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Wednesday, 25 February 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Jayashika Padmasiri
Long before this Government came to power, it spoke about corruption and bribery. In fact, the promise to stand up against corruption and bribery was one of the main slogans that propelled President Maithripala Sirisena to victory.
Soon after the new Government assumed duties, the public repeatedly saw politicians running to the Bribery and Corruption Commission with files to lodge complaints against members of the previous regime. 
It turned into such a circus that even politicians who had been accused in the past of being involved in criminal activity and scams rushed to the Bribery and Corruption Commission with files of their own.
However, nearly 50 days down the line of the 100-day program of the present regime, very little has actually happened concerning investigation of the truth behind these bribery and corruption cases. The Daily FT investigated the reasons behind the delay.
Though certain political parties and individuals were discussing and criticising the delay by the authorities concerning the ongoing investigations at the Bribery and Corruption Commission, it was the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which first expressed its displeasure over the passive manner in which the Government was handling bribery and corruption cases.
Addressing a media briefing last week at the JVP’s Media Headquarters, JVP MP Vijitha Herath said that they suspected an invisible force being behind the delay.
“The Government has failed to take any action against those accused and it was only after 40 days that it even established a committee to look into these charges. This is not what people expected from this Government. No matter how many inquires we make about this subject, for some reason the Government is not conducting these investigations properly. We would like to know what the reason is and who is behind this delay. We can’t help but suspect that perhaps an invisible external force is behind this delay,” he said.
Slow progress
Speaking further, Herath questioned why the authorities had failed to take any action against the LTTE’s former arms procurer Kumaran Pathmanathan, alias KP, against whom charges have existed for years without any investigation taking place.
“From the 100-day program, more than 43 days have passed but so far the authorities have failed to take any action in any of the major cases,” Herath added.
The United National Party (UNP) on the other hand is more optimistic in this regard. Deputy Minister of Social Services, Welfare and Livestock Development Ranjan Ramanayake, who has frequently called for investigation of cases of bribery and corruption, told the Daily FT that the newly-appointed Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe was doing a commendable job and soon the culprits would be brought to book.
“Reliable sources are saying that pretty soon a big shark will be caught as a result of the investigations. Then this will silence those people who are saying that only small fish are getting caught. However, we must understand that there is a scarcity of workers, vehicles and officers at the Bribery and Corruption Commission, which is one of the reasons causing this delay. We must remember that these investigations will take time as they need to collect evidence. For example, just because Wele Suda reveals things, we cannot arrest him without investigating. So what we are seeing at present is like a trailer of a movie and the film is still on the way,” he said.
Hidden hand?
Asked whether he believed that an external force was behind the delay, he replied that he did not think so, adding that it was during the previous regime that such forces existed. 
“There is no person to say at present not to investigate or catch our ministers or MPs in the current Government. I believe that such external forces only existed during the past regime. However, I would also like to ask the public to contact me on the hotline 0773624927 or write to my home address No. D4, MPs homes, Madiwella, Kotte and inform me about any corruption or bribery cases so that we can take steps against them,” Ramanayake said.
At a press conference held last week in Colombo, the new Bribery Commission Chief Wickramasinghe said that the Commission had initiated action on 948 of the 1,600 files received by the Bribery Commission, which were piled up at the Bribery and Corruption Commission at the time of her appointment.
At this media conference Wickramasinghe also said that she would take strict action against officers of the Bribery Commission who were guilty of misconduct.
“It is our duty to create a situation of zero tolerance on bribery or corruption in the country. The first step that I would take as the Director General is to clean up the Bribery and Corruption Commission. So I ask the public to complain about the officers of the commission if they are aware of any misconduct,” Wickramasinghe said at a media conference.
Meanwhile, according to media reports, an Anti-Corruption Committee was also established in the country, headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, to investigate allegations of corruption against the previous regime.
Ministers Mangala Samaraweera, Champika Ranawaka and Rauff Hakeem, MPs R. Sampanthan, M.A. Sumanthiran and Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Democratic Party Leader Sarath Fonseka along with President’s Counsel Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne, lawyer and human rights activist J.C. Weliamuna and UNP Chairman Malik Samarawickrema are members of this committee.
2,000 complaints
According to statements by Cabinet Spokesman and Minister of Health Rajitha Senaratne, the number of complaints received by the Anti-Corruption Committee on corruption and other irregularities has topped 2,000.
An active member of the Anti-Corruption Front, Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Western Provincial Councillor Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe, who also lodged several complaints with the Bribery and Corruption Commission, told the Daily FT that the commission had its own complaints and grievances when it came to investigations.
“They do not have adequate staff or facilities and sometimes the necessary training and money required to conduct these investigations are also lacking. At the same time there is also inefficiency at the commission. For example, for the past few months, what have they actually done? Otherwise how could so many unresolved cases be piled up at the commission for so long? It was established to investigate corruption and fraud but the officials there have failed to do their duty,” he asserted.
However, Warnasinghe added: “We have heard now that Bribery and Corruption Commission employees have had their leave cancelled and are now working day and night,” he revealed.
Commenting on allegations of an external hand operating behind these investigations and delaying the process, Warnasinghe opined that there was speculation about such activities.
“There is speculation that most of the accused individuals in these cases are giving money to the Government and escaping abroad. People are also saying that the Government is collecting money with the forthcoming election in mind. The question that we have is, how can these accused people flee the country without the support of the authorities? We need this question answered by the Government,” Warnasinghe added.
How long the Government will take to resolve these issues is uncertain. Nevertheless, the people are watching eagerly and waiting to see what steps will be taken to resolve the issues at the Bribery and Corruption Commission and to judge whether corruption and bribery allegations are just a publicity stunt of the present regime.
The truth is yet to come out. During this process, let’s hope that the authorities will keep in mind the famous saying of German philosopher and poet Friedrich Nietzsche: If you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.
