Weliamuna bids farewell

FOLLOWING is the farewell speech delivered by J.C. Weliamuna, Outgoing Executive Director of TISL, on 15 December at the HNB Auditorium:

Excellencies, distinguished invitees, colleagues, members, directors and staff of the Transparency International Sri Lanka, I stand before you today, with a sense of deep humility and great pride. Having hoisted a strong TI flag in Sri Lanka, with a group of committed individuals, for almost eight-and-a-half years, at this moment, I feel like I am leaving my own family. But, I leave with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

TISL has grown during the last eight years at an exceptional speed. Let me give you a snapshot of this growth; we started with two staff members, with one programme and with an annual budget of Rs. 2 million. Today, we have a staff of 42, over 25 challenging programmes and an annual budget of almost Rs.80 million.

I feel immensely proud when I think of this expansion but humbled and grateful to note that that it is not my work alone but the work of a team – a strong and committed team. I fondly remember the early days of struggle when we had no facilities but only determination and commitment. But then, being small had its advantages – we had very few adversaries. With success and visibility came challenges.

We always believed in a critical engagement with all stakeholders. We believe that in the fight against corruption we have to join hands. We developed cordial relationships with a vital section of the Sri Lankan society, civil society, media, government, business sector, donors and diplomatic community.

It is no secret that, from time to time, we had rough times with political authorities. When I reflect on my experience at TISL, I am convinced that it is not the political leadership who tried to derail us, but a morally bankrupt coterie of political appointees who felt exposed naked under the gaze of our scrutiny of their actions.

If you ask me what message I should give to the political leadership of this country, I have many, but the first would be to take cognisance of these corrupt individuals who mislead the political leadership for their personal gain. Let us not forget that thieves cannot advise their masters not to rob but to rob more and share the ill-gotten wealth.

On the eve of my departure, I am often asked why I am leaving TISL and I think I should answer this question today. I have just three simple explanations:

There is a need to have a full time Executive Director who has higher capacity to manage the organisation in its next phase.

An organisation should not be a victim of the founder.

As often said, when you want to leave an organisation, you must leave when people are asking why are you leaving and not at a time when people begin to ask ‘why aren’t you leaving?’.

Have no mistake that it is not due to any pressure that I am moving out. I quite enjoyed taking up challenges and will never bow down to pressure or strong arm tactics. That is how I was brought up from my childhood by my parents, who are now not with me, and that was the environment I was brought up in my village – Walasmulla in the Hambantota District. I must say straight away that I am not going into retirement in public or professional life or within the TI global movement.

To me, my years at TI were fulfilling and satisfactory. The tremendous support I received from within and from outside cannot be summarised in few words. From the day one, we received cooperation and commitment from many.

Firstly Gopa from TI Secretariat and then after he moved out from there, from wherever he was. Several public institutions, the donor community and foreign missions always had many open discussions and cordial relationships with us. Media, the CBOs, critical civil society organisations stood with TISL at critical stages. The Board Members and staff present, and past, all did their duty and stood firm and unshaken. I remember them fondly and with a deep sense of gratitude.

If we achieved any success, the entire team of TISL, past and present, should be congratulated for it. If there is anything that I can say loudly in few words now – I would say that I had a great team, who knew exactly what our dreams are!

I was the first staff member and second was Anushika, whom I remember not only as a colleague but also as an unforgettable companion in the anti corruption journey. I appreciate the hard work of Rukshana, the first Deputy ED, who left TISL to join the TI Secretariat, whose capacity to work is unmatchable. I am sure you are not here to listen to a long speech of mine with a list of names. I have many more names – but for time constraints, let me just say a humble thank you from my heart.

TISL is extremely fortunate in many aspects and we have many success stories. I can say without hesitation that having Dr. Wijaya Jayatilaka as the new ED is yet another success of TISL. The Board, staff and I are convinced that TISL will move on strongly under the new leadership. The Board members, staff and I join you today to welcome Wijaya, who will lead the TISL to meet the aspirations of those who want to eradicate corruption from this soil.

Let me share with you a revelation, which I have not spoken in public so far. When my house was bombed on 27 September 2008, our family had to move into a safe house. While we were there, my colleagues, well-wishers and friends made a request to me to consider leaving Sri Lanka for safety. I have no doubt that those requests came from bottom of their hearts to save our lives. My wife Subodhya and I, with our kids on our laps, discussed this request seriously and decided not to leave the country for three reasons. Let me share with you these reasons:

My wife and I have come from very remote villages. We have had probably the best education we could in Sri Lanka simply because of the free education we had. We thought we have a moral duty to remain and repay what we got from our country.

The staff, board, members and friends of TISL, TI movement, and national and international human rights defenders were most concerned about my safety. There were spontaneous protests by civil society groups against bombing on my house – there were demonstrations of lawyers and civil society groups. There was an unprecedented condemnation on the attack. What is the message I am giving to them, if I were to leave the country?

Thirdly, I know that those who cannot defeat our commitment and principles wants to kill us or to send us away. I was not prepared to compromise with the cowards and clowns.

On reflection on my experience at TISL, I know that no one is perfect and I may not have been the best individual who could have led the TISL. Let me apologise to all of you for any lapses on my part, which, if any, would certainly have happened quite unintentionally. I recall with gratitude the support I received from the diplomatic community, civil society, media, innumerable number of individuals and institutions.

Ladies and gentlemen, you and I are here today not only because you are invited for this event, but also because you and I share a dream – a dream of having a country without corruption. To accomplish this common dream, TISL can certainly play the lead role. For that, as the outgoing ED, I humbly request your continuous support for TISL and particularly for the new ED Wijaya.

Have a nice evening and looking forward to being in touch with you.

Thank you and goodbye, until we meet again.