RTI COMMISSION WOULD EXERCISE ITS POWERS TO INITIATE PROSECUTIONS UNDER THE ACT SPARINGLY

6^th February 2018 – Statement of the Right to Information Commission, Sri Lanka.

07/02/2018

In the past one year following the operationalizing of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, No 12 of 2016, Sri Lanka’s first Right to Information Commission records a noteworthy increase in the numbers of appeals being filed before the Commission with information being released in a majority of cases as well as positive awareness on the part of many key Public Authorities of the Act.

During the previous month alone, the varied information that was released included the conclusions of the Commander of the Army and related documents connected to an inquiry into charges of sexual harassment against a senior military officer, vesting certificates relating to the acquisition of land by various state authorities including the Mahaveli Authority, statistical data on rehabilitated former cadre of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) classified by age, district and sex up to 2017 by the Bureau of the Commissioner-General of Rehabilitation, approvals of local authorities to irregular buildings and criteria on which promotions were granted in state institutions.

This week, the Commission issued an Order to the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment to release the Memoranda of Understanding and/or Bilateral agreements pertaining to migrant workers between the Governments of Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait in view of the public interest in protecting the rights of Sri Lankan citizens who work in those countries.

While positive advancements are many, the Commission however notes with concern that certain Public Authorities have yet not appointed their Information Officers or named their Designated Officers and in some instances, not publicized the fact as compulsorily required under Section 26 of the Act. In other instances, Public Authorities have evidenced evasion by frequently asking for extensions of time to submit information that ought to be legitimately given. It is a matter for regret that defaulting Public Authorities in this regard include institutions that should be in the forefront of promoting the values of RTI in enhancing education and civic participation in the democratic process.

Though confusion in regard to the appointments of IOs and DOs as well as adherence to time lines in giving information may be somewhat flexible in the first few months of the operationalisation of the Act, that time period has now long passed. While the Commission would exercise its powers to initiate prosecutions under the Act sparingly, a pattern of evasive behavior on the part of Public Authorities would need to be responded to appropriately, including by publicly naming such entities in reports submitted to Parliament.

By October 2017, the Commission had released information in 37 appeals involving full length hearings of the Public Authorities and citizens with close to 220 proper appeals being received by it. 218 Appellants had to be requested to remedy their appeals due to various flaws such as directly coming to the Commission from a decision of the Information Officer rather than appealing to the Designated Officer as required by the Act.

As at February 3^rd 2018, the Commission has now approximately 411 perfected appeals received by it with appeals being concluded/pending/listed before it for hearing in approximately 350 cases. Information has been released in a majority of the appeals (81) and a few dismissals of vexatious appellants has also been recorded along with a decrease in defective appeals which is attributable to the appeal process gradually becoming more familiar to citizens.

All the Orders of the Commission are available on its trilingual website, http://rticommission.lk/. Detailed reasons for the release of information are made public. The Commission considers this important so that Public Authorities and the general public are aware of the balance struck between the public interest underlying the principle of maximum disclosure in the Act and considerations of privacy along with other narrowly specified grounds on which information may be denied.

While many appeals deal with maladministration in government, a significant percentage relates to procurement issues, wastage of public funds, inefficient service delivery and information on development projects. Almost a quarter concerned human resource disputes in Public Authorities such as lack of transparency arising in the conducting of exams as well as awarding promotions while the other most frequent area in which appeals were lodged was with regard to land and property disputes. In addition an increasing number of appeals concern school admissions and administration.

The Commission which is also mandated by the Act to provide advice on the process by which information is released even though advice may not be given on the subject matter of an information request which may come up before the Commission on appeal. The most frequent requests for advice on processes of information seeking and giving under the Act come from local government bodies, divisional secretariats and public enterprises. In 2018, as the Commission gets its independent Fund voted on by Parliament as required in terms of Section 16 of the Act, it will engage in greater public outreach with entities obliged by the Act to provide information.

It is also encouraging to note that many Public Authorities have already sent in their Annual Reports to the Commission as required under the Act. Greater compliance with Sections 8 and 9 of the Act that specify proactive disclosure in regard to budgets, public services, expenditures, procurement processes and prior disclosures from specific requests in line with the Guidelines of the Commission available on http://rticommission.lk/ needs to be evidenced during the coming months.

Reconciliation and the politics of forgetting 

The North and the East today is not the North and the East that was eight years ago

2018-02-02

Once in a while you come across amazing statements made by politicians and members of civil society that you just can’t pass up. Or let go. Just the other day, Northern Provincial Council (NPC) Chairman C. V. K. Sivagnanam is reported to have said at a news conference that it is futile and meaningless to continue with the ban imposed on the LTTE within Sri Lanka. Since I am no speaker of Tamil, and since even my Sinhala is at best passable, I don’t know how much was lost in translation from what Mr Sivagnanam originally spoke of. But the thrust of his arguments is clear, really: continuing with the ban is useless because those who were being banned don’t exist. This argument, logical to some, provokes me to comment.  

Words are made for scrambling. And unscrambling. Political rhetoric, on that count, is almost always malleable because it doesn’t require anyone to maintain neutrality; it’s always politically coloured, always covered in bias. Sivagnanam’s words can consequently be twisted and turned to obtain whatever meaning the harbingers of peace on the one hand and unyielding chauvinists on the other want to. Since I follow neither of these camps and since my issue with those words have nothing to do with the politics of war and peace in Sri Lanka, I will instead concentrate on what I feel to be the real implications of this statement, centring on the need for reconciliation.  

