Sri Lanka lacks officers to investigate into large scale corruptions: PM Ranil Wickremesinghe
May 23, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe Friday said that the country lacks officers to investigate in to large-scale corruption, fraud and irregularities and the professionals who has that kind of knowledge do not get involve abandoning their own work.
“As the new government, we are in the process of exposing the large-scale corruption, fraud and irregularities which have been taken place in the public sector, semi government and private sector,” Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe said.
“So to explore these, a large number of officers with right experience and knowledge are needed,”
“Those who have such experience and knowledge are reluctant to work for these investigation neglecting all their personal work,”
“Therefore we have to proceed our investigation with our limited recourses and officials.”
He made these comments at a meeting held in the United National Party headquarters, Colombo.
Critics say unsolicited deals and awarding massive state contracts without competitive bidding has become the norm in Sri Lanka paving the way for corruption and inflated costs for the tax payer, for many years.
The constitution along with one in 1972 is also blamed for destroying the country’s independent public service headed by permanent secretaries, which has in turn led to a lack of rule of law and justice and the loss of essential freedoms for ordinary citizens.
Public officials were tied to trees by the elected ruling class and made to kneel before them in some cases during the past regime.
Without an independent public service headed by permanent secretaries the elected rulers have total control over the criminal justice system, critics say.
During President Sirisena’s election campaign a lot of acquisitions were made and fingers pointed alleging frauds and corruption of the past regime.
Some of politicians and officials were arrested and changed for fraud and corruption but yet some of the allegations yet to be changed.
The new government also had asked assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and Reserve Bank of India to trace billions of dollars in ill-gotten wealth allegedly stashed abroad by influential people in the former regime.
