President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has declared his Government’s determination to clean up Sri Lanka and wanted all State Departments and the public to cooperate in this endeavour. By clean-up, what the President really meant was not a “clean-up” just in the literary sense but a real clean-up across the board, viz Government bodies and State institutions.
He also pointed out that the Supreme Court had found fault even with past Presidents for violating the Constitution, adding that in such a scenario there was little purpose in talking about the rule of law per se. Addressing the launch of the “Clean up Sri Lanka” project at the Presidential Secretariat, the President stressed that the situation had turned so bad that criminals and corrupt individuals had risen above the law, while those who exercised political power violated laws and the Constitution itself. Under such a scenario, how can one talk about enforcing the rule of law, he asked.
What the President said is already well-known to all. There certainly is a massive clean-up job to be undertaken in almost all sectors and spheres of activity where the State is involved, if the country is to be put back on the right track. The task should commence from various Ministries, Government Departments and institutions that are reeking of corruption. This is easier said than done since things have deteriorated to such an extent that it would be a Herculean task to undertake. There is also bound to be resistance, since those already deep into corruption will not let go easily . However, as the President noted, this should be done even at this late stage in order to salvage something from the mess that has been created.
In the past too, many leaders similarly pledged to clean up the Augean Stables after assuming power but pathetically failed to meet public expectations in this regard. One recalls President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga promising to bring all the rogues of the previous regime(s) to Galle Face Green and line them up to be exposed to the public. But nothing of the sort took place. Instead, that Government bettered the dubious record set by the UNP with regard to corruption.
However, there is enough reason to believe that the new Government under President Dissanayake will act differently and walk the talk. As already mentioned, the clean up should begin from within. The spotlight should be focused on all allegations of corruption, the culprits identified and due punishment meted out. If not the stalemate is bound to continue indefinitely until the country plunges downhill again. This is as good a time as any to put matters right since a key pledge made by the President during his election campaign was to seek out those who robbed the country, recover the loot and restore it to the public.
The overwhelming mandate garnered by President Dissanayake makes it incumbent on his part to expedite the process of identifying the wrongdoers. He should begin by reopening all bribery and corruption cases that were stalled for various reasons, usually lack of evidence and the lack of will by the Attorney General’s Department to go all out in effecting successful prosecutions for obvious reasons. The reasons for the President to call for the unstinted co-operation of the AG’s Department certainly bears this out. True, the AG’s Department is maintained by the Government , including the payment of salaries of the State Counsel. But this should not be a cause for it to push back on its real duties. After all, it is maintained with public funds.
The clean up job should certainly include a massive shake up in the entire governing structure that is presently geared for corruption. A whole new order should come into being that would cover all the existing loopholes that allow the culprits to get away with their acts. The President also noted that their efforts would not yield the desired results without the cooperation of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the Judiciary. Whatever may be said about the Judiciary, the allegations against the CID and Police, in general, are profoundly justified. The Police was heavily politicized and in most instances the hands of the senior officers were tied, unable to act as a result of political pressure.
The immediate task of the President should be to depoliticise the Police, making it an independent body like for instance the Courts of Law so that its officers would not be intimidated and will be able to act freely and according to their conscience. This process too should be commenced immediately, for it is only under a regime led by the National People’s Power (NPP) that this will be possible.
Of course, it is also vital to clean up the Government institutions in a purely physical sense. Many Government institutions and buildings are not maintained properly, with cobwebs on full display and the paint peeling off the walls. Their compounds have become breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes. Trash too can be seen everywhere. It is vital to spruce these places up, a gesture that the public will also appreciate.
