What do we need? "Laundromats" or a "Clean house"?

What do we need? "Laundromats" or a "Clean house"?

Kusal Perera

05 January, 2018

The Bond Scam Report isn't out in public domain. Yet with much pre-publicity on President Sirisena making a public statement on the report on Wednesday (January 03) evening, quite a large number it seems have listened to him on air and later through the internet. What the media plays around with are bits and pieces picked from his pre-recorded statement that was aired on all TV channels. This was a carefully written Sinhala statement that tried to position him as a decent, non-partisan national leader, with the tactful mention about PM Wickramasinghe's responsibility and former Finance Minister Karunanayake's complicity.

Public response, especially in social media, was of two minds. One applauded and appreciated the work of the Presidential Commission of Investigation (PCoI) and the stand taken by President Sirisena in taking up the issue of corruption without "politics" and being firm. The other, while agreeing it was necessary, was also quoting petty issues (those with populist flavour but nothing serious) against President Sirisena, posing the question when this country would be "corruption free". They sort of hinted if President Sirisena is "clean", the whole country would be clean. That was mostly by those wondering flies that hurried to land on the post-January "anti-Rajapaksa" dining table. Those who are very comfortable with the Wickramasinghe brand of politics that pushes for further liberalising of the economy, giving the "Filthy Rich" more and better space for wealth and income accumulation.

Duplicity in public sentiment was no real indicator of what politics is in this public statement by President, made at the start of an election. In less than 24 hours, in a "dug in" exposure, the website "EconomyNext" said on 04 January afternoon, "President Maithripala Sirisena's office has put out several versions of his bond commission statement in an apparent attempt to soften the blow to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his party."

The "EconomyNext" also said, "The President's website carried the first translation and later swapped it with the new version which was once again amended bringing back-references to Ravi Karunanayake but without including Wickramasinghe's name". Next day, Minister Faizer Mustapha in a media intervention took pains in clearing PM Wickramasinghe of any wrongdoing.

The Bond scam is not just about the UNP and its elite leadership. The argument that President Sirisena was not in favour of Arjuna Mahendran being nominated as Governor CB of SL stands negated after he agreed with PM Wickramasinghe and appointed Mahendran as Governor CB of SL. It means that he compromised with PM Wickramasinghe to have Mahendran in order to have a government that accepts and accommodates him. It is for that single reason he had then Leader of the Opposition and the UNP, Ranil Wickramasinghe sworn in as PM an hour after he was sworn in as President on January 09 (2015).

With no change of government, constitutionally D.M. Jayaratne with a majority should have continued as PM after the 2015 January presidential election. Constitutionally Wickramasinghe was not qualified to be sworn in as PM with only 47 MPs and far less than the required minimum number. The Constitution requires the President ensure he appoints as PM one who commands a majority in parliament which means a minimum of 113 MPs.

Sirisena though elected President was in a major dilemma. Having defected from SLFP and contesting against the SLFP presidential candidate, he had to bank himself on the UNP that could not establish a government. As president Sirisena, therefore, fished out the most rustic in the Rajapaksa government to fill in the blanks for a UNP led government. Thus appointment of Arjuna Mahendran as Governor CB of SL was an extension of that political compromise. These political compromises cannot and should not be answered with a-political legal arguments. President Sirisena thus cannot claim total innocence after politically compromising for Mahendran's appointment.

The Russian warship deal that was directly under President Sirisena and then the 03 billion rupee Spectrum deal that had ICTA boss Muhunthan Canagey forced out also prove there are very much complicity and political compromise between the two major partners in government. A warship was no priority to be purchased by revitalising a Russian credit line that by then had lapsed. It wasn't accepted as necessary hardware by the Naval high command. The navy had 02 brand new warships provided by China and India. Why then did President Sirisena present a cabinet paper as Defence Minister to purchase this Russian warship and why did not the Cabinet of Ministers and the PM reject it? On the 03 billion rupee Spectrum deal, how and why did the TRC that comes directly under the President, sell frequencies to Maharajas without calling for tenders? In this modern world, frequencies are "public property" no government or State agency can sell. Frequencies have to be rented or leased on short-term through public bidding. Revenue from frequency rentals is public money. Therefore public should know who bought how much frequency for what duration and at what price. Why is the UNP not asking for investigations? Their Telecom Minister perhaps has a finger if not a hand in it. There is complicity everywhere and in everything between all parties in this government.

