YAHAPALANAYA – Can still be a reality if we follow these steps

This is part one of a three part summary of the basic foundations that must be laid, before the very admirable visionary statements of the Prime Minister, as to the way forward, http://www.ft.lk/article/498259/Govt--to-focus-on-economic-and-development-agenda-next--Ranil  can be implemented.

Before we are able to go through the traditional steps of Good Governance as in the proposals of the March 12 declaration that was signed (effectively endorsed) by the New Govt.  http://www.dailymirror.lk/77863/wake-up-with-march-12-declaration-for-a-sound-parliament We must set up the mechanism to satisfy the  voters’ basic desire of catching the criminals and eliminating corruption.

The Foundation to do so, is to guarantee the integrity and independence and also the competence of the Police Department to investigate, and arrest and charge criminals. We must also have faith that the Attorney General’s department has the needed Human and other resources to prosecute, and with it the Bribery Commission which is also woefully short of competent officers to investigate the complaints lodged with them. Finally we must ensure we have a competent Judiciary who are capable of both clearing the backlog of cases, and have the competence to understand and rule on the prosecutions brought before them.

So let us start with the Police Department. Frankly, years of POLITICIZATION with the Rajapakse dictatorship primarily to blame for it, has rendered the competence of the department to be zero! I know the IGP will take issue with me on this allegation, saying he has a superbly trained team of officers. I am not denying that under him are some extremely competent and honest officers dedicated to their job. However due to the excreta in their presence, even with the best will in the world, these officers cannot perform their duties, because some who may be more senior to them, will stop them or lay obstacles in their progress, due to other agendas, including those of protecting criminals.

It is therefore imperative that the IGP ask for resources to quickly raise the standard of the force, sideline incompetent and dishonest officers, and rise to the occasion, to prosecute white collar criminals who have misused public funds, without delay by gathering the needed evidence to prosecute.

As of now the FCID is drowning in incompetence, not knowing even how to gather evidence of the misdeeds even of a common criminal like Sajin Vaas Gunewardene who has a rap sheet, as long as an Anaconda, and they have NOT yet been able to prosecute this case, due to the inadequacy of evidence, due both to investigating officers honesty being compromised, and incompetence to know how to find money that has been put in wives and mother – law accounts!

Just in this blog I am helping the police to direct them where to look for the loot and as they cannot even read English, how would one expect them to search the globe for the accounts held in a raft of names. They have yet to ask the US Govt. for help in tracking accounts, where money has been laundered.

If it means that foreign forensic accountants are engaged then so be it. These are people whose sole motivation in life is to increase their wealth, no matter what, and any feelings for their country don’t even register in their brains.

I was with a friend of 40 years standing, who has a Billion US dollars to disburse from China at low cost, and can’t find anyone in Govt. willing to take it for development purposes, as this Govt. has not properly delegated levels and authority to do so. If it was Sajin, he would have promised to do the needful, as long as half of it was first put into his overseas bank account. At least half would have been put into a project. Now the whole thing is in limbo!

I asked him to contact the PM to tell him of this sad story, but even here, I am told access to him is so tight, that he will not be able to break the armor of the palace guard who don’t want the PM to hear the truth of the incompetence of his administration. They are feeding him with fairy stories to keep him off scent!

Only once we have all these institutions working on the same page, with competent management, will the teams in the CID, FCID, PRESIFAC be able to operate with competence, to bring to book all those who have been referred to them, and investigate the allegations thoroughly, without fear or favor!

http://www.ft.lk/article/498259/Govt--to-focus-on-economic-and-development-agenda-next--Ranil

Speak to the PRESICIFAC secretary and he will tell you, that his staff are intellectually challenged and need foreign experts to dissect some of the nuances of how funds have been robbed and diverted to strange places through strange channels that require input from other jurisdictions to ensure, a through cast iron investigations are done to bring the perpetrators to book.

While I have just picked on anecdotal examples these are inherent problems that require solutions and no one is able to bring to the notice of those who can effect change to give them the resources to do their work properly.

I just hope someone in Govt. will at least read this and understand that unless the basics are covered they don’t have a cat in hell's chance of prosecuting and satisfying the public’s desire to bring to book, those who robbed the country!

I just got the news that the Cabinet has just approved the Presidents intention of abolishing the Executive Presidency, and changing the Electoral system, whilst appointing a committee headed by the PM to follow through to implementation. Frankly I am sure I would be more able to do that, in a shorter time, and with fewer hiccups than the members appointed, as their competence in even comprehending the task ahead is questionable.