It’s easy to forget and easy to forgive. All it takes is political willpower, which we in Sri Lanka, with the current Government, don’t seem to lack as much as we did with the previous regime. But to forget and to forgive there must be a cause which compels memory and bitterness. I am not suggesting here that to ‘let go’ we need to measure the political weight of each and every statement made by each and every politician, particularly those who come from political groups which were known at one point or the other to have spoken up for those causes provoking bitter memories, but I do appreciate the fact that this statement brings me, and the country, to that difficult question as to whether, if reconciliation is premised on punishing the wrongdoer without letting him or her off the hook, selective amnesia can be the best antidote.  

Reconciliation process 

Sivagnanam states in no uncertain terms that the time has come to consider releasing all LTTE suspects in custody and to let them integrate into society. The truth is that for all its deficits when it came to the reconciliation process, the previous regime kick-started several programs aimed at integrating LTTE cadres into those very same societies that shirked them. (Which was natural, I suppose, given that many of those cadres were considered as traitors by the people who bred them, nourished them, and then sent them to war against the State.) You can argue that these programs were not conceived properly, that they were done more out of a need to obtain votes for the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government from the North and the East (but then, of course, we can argue that even the TNA does this in every feel-good statement it issues), but at a time when every political act is committed with that end in view, you can also contend that the Government at least tried to rehabilitate those cadres. Yes, at least they tried.  

Isn’t it repeating the painfully obvious when we say that the LTTE was an outfit which was undeserving of the praise and nostalgia it compels today as the ‘hegemonic’ regimes it waged a war against? Isn’t it stating what everyone knows when we say that no Government in the world has fast-tracked the processes of reconciliation and integration with respect to terrorist organisations proscribed by other countries if it was felt that fast-tracking those processes would be antithetical to the imperatives of sovereignty and autonomy that these countries privilege(d)? To be fair by Sivagnanam, he does confess that the cadres should be integrated after taking the necessary legal precautions (he doesn’t elaborate on them), but then that’s followed by an outright absolutist remark; that the LTTE must no longer be banned.  

It’s easy to forget and easy to forgive. All it takes is political willpower, which we in Sri Lanka, with the current Government, don’t seem to lack as much as we did with the previous regime

Reconciliation has its pitfalls and no one can say with any certainty that it’s the perfect antidote to a country’s ills, particular a country like ours which emerged out of a catastrophic, disastrous war a paltry eight years ago. The North and the East today is not the North and the East that was there before those eight years, but recent events (especially those as of yet unsolved incidents of swordfights and murders in broad daylight, and that street-gang going under the name AAVA) do tend to worry. If one peruses history, one can easily ascertain that two broad things compelled the rise of extremism in both the North and South; the apathy of the Government and the empowerment of alternative vigilante groups that sprang out of nowhere, but proved to be stronger than the official arms of the State in the areas they happened to operate in.  

The NPC is asking us to forget. Well, I am all for forgetting. And so are a great many Sri Lankans I know, of whatever religious and racial affiliation. But what does forgetting and forgiving really entail? Does it entail forgetting and forgiving those horrendous crimes against humanity perpetrated by the LTTE, and if so, does that act of letting bygones be bygones apply to the Armed Forces, which the likes of the NPC and the TNA and, elsewhere, the Global Tamil Forum, are adamant on bringing to a foreign court, too? If one chooses to let go of the LTTE’s past, will one be as willing, in the interests of reconciliation, to let go of the Armed Forces? Would those documentaries and docudramas financed by news agencies abroad then have been to nothing, then? And if so, would all this political rhetoric over the Army being tried (even Mahesh Senanayake, a man I admire, has reiterated the need to try the bad egg soldiers who broke conventions while in the battlefield) be just that: empty rhetoric?  
UDAKDEV1@GMAIL.COM 

70 Years Of Ceremony: Decolonisation Or Re-Colonisation?

By Siri Gamage –February 7, 2018

On 4^th February, Sri Lanka celebrated 70 years of independence from Britain with elaborate ceremonies with a special guest of honour from the British Royal family. As someone born a couple of years after regaining formal independence, it is important to reflect on this event more critically and deeply.  Inevitably, topics such as the gains, losses, merits, weaknesses, strengths, challenges, changes, directions (for nation building) etc. need to be fairly and comprehensively evaluated but it is a task requiring collective efforts though recent media contributions focus on some of these aspects.  In this piece, my intent is to offer a few comments and observations on a more deep and underlying issue lingering beneath the superficial ceremonies and applicable to not only Sri Lanka but also other countries that secured independence from colonial administration during the last century. It is the issue of incomplete project of decolonisation and new forms of re-colonisation.

Sri Lankans enjoy ceremonies.  The society is organised in such a way that amidst the rough and tumble of everyday living frequently a range of ceremonies take place. Some are religious (Kandy, Kelaniya and Kataragama Perahara), others are civil, e.g. weddings, funerals, birth days. There are ceremonies associated with agriculture e.g. planting and harvesting, when laying foundations and opening of buildings and houses. There are also ceremonies to commemorate war heroes and their contributions.  Among the politically significant ceremonies, the annual independence ceremony assumes significance as the dignitaries associated with governance and administration participates along with the security forces.  Independence day ceremony in the country is organised by those holding power at a given point in time and it is another holiday –among many that Sri Lankans enjoy-for the public servants. More than in 100 countries the day is celebrated overseas in association with high Commissions and expatriate communities in the diaspora depending on the activist nature of the high commission staff. 

What actually do we celebrate?  Is it the fact that instead of White, Anglo colonial administration now we have a brown, predominantly Sinhalese administration with the support of Tamil and Muslim representatives?  Is it the fact that now we have an elected President and a broad based parliament in comparison to the State Council that existed during the late colonial period with restricted local representation? Do we celebrate the fact that higher education has been made free and broad based in comparison to the limited system of the University College and later University of Ceylon at Peradeniya that catered to the children of elite and privileged, urbane, well-to-do families? What about the ability to determine our own affairs in Sri Lankan style?  How far have we gone with that for the better or worse?

