TISL urges President to introduce transparent criteria

Saturday, 27 November 2010 00:29 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) has requested The President to introduce transparent criteria to select the best possible members with high integrity to CIABOC and select fit and proper persons with high integrity and capacity as its members.

In a letter to the President TISL has said they have no doubt that Your Excellency will take serious note of this request and we at Transparency International Sri Lanka, are willing to cooperate with Your Excellency’s government in complying with the international standards in combating corruption, which will benefit the country in every aspect.

The full text of the letter is below

Let me wish your Excellency good health and strength to steer Your Excellency’s  Second Term of Office and we hope that during this term, Your Excellency would take all possible steps to establish good governance in Sri Lanka.

With the introduction of the 18th Amendment, Your Excellency is vested with authority to select and appoint members to the Commission to Investigate Allegations on Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), which is our primary anti-corruption agency. As a signatory to the International Convention Against Corruption (ICAC), Sri Lanka is under examination in 2012 and this requires our country to demonstrate its commitment to fight corruption. Invariably, the efficiency and independence of the CIABOC is extremely important in every aspect.

As the leading civil society organization working on anti-corruption, we request Your Excellency to introduce a transparent criteria to select the best possible members with high integrity to CIABOC and select  fit and proper persons with high integrity and capacity as its members.

Your Excellency, CIABOC does not have its own competent investigators capable of detecting and investigating  sophisticated frauds. CIABOC has to depend on the officers released temporarily from the Police. This is undoubtedly a hindrance for its independence and efficiency. Therefore we request Your Excellency, as the Minister of Finance and as the head of the Cabinet of Ministers,  to address the issue of financial allocation for CIABOC and ensure that  it is adequately financed to recruit a multi-disciplinary investigation team which can seriously investigate allegations of corruption independently.

We have no doubt that Your Excellency will take serious note of this request and we at Transparency International Sri Lanka, are willing to cooperate with Your Excellency’s government  in complying with the international standards in combating corruption, which will benefit the country in every aspect. This will certainly assist Your Excellency’s vision of making this country the Miracle of Asia and Your Excellency may set directions to CIABOC to set objectives of being within the top quartile in the Corruption Perception Index before the end of the current term  of Your Excellency’s Presidency.