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By Ruwandi Gamage
A group of five Members of Parliament from across party lines came together yesterday to voluntarily publish their declarations of assets and liabilities in the public domain, and expressed hope that this would lead to an improvement in transparency.
State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne, United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara, United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Tharaka Balasuriya, United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Vidura Wickramanayaka, and Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) MP M. A. Sumanthiran were the MPs who took this step, with the aid of Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL).
State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne stated that it is time to change the people’s view that politics means corruption, and this step in making their declarations public is towards a change of the culture in politics. He further said that even though they may entertain diverse political views, one thing that is a common belief among the group that came forth to make their declarations of assets and liabilities public, is that the culture of politics must remain transparent, and not be tarnished by corruption.
“I came to politics to make a change, and I believe that many more MPs in the Parliament would definitely follow suit and take this step to be more transparent. If we take the declarations of assets and liabilities of some veteran politicians, it has not changed, and they have stayed true to their cause and their people,” Wickramaratne said.
However, Wickramaratne pointed out how a Minister’s declaration was handled by the Executive and a non-Minister’s was handled by the Parliament. Therefore, his declaration was compiled by the Presidential Secretariat, and the others were compiled by the Chief Secretary of the Parliament.
“It is my opinion that this is a tricky situation, as it gives the Executive the power to withhold the declarations of Ministers without making it public. This is a loophole in the system. Why not have declarations of assets and liabilities of all Members of Parliament handled by one authority, that would make things fairer,” he suggested.
Stating that politics is the best platform to alleviate corruption, United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara said that this is a “great historic moment” in politics, and commented that it is a courageous effort taken by them to declare their assets and liabilities in the public domain. He further said that in order to prevent corruption, it is essential to take the necessary legal actions, and making public servants’ assets and liabilities public could be the first step towards that change.
“Our country is further falling behind in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), and this is a serious reflexion about how the public money is been used,” Nanayakkara said.
According to the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities act, though any individual may obtain these declarations for themselves under the Right to Information, the information may not be shared with any others, else the individual would be liable to a Rs. 2000 fine and two years rigorous imprisonment, as it is a punishable offense by law.
United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Vidura Wickramanayaka asserted that corruption, fraud and misuse of public money has increased. Wickramanayake said it is their belief that making their declarations of assets and liabilities public would communicate to the people their honesty and transparency.
“The people has a responsibility to push their representatives to make the declarations of assets and liabilities public, and this efforts shouldn’t stop here. If we are not misusing public money, we have nothing to hide. We all have a conscience, and that will be what is with us when we die,” Wickramanayaka explained.
United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Tharaka Balasuriya stated that it is a step taken towards cutting back corruption, and as a stepping stone towards a new culture in politics, and believed that this sets an example not only for Parliamentarians, but also for Government offices and officials to be transparent about their assets and liabilities.
Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) MP M. A. Sumanthiran made his remarks, and said he hopes that more MPs will volunteer to take this action to make their declaration of assets and liabilities public, not only available to the public.
Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) Executive Director Asoka Obeysekara also spoke at the event, and stated that the MPs who came forward to unilaterally disclose their assets and liabilities are doing so because it is in the interest of the public. He further explained how it has been TISL’s longstanding position that putting information in the hands of people is the key to enhancing governance in Sri Lanka.
Pic by Ruwan Walpola
