Major corruption cases to grind following Presid
Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe under heavy fire; UNP takes unanimous decision for his removal, but minister remains defiant Sirisena advice on Consulta
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) ministers launched their own drive last Wednesday to woo the business community as they moved for an increased role in economic development. It came just 24 hours after the Cabinet of Ministers approved a recommendation by President Maithripala Sirisena to establish a National Economic Council (NEC) of Sri Lanka. For more than two weeks, Sirisena’s Cabinet Note had been on hold until Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who chairs the Cabinet Committee on Economic Development (CCEM), discussed the matter with Sirisena.
With that over now, ministers decided that the Secretary to the President and the Secretary to the Prime Minister would meet to formulate how the CCEM will function vis-à-vis the National Economic Council, which will become the supreme body for formulating economic policies and development. The two senior officials are expected to define how CCEM discussions and decisions would finally be channelled through the new Council.
As exclusively revealed in the Sunday Times (Political Commentary) on July 30, the NEC “will be a professionally-managed, high level, national advisory institution reporting directly to the President…” It will consist of various divisions in charge of the key economic areas related to development plans and priorities of the Government. “The NEC will make recommendations to the Cabinet of Ministers on economic policy,” Sirisena noted. Chaired by the President it will include the Premier, their respective Secretaries, the Finance Minister, Secretary to the Cabinet, Governor of the Central Bank, Treasury Secretary and Secretary to the Ministry of National Policy and Economic Affairs. Ahead of the presidential election in January 2015, Sirisena pledged to “establish a National Economic Planning Council.” He then said “it would not act on pecuniary considerations but out of love for the country.” Later, during his visit to Bangladesh in July, in his talks with Prime Minister,Sheikh Hasina, he studied their model of the NEC and how it functioned.
The new drive of the SLFP ministers was launched when each of them invited their own “stakeholders” to take part in what was termed an “evening of fellowship” for two hours at the Galle Face Hotel. The invitations were in the name of Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva as Senior Vice President of the SLFP. The idea, as one SLFP minister explained, was to have a sizeable segment of the business community backing them, much the same way they supported the United National Party. He said the President hoped to have an ongoing dialogue with them.
President Sirisena told those present that in the past he had not got directly involved in economic development activities. As a result, even the SLFP ministers were not fully involved. He said now that the NEC was being set up, the position would change. Both the SLFP and the UNP, he said, would be able to work together and move in one direction. The meeting with select invitees of the business community comes ahead of next week’s SLFP 66th anniversary sessions. After the ministerial meeting last Tuesday, Sirisena chaired a discussion with senior SLFP ministers on plans for these sessions. Also taking part was former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. It came amidst speculation that some MPs now backing former President Mahinda Rajapaksa would attend. However, ‘Joint Opposition’ leaders dismissed the report saying there was no truth.
Corruption debate
If the move to set up a National Economic Council was one of the important decisions last Tuesday, the ministerial session was not devoid of the controversy over corruption that is plaguing the ruling coalition. That the election pledges to deal with those of the previous regime were delayed, the Ravi Karunanayake saga had turned the searchlight inwards. When it came to “Any other business”, it was Sustainable Development and Wildlife Minister Gamini Jayawickrema Perera, a senior UNPer, who set the ball rolling. He said it was very embarrassing for everyone to face the public. So many promises were made to deal with corruption and now they could not go back to their electorate. His speech was to trigger off a lengthy discussion.
Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayake said there were 87 cases related to corruption pending whilst action had been taken in courts in respect of 12. He said in the coming weeks, more prosecutions would be carried out. Ravi Karunanayake, who resigned last week from the post of Foreign Minister, said he set a new political culture by quitting. There are people in the UNP whose feelings are with the Opposition. The delays in prosecuting those in the Opposition, particularly those connected to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and members of his family, some ministers noted, were inordinately delayed. Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, in a bid to ward off suggestions that it was his Ministry that was responsible for inaction, was to make clear that the Attorney General’s Department was not under his control. Moreover, setting up of Courts dedicated to dealing with only cases related to corruption, required a constitutional amendment. Both President Sirisena and Premier Wickremesinghe remained silent as the discussion continued.
