forces.

I am exhibiting herewith a Ministry of Defence document for the supply of Explosive Detectors (I, for good reason, will cover the second half of the sheet - it is no big deal but as it contains information about currency, unit price, freight cost and the model I have requested The Sunday Times not to reproduce it). But, the first part of the document will show that Access tenders with the Ministry of Defence and who their principals are. So, can they say they are not Arms Dealers?

I will now come to the point where Access has seemingly done something worse - something my source says is clear proof of Access influence in the tender procedures for procurements for the Armed Forces.

This I need to do by showing the readers the tender documents side by side and I had to ask The Sunday Times sub-Editor how best I can do this and he tells me that I ought to write a separate story - which I shall now proceed to do (see separate story above).

The Tender Notice is signed by the Defence Secretary Chandrananda de Silva. While he indeed is an honourable man, he must also carry the can. He has signed the document. So he himself must probe this.

Paakshikaya loves to write about our days in government, but my friend, this is what is happening today under the PA government. I have produced only one page of this Tender Notice for two reasons - lack of space in the newspaper and the confidentiality of the items concerned.

But these documents are available to the government. The President herself is the Defence Minister (Ah, but when do we see her on horse-back, reviewing the troops like your General Ratwatte did as Acting Defence Minister on Police Day?). So, you must conduct your own inquiries, Paakshikaya.

Then, Paakshikaya, had you read a letter from a member of the public in The Sunday Times last week signed by "Anti-Humbug' on the garment quota negotiations; you would have realised that those negotiations did some good - it gave jobs to the unemployed; it brought money to the country.

In contrast, what have you done? Made one man a multi-millionaire so he could own a Mercedes Benz, Volvos, BMWs and Opel Omegas (why no Rolls Royce?) - and our troops at the war front are unable to clear the road to Jaffna for the past so many months!

Paakshikaya says he can write till the next election about our leader's Top Ten Businessmen. I guess I could do the same about this one company - not only their arms deals but also about the "ghost" companies The Sunday Times featured in their investigation last week. Very soon, our party will tell the country about what is going on in the corridors of power.

We who are students of politics are only too well aware of how this company thrives and with whose benign patronage, even causing concern to the President, but who, with all her big talk and virulent attacks on our leader, doesn't have the political guts or will to do anything to arrest what is happening.

You, Paakshikaya, can only look to the past. We, Paakshikaya, look at the present and the future. With the Colombo Stock Exchange plummeting to new depths and the Cost of Living Index rising to new heights, the words of your one-time MP for Habaraduwa Prins Gunasekera ring in my ears. He told Parliament on the eve of the 1977 elections: "Mr. Speaker, Sir, we are now seeing the Last Days of Dompe!"

Don't we all know how history repeats itself, Paakshikaya?

"Jayawewa".

The facts speak for themselves

As advised by The Sunday Times sub Editor, I am now presenting what amounts to be a clear-cut case of the supplier of equipment to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) having a direct hand in the preparation of Tender specification for Security items.

The tender document is signed by none less than the Secretary, MOD, Chandrananda de Silva. While saying straightaway that no improper imputation is made against the Secretary in this instance, the facts speak for themselves and would, under any circumstances, warrant an inquiry followed by a statement by the MOD, which could include a cancellation of the tender.The tenderer is Access.

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