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| Sunday, 29 June 2003 |
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Bribery and Corruption Commission - Appeal for greater co-operation from public by Don Asoka Wijewardena Piyasena Ranasinghe, Director General of the Commission to Investigate Bribery and Corruption has appealed for greater co-operation from the public to eliminate the menace of bribery and corruption which have pervaded all areas of public service. The Commission has over 1,200 complaints against senior public officials pending investigations and among those being investigated are senior government officers, politicians, police officers, divisional secretaries and chairmen of government institutions. In an interview with the Sunday Observer the Director-General discusses the problems faced by the Commission,the shortage of staff to carry out the pending investigations and the complaints lodged by the public. Excerpts of the interview: Q: I understand that due to inadequate resource personnel the Commission is unable to carry out investigations and hold inquiries into complaints made by the public. How far is it true? A: The Commission comprises two retired judges and an expert in criminal investigations. Due to the death of one retired judge,the Commission stopped functioning and still the vacancy has not been filled. Until that vacancy is filled we can neither produce cases to both Magistrate and High Courts nor commence investigations into the cases in hand. Q: Who is responsible for appointing members to the Commission and has the Commission informed the concerned authorities of the vacancy? A: Yes. I have already informed the Chairman of the Commission about the vacancy and the Chairman has already informed the authorities. It is the responsibility of the Constitutional Council to nominate a person and on recommendation of the Council,the appointment will be made by the President. Q: Soliciting bribes of Senior public officials is a common trend today. Has the Commission been able to nab these senior officials and prosecute? A: Yes. At the moment we have around 1,211 pending investigations unsolved,because the Commission does not function. Most cases are corruption-related and a number of senior government officers,senior police officers,divisional secretaries,chairmen of some institutions and even some politicians are involved. Everyday we receive a number of complaints against government officials soliciting bribes from the public to discharge their duties but we are unable to conduct raids or direct our staff to go as decoys to nab those people because of the non-functioning of the Commission. Q: What sort of complaints do you receive against government officials and senior police officers? A: Usually, the complaints against police officers and politicians are of having disproportionate accumulation of incomes in a short span of time. Out of 1,211 pending investigations 663 cases are complaints of having disproportionate incomes and such type of complaints are on the rise. Likewise we have also received complaints against senior police officers of releasing suspects from the custody and soliciting bribes. Out of 1,211 cases 271 cases are bribery allegations. Q: What sort of complaints has the Commission received against politicians and has the Commission instituted legal proceedings against them? A: In 2001 we received 23 complaints,in the year 2002 it was 38 and in 2003 up to this month only 2. In the previous years in accordance with the law they were produced before the courts and due punishment was meted out. Accumulation of disproportionate money seems to be a growing problem and we also found that some complaints on bribery and corruption were based on personal animosity. Q: Who are the others involved in bribery and corruption charges? A: Officials of different professions such as income-tax assessors,technical officers, police sergeants, inspectors of work in highway construction, fiscal officers, court clerks are also involved and in the previous year some were nabbed, produced before the courts and some were sentenced to 1 to 12 years rigorous imprisonment. Q: Political interference to State institutions has become the order of the day. Do political influence and threats affect the Bribery Commission? A: So far we are not affected by politics because this is meant to be the place devoid of political influences and set examples to all the other both public and private sector organisations to eliminate bribery and corruption. Q: As the Director General of the Commission to Investigate Bribery and Corruption what have you to say for the elimination of bribery and corruption in Sri Lanka? A: First of all,the vacancy of the Commission has to be filled because at the moment about 25 cases for Magistrate and High Courts are lying unattended. In accordance with the Bribery and Corruption Act,the Commission is required to give directive to me to institute lawsuits against people. I am unable to produce suspects or hold inquiries of about 100 complaints. I wish to say that we must have some staff apart from the police officers to work in the department. To eliminate bribery and corruption the public has to play a pivotal role and I give an assurance that the information the Commission receives from the public will be kept in strict confidence. The public should not pay extra money to any official to get his or her favours done. |
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