Sirisena then intervened to say that he should ask Tilak Marapana, who had been a former Attorney General, for his views. It was only this week that Marapala, Minister of Development Assignments was named the Minister of Foreign Affairs replacing Ravi Karunanayake, who resigned last week amidst an alleged bribery scandal. He opined that if the Government takes up with the Chief Justice and the Attorney General the need for a High Court to devote its attention to cases involving corruption, the process could be speedier. He cited an instance where the accused in the VAT fraud case were tried before a High Court which sat daily. That was how that case was concluded in two years, he pointed out. The VAT scam case was the result of one of the biggest fraud inquiries in Sri Lanka and the documents ran into more than 4,000 pages. Senior State Counsel Bhuvanaka Aluvihare (now Judge of the Supreme Court) prosecuted whilst Tilak Marapana PC (now Foreign Minister) defended the suspects. Sirisena declared that steps should be taken towards adopting the same method.
Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka warned that the allegations of corruption were very serious and had come at a time when the Government was to face local and provincial elections. He said the Government would learn a big lesson if serious attention is not paid to the issues arising from the situation. By delaying or ignoring high profile cases, Ranawaka said, they were strengthening “unnecessary forces.” To make matters worse, the people were now thinking that they were being victimised to cover up the Government’s own shortcomings.
In fact, former President Rajapaksa said in a statement this week that “the corruption of what he called the the ‘ Yamapalana government’ comes to light in dramatic and unexpected ways. "T hey are engaged in a desperate attempt to deflect public attention by hauling members of my family to the CID and FCID. The extent of the panic in the ‘ Yamapalana government’ is evident in the shrill announcement that special courts will be established to hear cases involving the Rajapaksas. This is in complete violation of the constitutional provisions relating to the equality of all persons before the law and the presumption of innocence. Even if such a special court is set up, what is the evidence that can be placed before this court? The government claims that properties worth Rs. five billion belonging to members of my family had been seized by the state or courts of law. This is a complete falsehood…..”.
Minister Ranawaka told the Sunday Times yesterday that the Commission of Inquiry now probing the Central Bank bond scam did not have teeth, was a misconception. They (the Commission) could recommend to the Attorney General to take legal action if anyone was found to have violated the law. In such a situation, it was up to the AG to seek the help of state investigative agencies if necessary. The AG should file civil cases for the revenue loss and also recommend proper guidelines for the future, he said.
PM meets AG
Wednesday’s news briefing following the Cabinet meeting saw Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne, the official spokesperson, announcing that there would be Trial-at-Bar at the High Courts to try cases related to corruption. His own ministerial colleagues were to later contradict his assertions. He said, “If we converted one or two High Courts into Trial-at-Bar, we can have one Trial-at-Bar in the morning and the other in the evening. So, four cases could go on simultaneously. This has happened before. This, and increasing the number of High Courts don’t need any amending of the Constitution. All it needs is the approval of the Chief Justice. If the Attorney General and the Chief Justice can agree to this, it can be done. This will clear up the doubts people have as to when the thieves will be caught.”
On Wednesday, Premier Wickremesinghe held a meeting with Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya at ‘Temple Trees’ to discuss follow-up action on the ministerial discussions. Present on the occasion was Minister Rajitha Senaratne. The Premier also sought from the AG a schedule of the pending cases and how his department chose to proceed with them.
The snowballing effect of President Sirisena’s remarks at a Cabinet meeting last month that the UNP leadership stalled high profile cases involving the former President, members of his family and associates continues to reverberate. There appears to have been considerable soul searching by the party hierarchy over those responsible and what form of action should be initiated against them. It is in this backdrop that a group of UNP back-benchers supported by seniors collected signatures for a Vote of No-Confidence in Parliament on Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe. It was not only over his remarks against the Hambantota Port project with the Chinese, which he vowed to take back one day, but also covered other reasons. As revealed in these columns last week, Premier Wickremesinghe persuaded those sponsoring the Vote of No Confidence not to proceed. He said that it required approval of the Working Committee and himself as the leader of the party.
When the Working Committee, the main policy making body of the party, and the Parliamentary Group met at a joint session at UNP headquarters Sirikotha on Thursday morning, moves against Rajapakshe dominated the discussion. This time, Ashu Marasinghe MP proposed and Sydney Jayaratne MP seconded a motion to remove Rajapakshe from his portfolio as Minister of Justice. The accusations listed against him in the motion were: He failed to introduce new laws to prevent bribery and corruption in keeping with the United National Front manifesto. He failed to introduce new laws to re-acquire monies illegally gained by persons. The Minister has been criticised by the public for the failure to ensure justice to them due to the delay in hearing criminal cases. The actions of the Minister of Justice have eroded the popularity of the United National Party among the public. Hence, the motion said, the UNP Working Committee and the UNP MPs have lost confidence in Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe.
There is little doubt that it was Rajapakshe’s responsibility, as the Minister of Justice, to have enforced some of the promises in President Sirisena’s pledge for a “Compassionate Government and a Stable