A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
(Full Story)
Search This Blog
Back to 500BC.
==========================
Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Sunday, May 6, 2018
Sweet deal turns sour for Sirisena
The arrest of the President’s Chief of Staff while allegedly accepting a
20 million bribe may have seriously damaged Maithripala Sirisena ’s
image and weakened his position within the tenuous coalition.
"May ape Mahanama?! (Our Mahanama?)" the president reportedly asked
twice, not believing that his trusted aide had been arrested following a
sting operation four weeks in the making.
Mahanama retired recently from the Ministry of Lands where he was
secretary and he is regarded as the key figure who had allegedly
obstructed the Indo-Singaporean joint venture that wants to invest $100
million in the defunct Kantale Sugar factory.
Following his retirement last month, Mahanama was chosen to be
Sirisena’s Chief of Staff because of the long association between the
two men, official sources said.
The second man arrested along with Mahanama on Thursday was Piyadasa
Dissanayake, the Chairman of the State Timber Corporation. That
appointment was also made by Sirisena as Minister of Environment.
The two men had initially demanded 540 million rupees to sweeten the
sugar deal for the Indian and Singapore investors, but later reduced
their "fee" to 100 million, according to the bribery detectives. The two
men were receiving the first tranche of 20 million rupees when they
were caught.
"The President was informed about the involvement of some officials in
his secretariat, but he did not know who the target was until the
arrest," an official involved in the sting said.
The President’s office issued a statement on Thursday night in a bid to
deflect responsibility. In his rush, he may have also inadvertently
convicted the two men even before they were formally charged.
The president "advised the authorities to strictly enforce the law
against the two offenders," the president’s statement said, virtually
pronouncing them guilty.
However, political sources say the incident is a major setback for
Sirisena who is embroiled in a cold-war power struggle with Prime
Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Sirisena had used the Central Bank bond scam to discredit
Wickremesinghe’s United National Party, arguing that the fugitive former
central bank governor Arjuna Mahendran was a nominee of the Prime
Minister.
The tables have now turned. By Sirisena’s own logic, he should accept
responsibility for Mahanama taking a bribe from a foreign investor.
Sirisena was dislodged from his moral high ground last month following
reports that his daughter had obtained a liquor licence although he
himself had restored a ban on women buying or serving liquor at
restaurants. The sugar deal that went sour is only making things worse
for Sirisena.
Private anti-corruption activist Keerthi Tennakoon questioned why
Mahanama was made President’s Chief of Staff despite long-standing
allegations of corruption against him from his days at the Lands
Ministry.
Sirisena attempted to discredit the UNP over the bond scam, but the
sugar scandal could be a blot on Sirisena’s record and strengthen
allegations of other wrong doings including in the purchase of a naval
craft from Russia. The Presidential Secretariat has denied any wrong
doing in buying a vessel from Russia at a cost of over $100 million, but
Sirisena’s high officials being implicated in corruption could raise
fresh questions about other transactions too.