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Editorial

Sinners stoning sinners

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Monday 27th November, 2023

The SJB has commenced collecting signatures for a public petition as part of a campaign to have those who are responsible for the current economic crisis stripped of their civic rights. Given public resentment, which is palpable, the SJB may be able to obtain hundreds of thousands of signatures for its petition, but the chances of its political venture yielding the desired results are remote; the Rajapaksas and their cronies are controlling Parliament. The SJB seems to be thinking that the ongoing campaign will help it gain some traction, but that move could turn out to be counterproductive because the Opposition politicians are not free from blame for the economic crisis.

The SLPP leaders are directly responsible for the country’s bankruptcy. The Mahinda Rajapaksa government indulged in wasteful expenditure, invested heavily in vanity projects, and did precious little to prevent the misappropriation of public funds. Corruption became the order of the day under that regime. The Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration totally mismanaged the economy, ruined the agricultural sector with its disastrous organic farming experiment and the ill-conceived blanket ban on agrochemicals, resorted to excessive money printing, did not make a serious effort to arrest the rapid depletion of foreign currency reserves and refused to seek international assistance to straighten up the economy until it was too late.

All SLPP MPs including those who have broken ranks with the government must be held accountable for the current economic crisis; even the dissidents among them supported the wrong policies of the Gotabaya administration until they fell from grace. Similarly, besides those who, the Supreme Court has said in a recent judgement, contributed to the current economic crisis, there are many others who made a tremendous contribution to the country’s bankruptcy, which was the culmination of a process that lasted for years under successive governments.

The SJB parliamentary group members who were in the Yahapalana government, which consisted of the UNP, the SLFP, the SLMC, etc., cannot absolve themselves of the blame for the current crisis. The UNP-led UNF administration did not care to reduce public debt. Instead, it slashed fuel prices and granted unusually high pay hikes to the public sector workers with the view to winning the 2015 general election. It neglected national security, and failed to prevent the Easter Sunday carnage, which entailed an enormous economic cost besides claiming more than 270 lives. The 2019 terror strikes, which crippled tourism, adversely impacted the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

The SLPP keeps saying that the Yahapalana government (2015-2019) worsened the national debt by borrowing USD 12.5 billion in sovereign bonds; nearly USD 7 billion were raised in just 15 months from early 2018 to mid-2019; out of that amount only USD 2 billion had been settled by the end of 2019. It will be interesting to see what the UNP, and its offshoot, the SJB, have got to say to this. Besides, the Yahapalana government allowed its cronies to enrich themselves at the expense of the economy. The Treasury bond scams are a case in point.

Above all, no less a person than Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has revealed that the abolition of the Exchange Control Act No 24 of 1953 owing to the introduction of the Foreign Exchange Act No 12 of 2017 has stood unscrupulous exporters and other such elements in good stead. Most export proceeds are not repatriated, Minister Rajapakshe has said, adding that according to his information some exporters have hoarded about USD 56.5 billion offshore.

SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva has, in a recent television interview, sought to dispute Minister Rajapakshe’s claim, arguing that the new exchange control laws were intended to enable Sri Lankan businesses to expand abroad. But they certainly benefited racketeers more than anyone else. The new Foreign Exchange Act, inter alia, converted some criminal offences under the previous law into civil ones for the benefit of some crooks.

Thus, criminal cases that had been filed previously lapsed, and legal action was not instituted against the offenders concerned anew for obvious reasons; about 30 persons including the kith and kin of UNP and SLPP leaders are believed to have benefited from the new Act, which the SJB politicians voted for when they were in the Yahapalana government. The abolition of tough foreign exchange control laws contributed to the depletion of the country’s forex reserves and the current economic crisis.

The political parties that resorted to terrorism and/or supported terrorists are also guilty of having contributed to the ruination of the country’s economy. The economic cost of the JVP’s reign of terror in the late 1980s is hard to estimate due to the multifaceted nature of the repercussions of the mindless violence, which crippled the country. The TNA, created by the LTTE, functioned as the latter’s mouthpiece. It must also be held responsible for the damage the LTTE inflicted on the economy to the tune of billions of rupees. When the members of the current parliament accuse one another of having ruined the economy and call for punitive action, it is a case of sinners stoning sinners.



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Editorial

A welcome judgment

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Thursday 3rd April, 2025

Justice finally caught up with former North Central Province Chief Minister S. M. Ranjith and his sister-in-law Shanthi Chandrasena yesterday, when the Colombo High Court (HC), which heard a case filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) against them in 2021, sentenced them to 16 years RI for having misappropriated Rs. 2.6 million between 2012 and 2014. They were also fined Rs. 200,000 each. The HC judgment must have gladdened the hearts of all those who long for an end to corruption.

