Public servants beware

As the Chinese fertiliser imbroglio continues with no resolution in sight, the Prime Minister’s Media Unit released a remarkable statement recently. The statement claimed that the Secretary to the Prime Minister Gamini Senarath wished to inform the public that although he was related to one of the directors of the local agency that imported the disputed soil from China, he had nothing to do with the company concerned and its business activities.

Naturally such assertions by the Secretary to the Prime Minister might have been more credible if the individual concerned had a pristine record of financial integrity during his career in the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS). Unfortunately, memories of the misdeeds by these personalities now back in control of the levers of the State. In most cases, these officials have been willing enablers – and in some cases beneficiaries themselves – of corruption and financial misappropriation by their political masters. At a time when corruption seems rampant and the culprits appear to be getting away scot-free, it is essential to remind the public officials that they may not be immune or invincible from accountability in the future.

In less than two years, it has become blatantly clear that the current administration is one of the most corrupt in Sri Lankan history. The financial crimes of the regime range from its highest echelons to its lowest ranks, from the import of sugar to transferring national assets. In the Sri Lankan administrative system, it is the secretary to a ministry that is its chief accounting officer, responsible for the finances of the institution. This is the same for the Presidential Secretariat, the Prime Minister’s Office and all other Government institutions including provincial and regional councils. It is therefore impossible for politicians to circumvent the financial regulations that have been established through statute without the active participation of government servants who are responsible for finances at each institution.

If public servants who have enabled corruption are held to account, even jailed for financial misappropriation, the bureaucracy would be less inclined to participate in corruption in the future. But what recourse is left when public servants convicted by the country’s courts for financial misappropriation or facing corruption investigations by law enforcement agencies are released from those charges once their political masters are back in power? With that assurance available, what real hope remains to hold the bureaucracy truly accountable?  

In just the past two years since President Gotabaya Rajapaksa assumed office and the 2005-2015 ruling party was restored to power, former Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga and then Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) Anusha Palpita who were found guilty of corruption and sentenced to three years in prison, won their appeals against the convictions. Incumbent Secretary to the President Dr. P.B Jayasundera was once barred from ever holding public office again by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. That order has been reversed, and today Dr. Jayasundera holds office as the most senior public official in the country. All these individuals were members of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service, the once prestigious civil service which once adhered to the highest ethical standards.

Today, public officers who should be serving out prison sentences for corruption have once more been put in charge of the State machinery and ministerial coffers. While it is true there is little chance that corrupt officials will ever really face justice and accountability for their actions, it is also true that despite the façades of respectability, the people of Sri Lanka recognise these individuals for who they truly are. Their families will be tainted by that stigma for generations. The ill-gotten funds are cursed by a people who have been robbed. 

As the suffering of average Sri Lankans increases due to the ruling party’s gross economic mismanagement and the failure of its political leadership, the resentment against the ruling classes who have robbed the people’s wealth with aplomb and impunity will only increase. The clamour for justice against the financially corrupt will also resume in earnest. 

The Pandora and Panama Papers revelations have shown that the world has learned to better locate ill-gotten wealth by political and corporate players all over the globe. Even if the corrupt escape justice locally, there is a good chance they will face criminal proceedings internationally for money laundering and other financial crimes that transcend national borders. It is therefore imperative that public officials enabling the current wave of corruption take stock and reflect on the consequences for their own future. Truth and justice will not be buried forever.