 

Have we achieved social justice and equality for those who have been neglected or discriminated by the existing socio-economic system, linguistic practices i.e. English, and cultural mores built on a hierarchical system? What about the status of women? Have they been able to progress in accessing opportunities in society or pushed them into darker corners in and outside Sri Lankan society? Have we raised our head as an independent and sovereign nation economically or have been on a slippery slope ever since we gained independence? Has the power been shared with diverse segments of the population or centralised in the hands of a few by using a political culture that has evolved to benefit the few?

What has happened to our values, culture, customs and cherished aspects of our history, social organisation and culture? Have we become prisoners of global powers or exploitative corporate entities –foreign and local- due to our inability of managing economy and society (social engineering) or are we moving ahead like other countries in the region that have made progress?  The list can go on but these are enough questions to ponder in a more systematic and informative manner with particular evaluations by those with expertise.

What this list of questions shows is that political independence can mean different things to different layers of society –other than an occasion to celebrate- and the way political management or governance is handled by the guardians of the state can either move the country forward or backward. Likewise, many questions remain unanswered if we have a deep and critical look. By all accounts, the score card for the 70 years is a highly questionable one but let me turn to the issue of de-colonisation next simply because decolonisation was supposed to follow after gaining of independence. 

Decolonisation

This is a term forgotten by those who speak about independence in Sri Lanka today. ‘As a term, decolonisation is a complicated concept to grasp. On one hand it signifies the very act of breaking free from a way of thinking, of conceptualising the world signified by oppressive power structures, that have benefited Western hegemony on behalf of the discrimination of indigenous peoples around the world. As such decolonisation represents the reclamation of lands, of languages and of the establishment of numerous self governing bodies working with and for an indigenous group from within’

 

There is a growing view among some scholars of the global south, in particular Africa, that decolonisation has not occurred to the extent that is desired by the peoples of decolonised countries or to meet the criteria of true independence. Important in the decolonisation of institutions is the social and psychological attitudes as well as the mindset of leaders in various sectors. As much as we desire institutional change for the better, social justice, respect for human rights, equality etc. if the leaders who should steer the nation in such direction are not having the necessary mindset and the comparative historical understanding, things cannot move forward. What we observe today is that the leaders of such institutions are absorbed by globalisation rhetoric and pursue corporate ideals for making profits at the expense of any social ideals with deep meanings and implications for the future. Modernist education implanted during the colonial period through powerful mechanisms with an Eurocentric bias continues to dominate our learning institutions, thinking and attitudes. This has become a graduate attribute desired by the corporate sector and some government institutions.

If gaining political independence was hard, decolonisation of the institutions of governance, social engineering (e.g. education) and important entities in the public and private sectors is even more hard as change requires consensus, change in attitudes, clear vision, strategies, monitoring and follow up. Moreover, the national leaders who inherited political power from the British and subsequently elected to office had to be visionaries like Gandhis or Mandelas with a deep understanding of the society and culture as well as its challenges and solutions in order to steer the country and its important institutions toward the goal of decolonisation along with the task of nation-building. Otherwise, the leaders who gain political power but continue with the inherited ceremonial structure of privilege and governance plus culture and symbolism can enjoy the fruits of power but drag the country toward an unknown and dangerous destination with or without intent. (As for the political ceremony itself, there are remnant elements of colonial authority. This is for the intellectuals interested in such symbolism to discern and elaborate on).

Read More

Defeat the corrupt camp of UNP, SLFP & the ‘bud’ and bring victory to JVP

February 7, 2018 by

“We ask the voters to change to cast their votes. The present corrupt administration cannot be changed without the voter changing his and her attitudes. We ask the people to use this election to utilize people’s money without any corruption for development at local council level and to give a massive boost to the programme to build a new social system after the general election in 2020. There would be various instances and deployment of various gimmicks during the next few days to create chaos to disorientate the voter. We ask the voter not to be deceived by such gimmicks but to maintain their stance and strengthen the JVP which is the only alternative for fraud, corruption and waste,” says the Leader of the JVP Anura Dissanayaka.

He said this addressing the media at a press conference held at the head office of the JVP at Pelawatta today (5th).

Speaking further Mr. Dissanayaka said, “We have come to the final part of the local government election campaign. As the JVP we have won a considerable number of victories with the people. The present election is held under a system that reflects the standpoint of the masses instead of the distorted undemocratic system compiled with the manipulation of former Minister Basil Rajapaksa in 2012.  We, as the JVP fulfilled a very special task in winning such a system for the masses in this country. This victory strengthened the democratic rights of the people.

We came forward for this election to fulfil two goals. The first is to make the people aware of the role of local government councils that are connected with the most necessary requirements of the people which have been neglected by those groups who have ruled the councils until now.  The task of maintaining maternity clinics, the road network of the local council, playgrounds, libraries as well as preserving and protecting the environment come under the local councils. However, we found that most of the citizens were not aware of these requirements. Now the public has a considerable awareness regarding this process. However, what local government councils have been doing until now is to maintain and re-maintain the roads belonging to the councils. This is done to earn a large amount of money through contracts. The JVP took the message to the people the importance of developing the local council to change this situation and make it the institute that utilizes the money earned as taxes, fines and allocations from the central government in a meaningful manner.

Our second objective was to function with a vision to develop this country that has been economically, politically, socially and culturally dragged to the rock bottom. We used the local government election as a broad ideological struggle. It is evident that the country cannot be moved an inch along the path it has been taken throughout the last 70 years. As such, we used this election campaign as a process to get a boost to make the general election in 2020 as an election that brings a massive change to the country. We have carried out a special election campaign throughout the last 1 ½ months. We have put forward the biggest number of candidates for the election as a single party. For the first time in history, we have put forward lists of candidates for Jaffna MC, Eravur, Kanthankudy, Nallur local councils.

