Civil society groups demand quick action :

Cabinet defers paper on anti-corruption delays

The country’s political sphere and its developments were eclipsed by a massive natural disaster this week, which rendered over 200,000 people temporarily homeless, leaving nearly 60 dead and hundreds missing.

This was the largest natural disaster to hit the country after the tsunami, which rocked the nation nearly 12 years ago.

Although the proportion of the damage could not be compared with that of the tsunami, it affected hundreds of thousands of people in many districts, including the capital city of Colombo. Some people were stranded in their houses for over three days without any access to the most essential needs such as food and drinking water.

This situation compelled politicians to move out of their cozy office rooms and work laboriously with relief workers on the ground. The Parliamentary sessions were adjourned on Thursday, allowing Parliamentarians to visit flood-affected areas and help victims.

President MaithripalaSirisena, on Wednesday morning, visited the Aranayake area where three villages got buried following a massive landslide.

The President went to the Samasarakanda area where rescue teams of security forces were carrying out their missions. Despite incessant rain, they worked hard to recover the bodies of villagers, fighting large swathes of mud, engulfing the area

After ‘Sasara Kanda’, the President visited Siripura and Pallebage - two other adjacent villages affected by landslides. The majority of residents of the two villages had gathered at safe places and the President looked into their conditions and facilities.

He then left for the Dikpitiya Rajagiriya Vidyalaya in Aranayake and the Hathgampala Vidyalaya where a large number of people had taken refuge.

The President instructed all public officials to attend to their needs and expedite relief work. To facilitate the process, the government also took speedy measures to cancel leave for all state sector workers, until further notice.

Politicians active

While the President was in the Kegalle district, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was in the Wellampitiya area, visiting flood victims and monitoring the progress of relief operations.

Minister Sagala Ratnayaka, Parliamentarian S.M. Marikkar and former Parliamentarian Rosy Senanayake joined the Prime Minister.

Several politicians representing the Colombo district were seen actively involved in flood relief programs. Some politicians of the government, however, had to deal with angry flood victims when they visited flood-fit areas on Thursday.

Minister Rauff Hakeem and Western Province Chief Minister Isura Devapriya faced resistance when they visited flood victims in the Colombo district on Thursday morning.

It was quite evident that the two ministers had to ‘take the bullet’ for the entire government, from angry flood victims. The two politicians took it on the chin, and proceeded with their inspection tour, without attempting to respond to angry residents.

The JVP MPs too, under their social welfare arm ‘RathuTharuwa’, initiated an efficient campaign to rescue flood victims and distribute flood donations. JVP stalwarts namely K.D. Lalkantha, Sunil Handunnetti and BimalRatnayaka were seen actively involved in the relief missions.

Some of the JVP MPs were seen engaging rescue operations, working with relief workers and volunteers. Many commended the JVP’s initiative saying it was the most hands-on relief program launched by a political party.

However, some relief workers attached to the JVP were seen wearing T-shirts bearing the party’s symbol and it marred the magnanimity of the initiative – at least in the eyes of some.

Interestingly, initiatives launched by ordinary citizens, who maintained their network through social media, were much more efficient than those of the government. Office workers collected lunch packets at railway stations in Colombo and distributed them among flood victims.

Various civil groups worked hand in hand with rescue teams and provided them with manpower. There was no central authority to drive and regulate the relief work, but the citizens, collectively, rose up to the challenge.

Many supermarkets, in and around Colombo, ran out of food and sanitary items as people, from all walks of life, bought them in large stocks over the past four days.

It also highlighted the fact that the citizens’ initiatives were way ahead of mechanism adopted by the state bodies such as divisional and district secretariats to distribute flood donations. Some relief programs launched by divisional secretariats in the Colombo district, did not function after office hours!

Heated Cabinet meeting

It was against this backdrop that the President chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Secretariat on Tuesday morning. Despite the torrential downpour, the Cabinet meeting was heated over a controversial joint Cabinet paper, presented by four ministers of the national unity government – namely Rajitha Senaratne, Patali Champika Ranawaka, Sarath Fonseka and Arjuna Ranatunga.

The salient points of the joint cabinet paper were:

“1) On January 08, 2015, the people of the country voted for a new President and a new government with the aim of establishing rule of law, curbing bribery and corruption, establishing democracy, justice and equality.

2) Such aspirations of the people were reiterated at the Parliamentary election on August 17, 2015.

3) Although 16 months have elapsed after the establishment of the good governance government, the public still has doubts over the government’s will to fulfill their expectations in terms of battling bribery and corruption.

4) Law enforcement bodies have failed to conclude investigations into large-scale bribery and corruption allegations leveled against top-brass members of the previous regime. We were the ones who convinced the public that the previous administration was corrupt to the core. Unfortunately, under our own administration, we have failed to file action against those who were heavily involved in bribery and corruption under the previous regime.

5) As a result, the public is now under the impression that the present government too endorses the alleged acts of corruption committed by some members of the previous regime. This also gives rise to the speculation that the present administration has no qualms about ‘cooperating’ and hobnobbing with corrupt elements linked with the previous administration. The civil society groups now claim that the battle against corruption is corrupt!

