In The Name Of Good Governance
By Rajeewa Jayaweera –June 12, 2016
Rajeewa Jayaweera
One of the cornerstones of Yahapalanaya, President Sirisena’s battle cry during his Presidential election campaign, was Good Governance. Improvements have been observed in some areas in comparison to the pre January 09, 2015 era namely freedom of press and freedom of expression. However, matters in many areas such as Good Governance, Rule of Law, Transparency and Accountability remain unsatisfactory.
It has come to light, President Sirisena, prior to his departure to attend the G-7 summit in Japan had instructed Financial Crimes Investigative Division (FCID) Chief to refrain from arresting some state officials until his return. FCID had reportedly completed investigations against six former officials of the Tourism Promotion Authority who served under the Rajapaksaadministration on a charge of misappropriation of state funds for electioneering purposes. Those to be arrested were former Chairman and five Directors of the authority. Two of the said Directors are currently holding positions of Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office and a Director General in the Treasury. They are obviously senior members of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS). Charges involve several cases of fraud amounting to over Rs 100 million.
Upon his return from Japan, President Sirisena has reportedly confirmed his instructions to FCID Chief. The six individuals were not to be arrested despite instructions from the Attorney General’s office.
The President has supposedly decided not to arrest and prosecute these officials due to a growing concern especially among senior state officials particularly from the Sri Lanka Administrative Service. In view of the several investigations and a few arrests, officials have begun to exhibit a certain degree of reluctance to carry out instructions deemed irregular from superiors, especially from Ministers and politicians in the absence of written instructions. They contend they may be hauled up before FCID or similar investigative bodies and held accountable for carrying out irregular instructions issued verbally by ministers and politicians, by a future government at a future date.
