The Mahroof Factor – within “Dirty Tricks” Campaign in the CMC

We know what happened before the Colombo Municipal Council elections were held last year, when stalwart UNPer and supposedly heavy contributor to the UNP funds, Mohammed Mahroof defected to the Government side and sought election to the CMC through their ticket. It was also because he was peeved at not being given to contest for the Mayoral post under the UNP an added beef with the party and Muzzamil.

It was announced today that he has been appointed the Leader of the Opposition of the UPFA after the resignation of Milinda Moragoda. People like Azath Sally must be ruing the day he joined the UPFA. He has nowhere to go and no one to go with having lost political goodwill he created under the UNP. He would have today been far better off in the UNP with a future. Now he is a man with only a history and no future.

Coming back to Mahroof, he had made wild allegations of giving wads of cash to the tune of Rs1Billion to the UNP party coffers, and also had the temerity to accuse the UNP leader of walking off with the dough for personal use. This from a man who has hardly any money now, with his glory days of earning fat commissions from the import of Cement under the UNP regime, now only relegated to just being FAT.

So for the UPFA to appoint this person who they did not investigate for tax fraud, as he has not paid tax on the earnings of commissions, a criminal offence that is liable for extended imprisonment, is an admission that the Govt. holds crooks in high regard in their inner circle.

I fail to understand how this person holds so much power, as he has no power base, having switched sides, and having lost much of his previous wealth. He switched as there was too much mud on his hands and he was threatened with prosecution had he remained in the UNP also.

The investigative journalists in Sri Lanka have no balls to dredge up the story he put out about the huge payments, and ask if he had made these payments after paying tax on this income as it certainly was not disclosed in his tax records!! The newspaper headlines in country with freedom of expression and responsible reporting as advocated by the President, would read “highway robber appointed to senior local government position”. Instead he wants to bring a no confidence motion against Muzzamil the Mayor Colombo. 

This kind of cynical act of revenge for being jettisoned out by the UNP as not being worth a grain of salt despite the Cement commissions being siphoned off to the party coffers, is not going to do the people within the CMC any good. So the sooner he acts responsibly on behalf of the residents of Colombo and the less he thinks of himself the better it is for all of us.

So let us hope that sense prevails and not BRUISED EGOS!!!