We have also put forward our lists of candidates in a manner to promote national unity. We have also drawn the attention of the public to defeat fraud, corruption and waste that have become serious issues in the country and also taking legal action against the fraudsters and the corrupt.
We used the slogan  ‘Power to build the village and defeat corruption’ to make the people aware at local council level and to build power around it. Many other parties initially attempted to use other topics but all those slogans have been rejected and they too are making an unsuccessful attempt to pose as anti-corruption crusaders.

Mr. Maithripala Sirisena wields his blunt sword and talks about opposition to corruption. Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa says he would punish fraudsters once he comes to power. Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe has no new topic to talk about. The ‘anti-corruption’ slogan raised by the JVP has been grabbed by the corrupt. Whatever they say about corruption before the election, the JVP will mediate to build a massive people’s movement after the election. We have already laid the foundation for this broad movement through this election.

Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s main slogan when he entered the fray was the division of the country. He also said he would become the Prime Minister after the election on the 10th. Now, he has changed his slogans. He doesn’t talk about becoming the Prime Minister nor does he speaks about the division of the country. We should say this. Any movement that attempts to divide the country would be defeated by the JVP. Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa has exhausted his slogans.

Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe said he should be given the power to develop the village the ‘way he developed the country’. He says the party in power should be given power in the village as well. His party has been governing this country for three years. The country has been dragged to the brink of a precipice. Frauds and corruption have escalated in the country. If they are given the power in the village the village would be made a chew. Minister Lakshman Kiriella had threateningly said the local councils in which the UNP is not in power would not get any money from the central government. This is not Kiriella’s private assets. When Kiriella’s wife’s land at Balangoda was taken over by the Land Reform Commission, lands from Hantanne were taken as compensation. Also, he has Rs. 400 million in his fixed deposit account. When asked how he earned that money he said they were his fees for appearing in cases. We have never heard of a case he has won. However, funds are allocated to local councils not from his personal assets. It is from the central government. Just as we sent Mr. Rajapaksa home we would know how to get funds local councils. As such we ask people to bring the JVP to power to develop villages and towns.

Mr. Maithripala Sirisena’s continuous lament is asking the people to vote to prevent his party from being divided. This election is not an affair of his party. The issues in the party should be solved by the party and its central committee. The statements the President makes at present seems to hinder his campaign.

As such, all slogans of these parties have been exhausted. Also, their campaigns have become confusing. Now, they are looking for other slogans. Meanwhile, the slogan of the JVP has become popular and strong among the masses. The leaders of the UNP, the SLFP as well as the ‘bud’ encouraged frauds, corruption and waste and acted to break down the economy of the country. There is a huge gap between the aspirations of the members of these parties and eh goals of their leaders. It has been proved that frauds and corruption committed by these leaders amount to billions.

We ask the voters to change to cast their votes. The present corrupt administration cannot be changed without the voter changing his and her attitudes. We ask the people to use this election to utilize people’s money without any corruption for development at local council level and to give a massive boost to the programme to build a new social system after the general election in 2020. There would be various instances and deployment of various gimmicks during the next few days to create chaos to disorientate the voter. We ask the voter not to be deceived by such gimmicks but to maintain their stance and strengthen the JVP which is the only alternative to fraud, corruption and waste.” 

70 Years of Independence | Cassandra Faye Van-Heer

02/07/2018

What does it mean to be Sri Lankan?

70 years after independence, our identity is defined mostly along majoritarian lines, which can be traced back to the divisions created under British rule. These divisions have contributed to violence and war, in the years since 1948.

To this day, there are communities who feel that what is commonly projected and defined as the Sri Lankan identity does not reflect their reality, or themselves.

Looking at this, Groundviews produced a series of videos exploring identity and belonging in a country emerging from war, but not yet out of conflict.

Cassandra Faye Van-Heer talks about feeling unwelcome in Sri Lanka, despite calling it home. She recounts the discrimination her family members faced in the past, reflective of their experiences of the Burgher community in the wake of the Sinhala Only Language Act.

Editor’s Note: To view earlier videos in the series, click here, here and here. Click here for more content around Sri Lanka’s 70th Independence Day. 

Action against ex-CJ Mohan Pieris: BASL expresses concern

2018-02-07

The Executive Committee and the Bar Council of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) in a statement issued today said it had unanimously resolved to view with grave concern the initiation of criminal proceedings against former Chief Justice Mohan Pieris PC and Justice A.H.M.D. Nawaz, who is a sitting judge of the Court of Appeal, apparently on the basis of professional advice given by them, in their former capacities as Attorney General and Deputy Solicitor General respectively.

"While we do not in any way intend to obstruct or interfere with the course of Justice or the right of Law enforcement institutions to carry their functions, our concern stems not from the stand point of the individuals concerned, but as a matter affecting the BAR, the independence of the Judiciary, rule of Law and the interests of the public at large.

"It is a trite proposition that an opinion tendered by Counsel alone cannot form the basis of criminal proceedings against them. We wish to emphasize that if Counsel are vulnerable to criminal proceedings in respect of such they would not be able to discharge their functions untrammelled by the threat of criminal action.

"We also wish to stress that unless a charge against a judge involves any moral turpitude such will not in any way undermine the confidence the BAR has in the Judge concerned," the Bar Association said.

Auditor General drops bombshell

By Chathuri Dissanayake-Thursday, 8 February 2018

Government institutions have engaged in continuous “window dressing” of financial records to underreport national debt and bypass borrowing limits imposed by debt management regulations, Auditor General Gamini Wijesinghe revealed yesterday.

