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by Jayantha Sri Nissanka

The Presidential Investigative Unit (PIU) will launch war against corruption by investigating substandard development projects approved by officials accepting millions in bribes.

Many infrastructure development projects and buildings are being built spending billions of Treasury funds annually but most of them are not up to specified standards.

Officials involved in these projects get bribes by approving such substandard projects. We will strictly monitor complaints on such projects hereafter, a PIU official told the Sunday Observer.

Retired DIG Thilak Iddamalgoda will head the Unit and he has decided to reorganise the Unit with more officials establishing five Investigative Units to monitor development projects islandwide.

The Unit will be infused with efficient officials and the cadre will be redesigned creating Director, Legal Officer and Chief Investigative Officer posts.

Earlier the Unit functioned under a Director General and several investigative officers. Director General Iddamalgoda has sought Government permission to recruit even retired investigative officers who have excelled in their field. He plans to absorb 15 such officers to the five Investigative Units to expedite work. The official said that some dishonest public officers have been involved in approving substandard development projects as they get undue benefits from contractors.

As a result most constructions of these projects have to be repaired or reconstructed within a short period spending many more millions of public money, he noted.

He said that this kind of corruption had been going on for a long period of time in Sri Lanka. Today even contractors have to bribe politicians and officials when constructing roads or other infrastructure. As a result, contractors do not build infrastructure to the specific standard.

Hereafter we will keep a tab on it and bring them to book, he noted. The PIU requests people to directly complain to it at No. 11, Jawatte Road Colombo 5, or inform the Unit on 2595622 or 2595623 if they suspect any corruption or substandard projects.

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