6) Secondly, the law enforcement mechanism’s inaction leads to the speculation that we resorted to lies and unsubstantiated allegations during our campaign to topple the previous regime. This challenges the ‘ideological base’ of the current government.

7) Thirdly, this will play into the hands of those who claim that the government’s battle against corruption is an act of political revenge. Even at this point, the most vociferous campaigners against the government are the ones who are directly responsible for large-scale corrupt deals and misappropriation.

This allows them to dub any anti-corruption investigation as a revengeful act against their so-called political activism.

8) At the same time, this lethargic approach may plunge the genuine supporters of the government into an embarrassing situation. It will also bring their public image and reputation into question.

If the present trend continues, it will turn the collective action against corruption before the last Presidential election into a farce.

9) It is all too evident that, during the period between 2013 and 2014, the economic growth of the country was ‘concentrated’ in the hands of a few powerful figures.Recent international statistics have pointed out that the country has lost nearly USD 20 billion as a result of illegal money transactions. The current government is burdened with their sins and the government makes tough decisions to deal with this situation, it, in return, affects the popularity of the government.

10) It is farcical that those who were instrumental in creating this precarious economic situation are now shedding crocodile tears about the people’s tax burden!

11) We should admit that the meticulous manner in which the top-notch members of the previous carried out their acts of corruption had complicated the investigation process. As a result of this understanding, Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, on January 21, 2015, presented a Cabinet paper to set up a special tribunal in line with the UN anti-corruption charter. We regretfully inform you that none of its proposals materialised on the ground.

Therefore,

* The Cabinet of ministers requests details and follow-up action on every complaint lodged by the civil society groups with various government bodies looking into bribery and corruption. We also wish to know the legal status and background relating to the progress of those investigations.

* The cabinet of also requests details about the progress of the work carried out by the institutions attached to the Sri Lanka Police and other other commissions, including the Presidential Commission.

* The cabinet requests details about action taken by the Attorney General’s Department in relation to the said investigations.

We also propose to take a collective action to expedite and fast track the functioning of the law enforcement process in this regard.”

While presenting the Cabinet paper, Minister Ranawaka lashed out at the lethargic approach of the Police and the Attorney General’s Department with regard to bribery and corruption investigations. Minister Rajitha Senaratne, who co-sponsored the cabinet paper, also supported his cabinet colleague’s claims.

The President, however, did not seem too impressed with the joint-cabinet paper, presented by the four ministers.

“I fully agree that the ongoing ani-corruption investigations should be fast tracked. But, is the Cabinet meeting the place to discuss such matters We should discuss only relevant matters at the Cabinet meeting.

“However, I can have a separate meeting with the four ministers to discuss this matter in detail. So, let’s not take this up at the Cabinet meeting,” the President responded, vetoing the cabinet paper on Tuesday morning. It looked as if the majority of Cabinet members, including the Prime Minister, agreed with the President’s position on the matter.

Bribery and corruption

However, it is also important to understand the circumstances leading to the presentation of the joint cabinet paper. A few days before the last Cabinet meeting, some civil society groups met Minister Rajitha Senaratne to voice their concerns over the government’s lethargic approach on bribery and corruption.

They reminded the Minister that the battle against corruption was the main rallying point for the common opposition at the last Presidential election and the government over the past 15 months, had failed to achieve any progress on the matter.

“It is quite clear that various deals are standing in the way of investigations. If the government is hell-bent on taking this path, the civil society groups too will have no option, but to declare war on the new government,” they asserted.

The Minister patiently listened to their concerns and assured that he would raise this matter at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

The joint cabinet paper was the minister’s response to the civil society group’s request.

In addition to the Cabinet paper, immediate relief measures for those who were affected by landslides and flood were also discussed at the Cabinet meeting. Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa gave a detailed report on the state of affairs with regard to the disaster.

Following Yapa’s presentation, the Cabinet unanimously decided to release Rs. 150 million for relief work in landslide and flood affected areas.

Extravagant wedding

The attempts to make peace between the two warring factions of the SLFP were hampered, temporarily, due to inclement weather and landslides this week.

However, the party’s divisions were clearly visible at the wedding ceremony of Abheetha Bandara Ratnayake, former Minister’s C.B. Ratnayake’s son. The extravagant wedding ceremony was held at Jaic Hilton Hotel, Colombo 2, in the presence of many bigwigs in the country’s political sphere. The seating arrangement of the wedding ceremony, however, was interesting. The wedding floor was divided into two man areas and one of them was completely reserved for members of the ‘Joint Opposition’.

The SLFP MPs supporting President Sirisena and the national unity government occupied the other area. As a result of this seating arrangement, there were no heated political debates at the wedding ceremony.

President Sirisena and former President Rajapaksa were invited as ‘special guests’ for the event.

Therefore, many believed the wedding ceremony would be a meeting point for the two leaders heading two rival camps in the blue party. Rajapaksa visited Jaic Hilton at 7.30 pm and he spent two hours at the wedding ceremony, speaking the MPs representing both groups. After a light dinner, he greeted the newly weds and left the ceremony at 9.30 pm.

Nearly 10 minutes after Rajapaksa left, President Sirisena arrived at the ceremony, squashing the hopes of those who wanted to facilitate a meeting. Sources close to the President, explaining the delay, said the President had to attend to several important matters before coming for the wedding ceremony.