Taking the balance sheet of the Finance Ministry as an example, Wijesinghe said data presentation has been manipulated to avoid presenting the total amount under ‘Consolidated Fund – Accumulated Deficit’.

“If you go through the balance sheet of the Finance Ministry, you will see what we call balance sheet window dressing, they have presented in the balance sheet in a way that we cannot get a true reading, to give a positive,” he said.

“Although there is a line in the balance sheet called ‘Investment on Borrowings’ they have already accepted in writing that there is no such account. It is a dummy account,” he said.

Auditor General has given a qualified opinion on Finance Ministry final accounts from years 2013 to 2016. To bypass the regulation in Fiscal Management (Responsibility) Act imposing a ceiling on national debt to be 80% of GDP, officials in the previous government kept loans out of the balance sheet of the Finance Ministry, and instead instructed different institutions to obtain loans individually.

“During that time the Finance Ministry secretary advised the officials, secretaries of ministries to keep certain loans out of the balance sheet. Even certain loans which were not possible to be kept out of Finance Ministry balance sheet were transferred to other institutions which is illegal,” Wijesinghe said.

The practice has led to lack of records and proper monitoring of loans taken, said Wijesinghe adding that Government is not able to assess exactly how much debt Sri Lanka is in at the present.

“It is such a mess that, if we start to clear the mess now, maybe in about ten years we will be able to get a proper idea,” he said.

“Some loans we don’t even know if they have been paid in full or not, as we have been paying instalments and interest but proper records have been kept.

To date the Auditor General’s Department has identified loans amounting to Rs. 826 billion which have been taken off the balance sheet in the Finance Ministry balance sheet, when the total loans payable as per 2016 was at Rs. 8861 billion. This includes the Rs. 116 billion loan taken to finance Mattala Airport construction, three loans taken to finance construction of Hambantota phase I, II and extra work amounting to Rs. 142 billion and Norochcholai power plant phase I and II Rs. 166 billion.

Apart from this, the Road Development Authority has debt totalling to a staggering Rs. 136 billion while the Pensions department owes Rs. 37 billion. Last year alone, the Pensions department has paid Rs. 1.4 billion as interest, but has no record as the unit does not maintain a balance sheet, Wijesinghe said. 

“This is all we can say now, there are loans totalling to trillions, which we will uncover as we go on. The main one is the bond. The Finance Ministry does not record the face value of the bond issued, but when it matures we have to pay the amount. But this is not in our records now, and it is difficult to rectify this immediately,” he said.

The gravity of Sri Lanka’s indebtedness is heightened as the asset base has not grown in-line with the increase in national debt over the years. According to Central Bank figures, loans payable as at 2017.11.30 are Rs. 10 trillion while Finance Ministry records a total national debt of 8.860 trillion as at 2016.12.31. But the assets base has only grown to 1.1 trillion, according to Finance Ministry balance sheet as at 2016.12.31.

“It is a grave concern that the assets have not grown compared to the growing debt. It is ok to obtain loans as long as it is invested well and not used for recurrent expenditure. But we see that the loans have been used to cover budget deficit and for recurrent expenditure,” the Auditor General said.

Wijesinghe also highlighted that the investments recorded each year has been lower than the loans taken the same year. The investments have included social welfare expenditure awarded to government institutions and provincial authorities, which according to him are recurrent expenditure items. This increase is reflected in the increase in per capita debt to Rs. 417,913 in 2016 from Rs. 124,711 in 2006, he said.

Secretary mafia blocks Audit bill: AG

The Auditor General yesterday slammed the “secretary mafia” for delaying the awaited audit bill, which has been over a decade in the working.

“The audit bill is being blocked by the Ministry secretaries, the highest ranking mafia group in Sri Lankan Government service. They do whatever they need, and what will be a benefit for them. If they see anything as a challenge for them, then they won’t do it. When they read the audit bill they feel that it is an attack on themselves, the secretary thinks what will happen to himself and that is why he is trying to change those sections,” said Auditor General Gamini Wijesinghe.

The bill has shuttled between offices and has under gone amendments over 24 times, he said, adding that the Auditor General Department has come to a compromise with the requests made by the secretaries who also the designated Chief Financial Officers in the Ministry.

Wijesinghe also highlighted that the Audit Commission, which was established through the 19th amendment, is inactive without the Audit bill being passed through the act.

“I have repeatedly highlighted this to the Government. All I can do is to inform them of the situation and suggest that we prevent expenditure associated with the commission as it is unable to function without the act being implemented,” he said.

Justice Dilip Nawaz charged with corruption

February 7, 2018, 10:19 pm 

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption has filed corruption charges, before the Colombo Chief Magistrate, against a sitting Judge of the Court of Appeal (Dilip Nawaz) and a former Attorney General and Chief Justice, Mohan Peiris. Any ordinary human being, who does not know the intricacies of the various connotations to the meaning of corruption, as found in Section 70 of the Bribery Act, may rush to the conclusion that they had been involved in corrupt activities such as accepting bribes from some person so that he could avoid legal action.

