Bills redrafted more than 20 times, Legal Draftsman complains
The Legal Draftsman’s Department has redrafted Bills, some more than 20 times, as instructing agencies keep on changing p o l i c y, the Department has said in a report presented to Parliament.
For example, the National Audit Bill and the Motor Traffic Bill have been amended 22 times so far, the Department has said.
The other Bills amended more than ten times and are yet to be finalised include the State Land ( Special Provisions) Bill (13 times), the Land Development Ordinance ( 14 times), the General Sir John Kotelawala National Defence University Bill ( 10 times), the Sri Lanka Sustainabl e Development Bill (15 times) and the Voluntary Social Service (Registration and Supervision) Bill (11 times).
It says that, irrespective of a Bill being earlier finalised, this Department has to attend to it dedicating the same time and attention given to a fresh request.
The detection took place on November 10. Two suspects were stopped around 7 am at boarding gate 14 by Airport and Aviation of Sri Lanka (AASL) security when the money showed up on the x-ray machine near the departure lounge. Both were Malaysian nationals scheduled to leave on UL314 to Kuala Lumpur. An inspection led to the discovery of a total of US$ 100,000.
The money in Mr Jayaram’s luggage was found by Customs officials in the Silk Route lounge. He, too, was due to leave for Kuala Lumpur on UL314. The Silk Route exclusive facility allows passengers to relax while airport employees and Customs officials attend to all formalities before embarkation. Upon questioning, Mr Jayaram (who said he was involved in a power project in Vavuniya) had claimed the money was the proceeds of a win at a popular casino in Colombo. However, he could not offer documentary evidence for this claim.
Due to substantial political pressure, Mr Jayaram was released without penalty, reliable BIA sources said. He left the country (for Kuala Lumpur) shortly after his detention--before an inquiry could be conducted--after handing over the US$ 50,000 that had been in his possession to one of the other suspects. He has given a guarantee that he will return for an inquiry when it is scheduled.
The inquiry into non-declaration of currency by two other suspects (who were detained at the gate) was held on the same day. They were fined Rs 200,000 each and released. The undeclared currency was forfeited. The inquiry into the actions of the fourth suspect was postponed till November 23. All three left for Kuala Lumpur in the night of the same day. Mr Jayaram was released in the morning.
Neither Mr Jayaram nor the fourth suspect honoured their word by presenting themselves for the subsequent Customs inquiry, the Sunday Times reliably learns. The proceedings were, therefore, conducted ex-parte. The undeclared currency was forfeited with no penalty imposed.
The Malaysian businessman has been in and out of Sri Lanka over the past few months. Authoritative political sources said he is a facilitator for several business deals--including the Horton Square (Pvt) Ltd, a proposed mixed development project in Horton Place, and power projects. Straits Grid Pte Ltd, the Singaporean company vying to invest in the EAP Group, is also an energy company.
The offence the group was booked on is non-declaration of currency. Under regulations, anyone taking more than US$ 10,000 in any form of foreign currency, including notes, bank drafts or travel cards, must declare it to Sri Lanka Customs. Anyone taking currency notes of more than US$ 5,000 must also declare it.
The EAP Group is in negotiations to sell its businesses to Straits Grid Pte Ltd. The negotiations are being fronted by Mr Jayaram, who is a longstanding business partner of R.M. Manivannan, Chairman of Supreme Global Holdings. He was most recently listed as a director--along with Mr Manivannan--of Horton Square (Pvt) Ltd, a proposed mixed development project in Horton Place. Mr Jayaram’s address entered in the company registration form was in the British Virgin Islands and common to hundreds of other offshore entities from around the world.
“Request for such amendments to completed drafts are sent even after the final draft is sent out in all three languages and sometimes the procedure is repeated a number of times,” the Department has complained.
The recently passed Local Government Elections (Amendment) Bill was amended 15 times before it was debated and passed by parliament.