Where’s the accountability?

The past few days have not been the greatest for those that have been proponents for the Government’s propensity for accountability. When President Gotabaya Rajapaksa came to power, there was always the very real possibility that those that had curried favour with him over the years would eventually find themselves in the clear of any potential wrongdoing going forward. But how brazen such moves would be were up for debate. After all, these were the same set of independent bodies that had successfully rebuffed a constitutional coup in 2018.

However, the latest occurrences are worrisome to say the least. The first is the incident involving Prisons Minister Lohan Ratwatte, who was alleged to have flown in a helicopter to a prison in Anuradhapura, made eight Tamil prisoners kneel, held them at gunpoint, and demanded that they confess to having links to the LTTE. Ratwatte was also allegedly drunk at the time. The allegations have seen Ratwatte resign from his post as Prisons Minister, though he still remains State Minister for Gem and Jewellery related Industries. While the initial resignation was welcome, it is incredulous that he remains a functioning member of the Government. Where is the accountability?

Then on a larger scale, there is the appointment of Ajith Nivard Cabraal as Central Bank Governor.  While many have find fault with Cabraal’s brand of economics – during his last tenure as CB Governor, Cabraal was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s investment in Greek bonds and a hedging deal, both of which had purportedly led to a collective loss to the country of nearly $ 300 million – it’s the accusations that stand unresolved against him that make his appointment as the new CB Governor particularly unnerving.

While former CB Governor Arjuna Mahendran was forced to flee to Singapore for his purported role in the 2015 bond scam – with the Sri Lankan Government still attempting to extradite Mahendran from Singapore – Cabraal, who through a forensic audit into CBSL bond transactions between 2009 and 2017 – which includes Cabraal’s previous term as Governor – has been implicated in several potential conflicts of interest, is free to take up the role again. 

While the veracity of these findings require further investigation, that they’re being brushed under the proverbial carpet, is galling to say the least. Particularly as there is the very real possibility of Cabraal in his present role as CB Governor being able to tamper with potential evidence against him.

And this does not even take into consideration the implications surrounding conflicts of interest, of a member of the ruling party taking up the role of CB Governor, a role traditionally ascribed to an independent individual sans political affiliations – even if this has not been strictly adhered to in the past, the short turnaround between Cabraal’s resignation from his ministerial portfolio and taking up governorship is striking.

So, in light of all these proverbial question marks, where is the accountability? Is there an independent Legislative or Judiciary body capable of questioning, halting or postponing, let alone putting a complete stop to, such appointments? No functioning democracy should allow for such allegations as that stand against individuals such as Ratwatte, Cabraal, and in the recent past Duminda Silva, among others, slide – lest we as a nation lose all credibility and throw away all pretext of holding those in positions of power accountable for their actions, however appalling they may be.