Mr. Peiris is now in retirement and very few people have access to him. Justice Dilip Nawaz, who is the Second most Senior Judge of the Court of Appeal, who may be junior only to Justice Deepali Wijersundera. He is now facing a very serious charge under the Bribery or Corruption Act. It is important for people to know what is spelt out in Section 70, which is an amendment introduced in 1994. "Any public servant, who when notified, cause wrongfully or un-lawfully loss to the Government, or conferred a wrongful or un-lawful favour or advantage on most or any person, or has knowledge of any wrongful or un-lawful favour or benefits to be accrued on any person

a. does or forbears, to do any act by virtue of his office as a public servant,

b. includes any other public servant to perform or refrain from permitting any act, with such other public servant to do as virtue of his office as a public servant.

c. uses any information to his knowledge by virtue of his office as a public servant, participates in the making of any decision by virtue of his office as a public servant, or induces any other person by the use, where directly or indirectly of his office, and as such, a public servant performs or refrains from performing any act, should be guilty of an offence of corruption and should, upon summary trial and conviction by the Magistrate, be liable for imprisonment of a term not less than ten (10) years, or a fine of Rs.100,000 or both, such imprisonment and fine.

The legal fraternity was aghast as they knew Justice Nawaz was a good Judge, with an excellent temperament and exceedingly skillful in writing judgments. When you exhibit such extraordinary skills and is discovered by the Head of the Department, the Head would make use of the knowledge of that person for his good use and make use of him to do many tasks that another contemporary, senior- junior lawyer would not have been able to do.

Mr. Nawaz, who came from Batticaloa, as a young intern, met me for the first time when I was the Secretary of the Bar Association, at a time when Justice Mark Fernando and the Asia Foundation introduced a system, which was very popular in the US, a ‘Court Clerk System’. It benefitted the apprentice or an intern, very junior in position, to work with a Judge, especially to maintain his diary, to do research on various case laws and help the Judge with the authorities. In turn, the Judge would, teach him all aspects of the legal profession, especially etiquettes and the Supreme Court Rules. The Asia Foundation, in the year 1992, paid every such Court Clerk, Rs.500/= a month. This was a boon to the apprentices and was resoundingly successful. Justice Mark Fernando, whom I consider to be one of the greatest Judges of Sri Lanka, was specially inclined to help junior lawyers who came from the outstation schools and who did not have friends or relations in Colombo. These juniors found it very difficult to get into the Chambers of a Senior, as most Juniors who came from Colombo had an elitist background and enough and more Senior Lawyers, from whom they could learn their basics in the legal profession. But, others who came from the villages were stranded. Justice Mark Fernando, I know, had personally talked to the Senior Lawyers to accommodate some of the juniors who were not so well connected.

It was he who initiated this scheme and even obtained funding from the Asia Foundation. Over a hundred apprentices were sent to various judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and even to the District Court. As the Secretary of the Bar Association, I interviewed these students and allocated them, according to their ability, to various judges. The most important place of course, was reserved for Justice Mark Fernando. Dilip Nawaz, as a young apprentice, who hailed from a remote village in Batticaloa, interested me so much that I decided to send him to Justice Mark Fernando. Justice Mark Fernando, whenever he met me, complimented me on having sent him such a brilliant young man. He was quite surprised to know that such brilliance could be found even in such remote villages in Batticaloa. From that day onwards, Justice Dilip Nawaz had only one way ahead and that was to forge ahead with his knowledge and learning.

He later joined the Attorney General’s Department and soon out-shadowed his contemporaries. I am not quite astonished that even my friend, the former Attorney General, C. R. de Silva, made use of him to write opinions and to do legal research. When Mr. Mohan Peiris was appointed to the Attorney General’s Department, he soon found out about the extraordinary ability of Dilip Nawaz and took DSG Nawaz to Geneva, as a member of his entourage to fight against the European Union, which accused the Sri Lankans of war crimes and wanted us to stop the war. Some even urged that sanctions be imposed against our country. Whenever some difficult question came, it was Dilip Nawaz who would immediately type the response on his computer and send it to his peers. This created an alliance between Mohan Peiris and Dilip Nawaz.

Sri Lankan society breeds upon lies, hatred and jealousy. This is true especially amongst the elitist, educated society. The middle-class and the upper middle-class were the worst scoundrels, who would not sleep unless they are of the knowledge that their best friend is in deep trouble. My good friend and mentor, Mr. Douglas Amarasekera, once described this class as an utter rotten fruit. He said the West and other civilized nations are ripe fruits and even the barbarians and the savages, who live in the darkest Africa, are green fruits, as one day they will become ripe. But we have from green fruit a metamorphosed into rotten fruit. Today, it seems to have spread to every nook and cranny of our society. Naturally, the rise of Dilip Nawaz was hated by a few of his own colleagues in the Department. They constantly conspired against him. As long as Mohan Peiris was the Attorney General, they could only write to a particular website which attacked Nawaz regularly.

At the last meeting of the Bar Council, Upul Jayasuirya, PC, the former President of the BASL, who was mainly responsible of ousting Mohan Peiris from the post of Chief Justice and bringing in Shirani Bandaranayake and appointing her as the Chief Justice, for one day, which was a totally unconstitutional act, rose up in defense of Mohan Peiris.

In the meantime, the most unbiased President we had for a long time, Mr. U.R. de Silva, PC, along with Mr. Ali Sabry, PC, who has won the admiration of all members of the Bar Council, as soon as they heard the news, decided to call an Emergency Meeting of the Executive Council of the Bar Council to decide what course of action they should take.

In the meantime, when this news was leaked out, His Lordship Justice Nawaz was attending a conference at the invitation of the Indian Government. He got to know this news when several of his colleagues and friends telephoned him from Sri Lanka. The moment the news was out, some sections of the Attorney General’s Dept., who had been a conduit to the aforesaid website were elated. When there was a question that was bandied about how an opinion could be tantamount to corruption, the answer was many fold.

The claim that this opinion was brought to the notice of the Attorney General, who directed that disciplinary action be taken against Nawaz was later found to be absolutely false.

