Charles’ Removal Linked To Probe On 143 Containers: Mangala’s Coordinating Secretary, Finance Min. Secretary Have Given Unlawful Orders: Sirisena Stirring Up Issues Behind The Scenes
Former Customs Director General P.S.M. Charles has been removed from her position after she ordered probes on 143 suspicious containers, Colombo Telegraph can now reveal.
Mangala
Some of these containers had direct links to Thusitha Halloluwa, a Coordinating Secretary of Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera, the subject minister of the Customs Department. Halloluwa had exerted pressure on Charles to appoint his ‘associates’ at the Customs Department to probe the suspicious containers and transfer the officers who are currently handling the issue.
Charles has been removed from office after she flatly turned down their orders. Colombo Telegraph can also reveal that the forthright state official, the first woman to head the Customs Department, has also run into several confrontations with Finance Ministry Secretary Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga over the same matter.
After Charles’ removal, Samaraweera sought Cabinet approval to appoint retired Navy officer, Rear Admiral Shemal Fernando as the Director General of Customs. The move sparked a fierce trade union action by customs unions who protested the appointment of a retired military officer as the Director General of Customs.
Samaraweera then made another move by appointing Finance Ministry Additional Secretary H.G. Sumanasinghe as the Acting Director General of the Department, in a desperate attempt to end the trade union action.
The Customs unions, however, demanded the reinstatement of Charles, saying she was transferred out due to the influence of smugglers who were at the heart of several controversial deals.
Thusitha Halloluwa
Addressing a press conference in Colombo yesterday, Sudath de Silva, a spokesman of the Customs union said several senior officials including Finance Ministry Secretary Dr. R.H.S. Samaratuga and several top-notch political figures of the current government maintained close ties with the smugglers.
The discussions between Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera and the union turned hostile last evening and the union representatives stormed out of the meeting room as the minister remained adamant about the removal of Charles.
The Minister said the new Director General was appointed according to a Cabinet decision and the unions had no say in the matter. The union representatives told the Minister that they would not back down until the reinstatement of Charles.
Sirisena’s observations
As the discussions with the Minister failed, the Customs officers at the Colombo Port continued their work-to-rule campaign. They have not allowed the Acting Director General of the department to assume duties.
Presenting the Finance Minister’s version of the story, a spokesman close to him told Colombo Telegraph, it was Samaraweera who appointed Charles to the Director General’s position initially, along with four other females as heads of institutions under the purview of his Ministry.
“The Minister has a weekly review meeting every Thursday for heads of institutions overlooking sectors that generate revenue for the government. Over the past few months, there was a noticable decrease in the revenue generated by the Cumstoms Department. That was one main reason for the replacement of the former Director General,” the spokesman said.