The governing system that "free market economies" puts in place is such, Commission Reports however accurate and complete, ultimately depend on further investigations and prosecution by the State. In free market economies these State departments are not left "independent". It was AG who was summoned to parliament by the Speaker to have the ruling that all Amendments to the Local Government Elections Act at the third reading could go with only a two-thirds majority and without a public referendum. According to the PM's statement on the present Bond Scam Report, the AG had been provided with the COPE Report 01 year ago to take appropriate action. He is now given the Bond Scam Report by the President.

It is the prosecuting agency that filed charges against former Secretary to the President Weeratunge and TRC Chairman Pelpola under Section 386 of the Penal Code instead of indicting them under the Public Property Act for misappropriation or misusing Rs.600 million of public funds. The difference being, under the Public Property Act, misuse or misappropriation of public money is a non-bailable offence whereas it is not under the Penal Code. In most instances, State prosecuting agencies know how to prosecute big dealers with minimum or no damage

There was heavy speculation former Secretary to Ministry of Defence Gotabhaya Rajapaksa would be arrested when FCID made submissions to the Colombo Fort Magistrate's Court on misappropriation of public funds estimated at Rs.65 million for the construction of his father D.A. Rajapaksa's memorial monument, in Weeraketiya. Buddhist monks met with President Sirisena to request that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa should not be arrested. The Appeal Court has ruled he should not be indicted under the Public Property Act. His anticipatory bail application was allowed and thus prevents the FCID from taking any legal action against him. The temporary stay order was extended for the third time on 15 December. That perhaps is what is meant by an independent judiciary in a free market economy.

Forty years of the free market economy as in all other countries have redefined the role of the State. The State is no more the regulator and monitor of economic activities. Thus its role as implementing agent of government policy has also changed drastically. In a free market economy, the State is turned into a facilitator, promoter and also into a custodian of private investment. The State hierarchy thus sits with governments (politicians) to formulate policy and legislation that encourage, promote, facilitate and safeguard private investments with as many incentives as possible.

With the State repositioned that way to play for the free market economy, the theoretical definitions of the "State" and the "Government" have got blurred to the extent, they are seen as one and the same. It means, it is not only politicians who are in tow with the "Filthy Rich" that grows politically powerful, but also the State at policy and decision-making level. That includes not just the top administrators, but also prosecutors and judicial officials as well.

In short, in a free market economy that allows the free growth of a new "filthy rich" urban collective, corruption becomes inherent at every level of governance and across State and society too. That, in turn, creates a new lifestyle and an urban culture that stands on heavy consumption. It is the urban middle class that gets dragged into this new high consumption lifestyle that demands unending supplies of money. This vicious cycle does not allow the urban middle class to think in terms of reshaping this "economic model" into a more decent, all-inclusive "development model".

There thus is a serious absence of a discourse for alternatives in national terms. We are now left with very narrow, small-time options for quick 'washing and drying' of dirty politics. It is thus about amending few laws and punishing a culprit or two that is now offered as "independent" recommendations. No one is questioning the competency and credibility of the present politicians and this parliament in legislating better laws. With all mainstream political parties run by the "filthy rich", can they and will they? Will this prosecuting authority including the AG's department and this judiciary be efficiently independent than what they are with new laws provided to them?

This is nothing more than what the old Sinhala idiom හොරාගෙ අම්මගෙන් පේන අහනවා (Asking the rogue's mother to read the fate) plainly say. These Bond Scam Commissions, PRECIFACs, FCIDs and the rest are all about moving with "Laundromats" with different branding. What we need is a paradigm shift that can provide a new and alternate system to keep the house permanently clean without regular visits to "Laundromats". That discourse needs to be kick-started, before the rest of this society falls apart.