The other story was that Deputy Solicitor General Nawaz, knew in advance that the Secretary to the Minister of Power & Energy would be seeking the advice of the Attorney General and he (Justice Nawaz), in order to prevent the request letter, tendered to the Attorney General’s office, from being opened because of the correspondence notes on an inquiry and on a file, which had been already opened, would get into that file; which in turn would prevent the motive of Mohan Peiris to send back an opinion to stop criminal proceedings. Accordingly, in order to achieve that end, DSG Nawaz was supposed to have waited near the door expecting the letter to be delivered and it was then taken by him and the impugned order followed.

This was concocted by the decadent imagination of a besmirched brain in the Attorney General’s Department to frown upon his colleague’s brilliance. There was nothing in the summary of evidence to show that any of these pieces of gossip were true.

The Legal Profession and the Bar Association is very concerned about the fact that the mere opinion of the Attorney General, which may be wrong like the other opinion of the Attorney General that the President had six years to conclude, could be the subject matter of an inquiry under Section 70.

The senior most President’s counsel, who had examined the indictment, was of the view that whatever opinion Justice Nawaz gave was sans any moral turpitude and therefore, he cannot be subject to a bribery charge.

The only recourse available to the former Chief Justice Mohan Peiris and Justice Nawaz is to move the Supreme Court with a writ and squash the findings. The Bar Association has already announced, that in the event of such an action being taken, the Bar will either intervene or appear as observers, to ensure that justice is done.

UDAYANGA’S MONEY LAUNDERING BARED

Thursday, February 8, 2018

As police officers and senior prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Department race to finalise preparations to travel to Dubai and repatriate former Ambassador Udayanga Weeratunga to Sri Lanka, more information is coming to light about Weeratunga’s involvement in alleged money laundering into Sri Lanka.

Weeratunga, an accused in the 2006 “MiG deal” in which the Air Force was cheated into paying US$ 14.7 million into a shell company controlled by business associates of Weeratunga, was placed in immigration detention in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, February 4.

Immigration officers discovered that his passport had been invalidated for travel by the Department of Immigration and Emigration pursuant to a court order.

According to documents filed with the Supreme Court, an independent money laundering investigation conducted by the CID has revealed that Weeratunga has received wire transfers in a value in excess of US$ 4.1 million from companies and bank accounts including Cyprus, Panama, Russia, Latvia, Marshall Islands, Belize and the United Arab Emirates.

A CID affidavit said that investigators suspect that some of these entities “do not engage in licit business activities (generally referred to as shell companies)”, and that the reasons given for these bank transfers included payments to him for software development, building materials, rent and for tea, while others gave no reasons for the transfer.

The investigating officer further affirmed that she believes that the bank accounts of Weeratunga contained proceeds of unlawful activities conducted by the former ambassador. Investigations by the CID and FCID have not revealed any involvement by Weeratunga in the fields of software development or building materials, nor any payments from Weeratunge to entities involved in software development or building materials, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation.

The FCID claims that Weeratunga was complicit in the forgery of the contract for the MiG deal, and that he conspired with individuals in Singapore and Ukraine to mislead the Air Force into paying US $14.7 million for goods and services, where the Ukrainian government supplier says they received only US$7 million.

The whereabouts of the remaining US$7.7 million are unknown, and are the subject of a wide ranging asset tracing and recovery investigation underway by both the CID and FCID. 

How public policy failures have led to corruption

 

2018-02-08

Sri Lanka has ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption. However, in 2016, Sri Lanka ranked 95 in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), dropped down the rank by 12 slots when compared to 2015, a report released by Transparency International said. The report indicated that high levels of perceived public sector corruption prevails throughout the country. 

The current Government assumed power sporting the slogan that corruption would be eliminated. Yet, it’s hard to see effective measures being taken by the current authorities in order to prevent corruption by promoting transparency through effective implementation, enhancing a healthy environment for civil society to operate in and enacting codes of conduct for public servants.

 
The civil society is repeatedly demanding the Government to punish the corrupt by immediately adopting a zero-tolerance policy regarding corruption in public services, pursuing prosecutions and enforcing the law without further delay. 

Former Head of the Sociology Department at the University of Colombo, Prof. Siri Hettige opined that the growing inequality, persistent poverty and the exclusion of the most vulnerable have worsened over time due to the alarming corruption issues in Sri Lanka. He stated that it’s essential for the country to achieve sustainable and equitable development by addressing real needs of the people, but mismanagement due to corruption prevents us from doing so. 

According to him, unequal development, unsustainable consumption, poor governance and increasing inequality are the main courses and consequences of corruption

According to him, unequal development, unsustainable consumption, poor governance and increasing inequality are the main courses and consequences of corruption. Corruption is prevalent in all areas of public life. As a result, we are unable to solve critical problems faced by the wider public, he said. 
Abusing positions   

Corruption is basically abuse of power or position, whatever that position is, to make private gains and benefits. It may be petty corruption or manipulation of the whole financial system. If everybody is trying to use their positions and trying to take something that is not theirs, there would be anarchy, lawlessness and injustice in the country, he opined. 
He added that the whole discussion regarding corruption is two dimensional. The first is the legal dimension where emphasis is on the need to enforce the law and strengthen the legal institutions as a remedy. Some see corruption as a moral issue which should be morally condemned by naming and shaming those who are involved in it. 

He further remarked that both the above mentioned approaches are limited in terms of their impact. “It is the sad truth that corruption in this country has become endemic and pervasive. It has also penetrated the entire socio-economic, political and cultural systems in the country. No one has been spared, he said.    Corruption is present even in religious establishments. There is corruption in the law enforcement sector and the business world. Corruption has made significant inroads in politics, public service and also in academia. 

“It is hard to pinpoint a certain group of people as entirely responsible for corruption. When a cancer has spread across your body, you cannot remove one part of the body and save the rest because the damage has already been done to the whole body. People need to understand why it happened in that way, pointed out Prof. Hettige. 

