PSC removes Anusha Palpita from Home Affairs Ministry

By Dharisha Bastians

After a week of intense pushback from corruption watchdogs, media and civil society, the Public Service Commission yesterday announced it was removing Anusha Palpita as additional secretary to the Ministry of Home Affairs with immediate effect, and suspending him from service on the basis of indictments filed against the administrative service officer for misappropriation.  

Secretary to the Public Service Commission, Gamini Seneviratne said that according to stipulations in the Establishment Code, which governs the conduct of public officials, an officer facing corruption or criminal charges cannot continue to hold office in the public service.

The Commission met yesterday to reach a decision on the controversial appointment after the Ministry of Public Administration brought the issue to the attention of the PSC after representations were made to that Ministry by anti-corruption movements and civil society organisations. The decision to remove Palpita from the Home Affairs Ministry and suspend his services was taken following the meeting of the Commission yesterday, Seneviratne said.

The PSC removal and suspension of Palpita also raises several questions after Home Affairs Minister Vajira Abeywardena claimed that the officer had been appointed additional secretary to his ministry by the Commission itself. Minister Abeywardena claimed Palpita had been transferred to his ministry as Additional Secretary during the recent floods. The Minister denied having a personal connection to Palpita or effecting his transfer as a senior official at his ministry.

Palpita, the former Director General of the Telecom Regulatory Commission during the tenure of the Rajapaksa administration, has been indicted in the Colombo High Court for the misappropriation of TRC monies to the tune of Rs. 600 million to fund a sil redhi donation campaign ahead of the January 2015 presidential election. Election watchdogs have called the misappropriation one of the biggest cases of abuse of state resources during an election.

The Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE), Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL), Peoples’ Action for Free and Fair Elections, and the Centre for Policy Alternatives were among a group of civil society movements that condemned Palpita’s appointment by the Government and agitated for his removal. CaFFE stands out for its sustained and unrelenting pressure on the Government and the Public Service Commission and its effective measures to draw public attention to the corruption issue.