Complicity In Local Corruption
By Emil van der Poorten –April 24, 2016
Emil van der Poorten
I have, more times than I care to count, made extensive reference to the corruption in the local government here: the Tumpane Pradeshiya Sabha (TPS), in particular. For “openers” let me say that the fact that this local version of governance cannot be excused through reference to what Sri Lankan history has (unjustly?) identified as an area populated by fools: the term “Tumpane modaya” (Tumpane Fool) hardly needs explanation in the context of the folklore of this country despite the fact that, like most broad generalizations, it leaves something to be desired in terms of accuracy.
I have watched, with what can accurately be described as bemusement, the havoc that this outfit has visited upon those unfortunate enough to live within its boundaries. This has ranged from profit being made by employees of that body performing “contracts” for the construction of service facilities while supposedly being those responsible for ensuring their quality, to unaccounted “disappearances” of funds intended for the reconstruction of a road destroyed by the very TPS’s vehicles. Remember the ten million rupee transfer of funds to fix a certain road, 5.3 million of which was not spent on that specific task? The frosting on that particular cake is the fact that the contractor who was supposed to receive the 4.7 million rupees told me that he would soon be suing the local body for a part of that sum which was still owing him despite the fact that had fulfilled his obligations in respect of the work.
My recently more frequent visits to the offices of this branch of the local government system and conversations with what amounts to the Chief Executive Officers of this august body have yielded interesting results.