He stressed that the authorities should take a rational and scientific approach towards addressing the corruption problem.
 
Failed leaders

Asked how the previous Governments have failed to take the necessary steps, he replied that none of the leaders has been able to manage public affairs in this country in a rational manner over the past several decades. Politicians have taken the upper hand in all decision making and others have been sidelined. The result has been ad hoc decision making, with no effort been made to develop and implement policies based on scientific evidence. 

“The economy in this country has not been managed well. The authorities have just let the economy evolve on its own according to the market forces without any state management. People are forced to do anything to increase their income, in order to cope with growing economic and social pressure caused by poor governance, he said.
 
Had we adopted a policy of zero tolerance during corruption, like Singapore, we would have arrested this crisis earlier, Prof. Hettige said. “In the early 1970s, there was so much intolerance of corruption on the parts of some of the leaders at that time. But, this situation has changed since the late 1970s.
 
“The successive Governments in the recent past didn’t manage the development sector in a systematic fashion. The country needs strong productive sectors. Otherwise, the country cannot produce basic necessities of the people. For instance, if the agricultural sector isn’t strong enough, it isn’t going to produce agricultural goods in order to meet the peoples’ requirements for food. The same is true with industrial production,” he added.   

He was of the view that Sri Lanka now has a stagnant agriculture sector and a weak industrial sector

He was of the view that Sri Lanka now has a stagnant agriculture sector and a weak industrial sector. He said that the people have been moving away from these two sectors and are increasingly concentrated in the services. In fact, there are too many people in some services such as transport, retail trade and education. 

“The financial sector is bloated. Many companies import stuff from other countries without producing anything within the country, he said. But, ironically, they receive awards for their so-called innovativeness. 

Speaking on the health sector, he emphasised that coherent public policies based on evidence should be developed and implemented in order to overcome health problems of the country. 

When it comes to the transport sector, there are many problems that aren’t addressed. The number of vehicles has increased exponentially in recent years calling for continuous expansion of the road network. The Government needs to take bold decisions to solve these problems, he said.    In conclusion, it’s necessary to emphasise that no amount of moralising is going to help arrest the present trends in corruption, he stated. 

“As long as our Governments refuse or fail to adopt sound, long- term measures to solve economic and social issues, more and more people will be tempted to rely on illegitimate ways to achieve their life goals. A clear case in point is transport. As long as public transport continues to be in its present sorry state, more and more people will be forced to earn enough money to buy their own vehicles,” he added.   

Need For Immediate Enactment Of The Animal Welfare Bill

By Avanthi Jayasuriya –February 7, 2018

Last year witnessed an escalation in the incidents of animal cruelty in Sri Lanka, ranging from the culling of strays and the culling of elephants. While the cruelty prevails, there remains a marked lacuna in terms of the laws and regulations that govern issues related to animal welfare in the country, causing the perpetrators to go unpunished and victims to be left without justice. Moving forward in 2018, it is imperative and timely to reflect on the current status of the long overdue Animal Welfare Bill.

Existing legislation relating to animal welfare

In Sri Lanka, the legislature on animal welfare is determined by the framework provided under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance of 1907. The Ordinance was last amended in 1955 and has since seen no changes. Amongst the many shortcomings of the outdated legislation, the definition of the term “animal” can be highlighted as limited and narrow. The 1907 Ordinance applies only to a domestic or a captured animal which includes any bird, fish, or reptile in captivity. Regardless of the increase in urban wildlife at present, the term has not extended its reach to incorporate urban wildlife within its parameters or punishment to offenders. It further excludes animals which are not domesticated or caged. This narrow perspective allows for very limited species of animals to be protected.

 

The concept of duty of care is another major deficiency in the Ordinance of 1907.  The concept refers  to responsible ownership of pets by their owners; the lack of which has drastic implications on the welfare of animals. Therefore, the inclusion of the concept is important in ensuring that pet owners will not abandon animals, and will act responsibly towards them by providing uninterrupted basic care. Moreover, the violation of such conduct would lead to legal prosecution and would lessen incidents of abuse at the hands of pet owners.

Status of draft Animal Welfare Bill

The need for a new legal framework to govern the issues related to animal welfare in the country was noted by many civil society organizations and as a result the new animal welfare bill was drafted in 2006 by the Law Commission, with the support of the interested parties. Almost a decade in the making, the draft bill was open for public comments under the Ministry of Rural Economic Affairs in 2015. Following the proposed changes received by the public consultation, the Cabinet approval for the Bill was received on January 13, 2016, after which the Bill was passed to the legal draftsman for the changes to be incorporated into it and for it to be drafted with the changes included. Yet, it has been over a year since the passing of the Animal Welfare Bill and the time for enactment has never been more urgent.

Recent measures taken to address animal welfare

The National Budget for 2018 had some considerations for animals and their welfare including the allocation of Rs. 75 Billion for the conversion of the zoo to an open zoo concept where the animals will no longer be caged, but be able to move around with more freedom as per international best practices. The Budget proposals also contained the restructuring of the Pinnawela elephant orphanage to be ‘Born Free-Chain Free’, initiating mahout training programmes. While these initiatives are commendable, ensuring animal welfare in the long run will fall short without a holistic legislative framework such as the Animal Welfare Bill in place which mandates the rules and regulations determining the welfare of animals.

 

Why the enactment of the animal welfare bill needs to be accelerated

In the past year, stories of extermination of stray cats and dogs within public and private premises and the culling of tuskers, cruelty towards captive elephants have become commonplace occurrences. These horrific acts of cruelty leave no doubt that it is time for more urgent and concrete action on animal welfare in the country.

Read More