Anti-corruption drive must also focus on those facing charges within

President Anura Kumara Disanayake was addressing a conference of Bhikkus in Colombo as the news broke that former President Ranil Wickremesinghe had been granted bail by the Fort Magistrate Court for a case involving an alleged misappropriation of public funds. In the lead up to the bail hearing, momentum had been gathering outside the court with supporters of Wickremesinghe coming together to protest at what they called a politically motivated case against the former president.  

There was also a rare show of unity by almost all the leading opposition political parties who saw an attempt by the NPP to clamp down on political opponents by framing them. To underscore that such agitations will not make the Government lose sight of its anti-corruption drive, the President said that the law will be applied equally on all citizens. “Those found guilty of corruption will face strict punishment, no matter their position or influence,” he said. Its anti-corruption slogan has been the main driving force behind the Government.

There have been some results to show for it as well. A number of high ranking police, and public officials along with politicians are facing corruption charges with many pending cases fast tracked. It’s a welcome move in a country where corruption has seeped into all layers of society. But there is the elephant in the room that the President and his ministerial colleagues and others seem to not see or pretend to not see. It’s the corruption and misuse of power charges against at least two cabinet ministers of the NPP and several others aligned to the party.

The two cabinet ministers Wasantha Samarasinghe and Kumara Jayakody are named as suspects in cases involving misappropriation of public money but the Government has been silent on these. There is the case of over 300 containers that were wrongly released from the Colombo Port and despite credible findings that they were illegally released, the Government remains mum on the matter while wowing to crack down on corruption. There is of course the case of the fraudulent PhD of the NPP’s first speaker Asoka Ranwala who deliberately lied about having a Phd during the elections as well as once he was elected, offences punishable by law but he sits in Parliament and walks free.

There is the recent case where Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya gave a reply in Parliament relating to the SupremeSAT, the controversial satellite program to which one of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s sons had allegedly had links and benefited financially from. After she gave a reply another minister alleged that she had been provided a wrong reply by the BOI and action would be taken against officials but till today there has been no corrected version.

There are many other such allegations of tenders being awarded to party financiers and supporters, but there is silence on such matters too.

The reason the NPP was rewarded electorally by the public is their frustration with the ruling classes. But close to a year in office, those in power are going down the same road, less blatantly than their predecessors but for sure the same way.

There’s no doubt the Government wanted to drive home the point that even a former president can be arrested if he has done wrong. But the case hasn’t had the desired effect because instead of praise, it is getting more criticism for the manner of selective application of the law.

This was a test case for the Government on how it handles high profile politicians. The question now is, if Ranil Wickremesinghe, a person with little public support can elicit this kind of reaction upon arrest, what would be the reaction if someone of the stature of Mahinda Rajapaksa were arrested. 

Hence, whatever beautiful phrases the President may say at public forums, if the Government is serious about tackling corruption it should also act against those in his own party. Going behind political opponents only will make the public question the integrity of the Government on its anti-corruption drive.