The criminal misappropriation of state funds at issue happened during the heyday of the Rajapaksa rule, which became a metaphor for corruption and abuse of power. When politicians are intoxicated with power, they become blind to the consequences of their actions, and enrich themselves as if there were no tomorrow. They usually cover their tracks, but the January 2015 regime change may have prevented CM Ranjith and his sister-in-law, who was his private secretary, from doing so. Their offence, however, pales into insignificance in comparison to what some other members of previous governments have been accused of. Unfortunately, most of those allegations have gone uninvestigated, or escape routes have been opened for the accused in some high-profile corruption cases, which were made to collapse, much to the dismay of anti-corruption campaigners and the public. Thankfully, most of those characters failed to get re-elected last year, and this is something the NPP government can flaunt as an achievement.

Another former Chief Minister––Chamara Sampath Dassanayake––has been remanded for causing a huge loss to the Uva Provincial Council by withdrawing six fixed deposits prematurely in 2016. It is hoped that all allegations of corruption, abuse of power and serious crimes such as murder against the members of previous administrations will be probed thoroughly and the culprits prosecuted expeditiously.

Corruption usually thrives under powerful governments in this country because huge majorities tend to nurture impunity. Integrity of most Sri Lankan politicians is a mere result of the unavailability of opportunities to line their pockets rather than an unwavering commitment to moral principles. Power tends to have a corrosive effect on scruples, and many self-proclaimed champions of good governance, who come to power, vowing to rid the country of corruption, end up being as corrupt as their predecessors. What we witnessed following the 2015 government change is a case in point. The ‘paragons of virtue’ in the UNP-led Yahapalana camp committed the first Treasury bond scam a few weeks after being voted into power. The present-day leaders who are campaigning hard against corruption were on a political honeymoon with the UNP at that time, and their alliance lasted until the end of the Yahapalana government in late 2019 despite very serious allegations of corruption against that administration.

There is nothing stupider than to rely on individual politicians to rid the country of bribery and corruption. They may have allegations of corruption against their political rivals probed, but it is doubtful whether they are serious about eliminating bribery and corruption. One may recall that having come to power by campaigning mainly on an anti-corruption platform, in 1994, the SLFP-led People’s Alliance government, ably assisted by several other political parties, including the UNP and the JVP, effectively deprived the national anti-graft commission of its suo motu powers, making it dependent on formal complaints to take action. Hence the need for anti-corruption laws with stronger teeth and robust institutional mechanisms to battle bribery and corruption. All existing anti-corruption mechanisms should be given a radical shake-up.

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Editorial

Another Mafia

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Wednesday 2nd April, 2025

Petrol was unavailable at some filling stations yesterday as their stocks had not been replenished in anticipation of a petrol price reduction. The government reduced the prices of petrol by Rs. 10. Long lines of vehicles were seen near the fuel stations where petrol was available. Some people delayed refuelling their vehicles until the announcement of the monthly fuel price revision, expecting substantial fuel price reductions in view of the upcoming local government (LG) elections. That too may have led to a marginal increase in the demand for fuel yesterday morning.

There have been numerous instances where speculation of downward price revisions led to fuel shortages. Fuel retailers have become a law unto themselves and do not care to maintain adequate petroleum stocks. A similar situation is bound to occur early next month as the government is expected to decrease fuel prices in view of the upcoming local government elections. So, precautions will have to be taken to foreclose such an eventuality.

There is a pressing need for stringent regulation of fuel retailing to ensure that all filling stations maintain petroleum stocks at the stipulated levels. Noncompliance should result in penalties. Previous governments gave filling stations owners kid-glove treatment for obvious reasons; it was only the businesspeople with political connections who could establish fuel stations, and some of them were family members of politicians. Those who voted the NPP into power expected their interests to prevail over those of unscrupulous businesses, such as rice millers, and fuel retailers, but sadly the status quo remains. NPP leaders flex their muscles and order pre-dawn raids on peaceful protesters just like the Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe government, but they have no qualms about kowtowing to the exploiters of the public!

Meanwhile, filling stations, save a few, have earned notoriety for various malpractices such as meter tampering and pumping in bursts. Regulatory authorities do precious little by way of conducting regular inspections and calibrations of fuel dispensers, making one wonder whether they are in league with the unscrupulous fuel retailers. The government must put its foot down and take action to safeguard the interests of the public and ensure that fuel consumers get their money’s worth without hassle.

