Will anarchy prevail in Sri Lanka?

"The J.V.P who have been raising their voices against corruption and waste consistently, will join the government ranks if those guilty of corruption and waste are punished. They will make up for the loss of the UNP defectors who ought to be punished."

by Saybhan Samat in Colombo to Sri Lanka Guardian


(December, 18, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The attitude of the government and the previous government to the question of corruption has been lackadaisical and one of apathy. Obviously if these governments pursued the corrupt offenders the fall-out would have exposed their own party members.

Most recently, the government is reluctant to act on the COPE findings because the senior UNP defectors now with the government would be charged and may have to lose their portfolios and be stripped from their office of being members of parliament.

Consequently the regime will lose their majority in parliament if the UNP defectors are found guilty.

The two COPE reports divulge that corruption and waste have become a national malaise. It is obvious that there should be political will to stamp out this curse of corruption and waste. If the necessary political will is forthcoming, seemingly impossible tasks can be attempted successfully. Sri Lanka burdened by runaway corruption and waste sinks deeper into the mire everyday. What is most needed urgently is the political will to check runaway corruption and waste. The whole country is suffering on account of these two destructive trends. The authorities at whatever cost should restore discipline and punish those who violate the laws of the land.

The J.V.P who have been raising their voices against corruption and waste consistently, will join the government ranks if those guilty of corruption and waste are punished. They will make up for the loss of the UNP defectors who ought to be punished.

Unless the regime takes courageous steps to halt corruption and waste it is likely that anarchy will prevail sooner than later. One can take an example from the interim government of Bangladesh whose Anti-Corruption Commission is making a determined effort to wipe out corruption and waste in public life. Police under the orders of the interim government of Bangladesh arrested former prime-minister Khaleda Zia and her younger son Arafat Rahman on September 10 on charges of corruption and misuse of power in awarding contracts to operate two container terminals during her latest term in office as prime-minister.

In March this year the interim government arrested Tarique Rahman the elder son of Khaled Zia, on charges of extortion. Tarique Rahman is a senior leader of Zia Bangladesh Nationalist Party, is now in jail awaiting trial. Besides, Zia Khalid another former prime minister Sheik Hasina on charges of taking a bribes in return for allowing a company to build a power plant when she was in power in 1997 a police official is reported to have said. She allegedly took 30 million takes (US $435,000) from the Khulna Power company Ltd. to approve the project, Dhaka Metropolitan official Jane Alam is reported to have told media men.

Corruption and waste in Sri Lanka has burgeoned so much that it has threatened the fabrics of our lives and may cause problems even more serious than terrorism.

Bribery was an offence punishable under the Penal Code as far back as 1883 It was during the British rule that bribery was introduced as a criminal offence into the statute Book. In 1954 the Bribery Act was enacted to contain bribery in the Public service, in 1958 the Bribery Commissioner’s Department was established by Act No.40, under the ministry of Justice. In 1994 Act No. 19 created the commission to investigate allegations of bribery and corruption. The first commission commenced activities on 15th December 1994. Despite all these legal enactment, bribery, corruption nepotism and inefficiency have proliferated to monumental heights threatening the very existence of Sri Lanka. We should take the example of the interim government of Bangaladesh and fearlessly punish those found guilty of the crime of corruption, nepotism and inefficiency.

The COPE findings is an excellent landmark to start with. If the Rajapaksa government ignores this issue together with the other serious problems like down turn of the economy, daily spiralling of cost of living rising unemployment and poor human rights record these problems will snowball to such a point that there will be civil unrest and the government will be compelled to resign.