Tuesday, 21 April 2015 00:27
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GOOD governance is in for a challenging time this week as former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brothers are summoned before committees appointed by the new Government to probe financial and illegal conduct.
Former Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa is expected to be the first to face questioning when he arrives in the country on Tuesday. News reports indicate he will travel directly to the Financial Investigation Unit appointed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to provide his statement to officials. He is to be questioned on financial transactions regarding funds provided to the Divi Neguma program that was spearheaded by his Ministry as a poverty alleviation policy initiated by the former Government. Rajapaksa’s re-entry to the political limelight will be watched carefully by all, especially since there were hints of discord between the brothers following the defeat on 8 January.
Next to the fore will be former Defence Ministry Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa who has been summoned before the revamped Bribery and Corruption Commission to record a statement that will likely focus on his alleged involvement in security companies Rakna Lanka and Avant Guard. Hundreds of weapons uncovered in January that were stockpiled by the two companies have raised huge questions over possible conflict of interest and legality of these arms. The former Secretary has already vehemently defended himself in public several times and is likely to do so again.
Public attention will peak around Friday if former President Mahinda Rajapaksa presents himself before the Bribery and Corruption Commission. His spokesman has already told media Rajapaksa’s presence is not a certainty and his lawyers will likely look at the formal summons before any final decision is made. Yet the possibility alone as already sparked tension with pro-Rajapaksa Parliamentarians staging a sit-in protest in the House against the summoning. They insist it is disrespectful for the former head of State to be summoned in the first place. At the core of the controversy is the question of whether or not Rajapaksa had the legal right to appoint former United National Party (UNP) General Secretary Tissa Attanayake as Health Minister well into a tightly contested presidential race.
Government legislators contend no one is above the law and therefore the bribery commission has the right to question anyone, even the former president. Analysts also see the move as a proverbial “testing of waters” on the possibility of rolling out deeper investigations against stronger allegations that could well dig into the heart of the country’s economy, ahead of parliamentary elections. Since investigations into allegations of corruption has been on the cards for months, Rajapaksa has repeatedly issued statements dismissing charges of fraud and wastage levelled against him. The latest of these, issued over the weekend, sought to dispel allegations that bank accounts holding significant amounts of money were held by the family or officials linked to the Rajapaksas.
Denials aside public reaction to the questioning of people who were at one point the most powerful in the land will certainly be worth observing. On one hand the Government is playing to the gallery of people dissatisfied about its extravagant promises to holding corrupt office holders of the former Government to book and on the other testing Rajapaksa loyalists countrywide. As the days tick down to a general election, every move is also a gamble for votes.