Propaganda and reality

The NPP government has pulled out all the stops in a bid to win the upcoming local government (LG) elections. While it is leveraging everything at its disposal to achieve that end, its propagandists are claiming that it needs to have control of all local councils to be able to serve the public better. They would have the people believe that the JVP/NPP is not controlling the LG institutions at present. But this claim does not bear scrutiny.

Local councils have remained functional although they are without elected representatives. They have been under Special Commissioners (SCs). The SCs report to the Provincial Governors, who are appointed by the President. Thus, all local councils are currently under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake for all intents and purposes.

One can understand why the NPP is campaigning so hard to bag the local councils. It wants to win the mini polls and cement its impressive victories in last year’s national elections. However, the argument that unless the people vote for the NPP overwhelmingly again, enabling it to gain control of all LG institutions, it won’t be able to carry out its pledges, is flawed. That is a propaganda lie.

One may recall that the Colombo Municipal Council remained under UNP control during the UPFA and SLPP governments, but that did not stand in the way of the development of the City of Colombo. The JVP won the Tissamaharama Pradeshiya Sabha in 2002 while the UNP was controlling Parliament and Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was holding the executive presidency. Governments have to come to terms with such situations.

All signs are that the government and the Opposition will have to cooperate in many LG institutions, after the upcoming mini polls, for those councils are very likely to be hung.

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Editorial

Ground Zero of corruption

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Tuesday 1st April, 2025

New laws will be made soon to facilitate the seizure of ill-gotten assets of the corrupt, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has said at a recent NPP campaign rally. The government has chosen to crank up its anti-corruption campaign again as the local government polls are drawing near. Laws with stronger teeth to deal with corruption cannot be overstated.

Hydra-headed corruption can manifest itself in various forms at different levels, which can be individual, political, corporate, systemic and cultural. It has become extremely difficult to rid Sri Lanka of corruption because of the prevailing culture of corruption. The focus of all anti-corruption drives launched by some governments including the incumbent one has been on tackling corruption at the individual level, as evident from the cases filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption against politicians out of power and state officials.

Much is being spoken about allegations of bribery, fraud, nepotism, cronyism, embezzlement, etc., against former government leaders and their bureaucratic lackeys. There is no gainsaying that corrupt individuals have to be brought to justice, but corruption at the political party level must also be addressed. Successive governments have failed to tame the rice millers’ cartel owing to corruption. Wealthy millers have huge slush funds, part of which they dish out to political parties and politicians of all hues so that their interests will be served whoever comes to power. This quid pro quo has stood them in good stead. Curiously, even the JVP/NPP leaders who roared like lions before last year’s elections, vowing to take on the so-called rice Mafia and safeguard the interests of farmers and consumers, are now mewing.

The questionable green-channelling of as many as 323 red-flagged freight containers in the Colombo Port in January can also be considered an instance of corruption, for they are believed to have carried contraband. Big businesses bankroll election campaigns of political parties and politicians of their choice and receive favours in return. The sugar scam is a case in point. Following the 2019 regime change, the SLPP suddenly reduced the special commodity levy on sugar imports from Rs. 50 a kilo to 25 cents a kilo for the benefit of some of its financiers who had ordered a huge stock of sugar. The state coffers lost billions of rupees as a result.

The NPP government is under pressure to have former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran extradited from Singapore to stand trial here for the Treasury bond scams. Strangely, those who are out for Mahendran’s scalp have stopped short of calling for a probe to find out how the UNP benefited from the Treasury bond scams. The UNP headquarters, Sirikotha, was struggling to pay its utility bills at the time of the January 2015 regime change. But it outspent its political rivals including the UPFA in the run-up to the August 2015 general election! It is believed that the UNP benefited from the largesse of the Treasury bond racketeers.

In Sri Lanka, which is known for the weak enforcement of campaign expenditure laws and a chronic lack of accountability, headquarters of political parties are believed to be built on foundations of undeclared funds, including black money.

The SLPP repaired its headquarters in record time following the 2022 mob attacks, which inflicted extensive damage on it. Where did funds for the construction of that place and repairs to it come from? Some Opposition politicians have alleged that the JVP is the richest political party in Sri Lanka, and cast suspicion on how funds were raised for the construction of its headquarters at Battaramulla. The SLFP, which was in penury for 17 years after its ignominious defeat in 1977, enriched itself after its comeback in 1994. The SJB has also spent huge amounts of funds on its election campaigns and social welfare projects. How has it raised funds?

It is believed that political parties are the ground zero of corruption in this country, given their undeclared funds, only a part of which they spend on their election campaigns. There is a pressing need to probe the assets of these parties, whose holier-than-thou leaders embark on anti-corruption crusades to garner favour with the public. That, we believe, will be half the battle in ridding the country of corruption.

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