Ranil swoops on Bribery and corruption commission which is under the commissioners’ threats

(Lanka-e-News -04.Sep.2015, 3.30PM) Prime Minister (P.M.) Ranil Wickremesinghe suddenly paid  a visit to the Bribery and corruption commission and conducted an inspection on 2nd

The Directress General of the commission is currently abroad .The P.M.was there to look into the facilities available when the commission is being expanded in the future.At present  owing to lack of space  , the performance of duties there are hampered.

When it was inquired from the P.M. whether he was going into the investigating division ,  he said , that is not appropriate , and that can create issues that  he interfered with the investigations.The PM. after  staying there for about ten mins. ,left the venue. 

Of the three commissioners , the two present commissioners , Jagath Balapatabendi (president of the commission) and commissioner Jayantha Wickremeratne are already facing charges of bribery and corruption, and they are on purpose impeding  the investigations.

One instance testifying to their dereliction of duties is : when 50 police officers who underwent training in the sphere of bribery and commission tasks  were sent to the bribery commission to take up duties , they were sent back by these two commissioners . These 50 officers after being trained in the police academy were posted to the commission to help expedite the inquiries  based on thousands of complaints received by the commission, and to clear the backlog. 

It is well to recall when Balapatabendi was a judge prior to being appointed to the commission , he faced charges of bribery having taken a motor vehicle as a bribe acting partially   giving a judgment favoring one party . Jayantha Wickremeratne too faced charges of misappropriating Rs. 8 million during the Kirula exhibition under the former IGP. Both of them  are having bribery and corruption charges , and are guilty of prostitution of their  official positions shamelessly suppressing the investigations against them taking advantage of  their official positions. There are also complaints  against Wickremeratne that he openly canvassed and campaigned for Mahinda Rajapakse during the last presidential election. In spite of all these glaring allegations of bribery , corruption and malpratices  against these two individuals , they were appointed to the bribery commission by ex president Mahinda Rajapakse , who himself acquired an unparalleled  notoriety for his skilled and  successful operations  in the sphere of corruption.

Under the 19 th amendment ,when the new parliament appoints the executive council , the Bribery and corruption commission  posts become null and void, and new members will have to be named for the independent commission.Until then there is no law that permits the expulsion of these two commissioners even  if they are tainted with the worst acts of corruption and bribery.Or else , their five year term of office should expire.

These two shameless commissioners taking advantage of this situation , have demanded from the P.M.that if they are to resign , they must be offered diplomatic postings , to which the P.M. has point blank refused knowing well of their putrid antecedence. 

It is worthy of note , after these two commissioners are bereft of their official positions , they can be charged as ordinary culprits for  bribery and corruption on the complaints already existing against them

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by     (2015-09-04 10:24:23)