In January 2015 the people were promised that there was an ushering in of a new culture. The old guard had been defeated and the strong man and his extended family started to leave their official residences, offices and headed home. The Rajapaksas headed South where the sympathy drew crowds for weeks on end. Indeed long queues and several bus loads of persons were testimony to the near fifty percent who followed them – mainly from everywhere except the
Former conflict areas and perhaps the Eastern parts of the country.
Unfortunately as most in the country now know the newly elected decided on embarking on a robbery never emulated before in the annals of this country.
They decided on raiding the Central Bank and raping the peoples pension funds at the EPF. A company owned by the son in law of the then Governor reported phenomenal and remarkable profits of over Rs 12 billion in just three accounting periods.
And then the media got hold of the scam. Led by the TV1 / Sirasa / Shakthi networks all stables of the Maharaja Group, the full extent of the treachery was exposed. Several public spirited whistle blowers provided invaluable leads and finally a special Presidential Commission was appointed.
It was only then that the bombshell was dropped: the lies and the wholesale cover up of the crime and its principal became known. There was collateral damage too as the hapless Karunanayake family found out.
It was all about conflict of interest and a serious and appalling departure from due process. The fact that some blame could be apportioned to Ranil Wickremesinghe came as a shock to many but to those well versed with the premiers strategies it came as mere proof of what they already believed.
The scale of the conflict of interest and thereafter the abuse of power and privilege is astounding leaving anyone to wonder where on earth good governance had gone to. Time and time again and almost to the point of boredom the Prime Minister stoutly defended his friend the former Governor and the man now on the run, Arjuna Mahendran. In a past government led by Wickremesinghe controversy followed there too but not on the scale of this transaction/s.
The country has quite literally gone to the dogs. Parliamentarians appear to be distinctly more interested in keeping corruption charges away from themselves and instead focus on those who appeared before the various agencies but who are all from the previous regime. Even so those charges appear to have ignored the big ticket corruption claims or that there is no proof.
Many analysts bemoan the fact that charges on the bond scammers are on a go slow. The Central Bank has taken nearly eight months to not carry out a forensic analysis as suggested by the Commissioners of the bond issues. But with elections barely twenty four months away the people are beginning to realise that this government have taken us all collectively on a big merry go round.
For in spite of the investigations no concrete action has been taken. Aloysious and company now in remand are there thanks to a complaint to the CID by the Governor of the Central Bank. For whatever reason the Attorney General has been slow in instituting any action against those named and blamed by the Commissioners into the bond scam.
We see the introduction of a special high court.(SHC). No one in public at least knows what the criteria is to appear before the SHC. Are we now witnessing another form of bullying? Or I it selective prosecution? Will action be taken against those who promised us Hoaxwagen? Why is this Government engaging in business with a person blamed by this very government for being a proxy of the Rajapaksas? Why is it that each time former Governor Cabraal speaks up about the economy that the investigatory agencies wake up and wish to question him? The spectre of bullying is very much in the foreground.
Contemporary history in this country records that no real action is ever taken against those holding power for sleaze graft corruption abuse of power and departure from due process. Although denied, it is now known that a child of a Commissioner did serve at a Ministry where the PM was the Minister. It may well be all kosher, but these were actions that ought to have been avoided.
As this nation stumbles along towards the next election we can only hope that God and God alone will save our people from the trespasses of those in power right now.
Very sadly we must report and note that yet another opportunity to develop equality fairplay and transparency in Sri Lanka, has got away.
