DailyMirror – Editorial
It looks that the comments by Sports Minister C.B. Ratnayake that Sri Lanka Cricket is the most corrupt institution next to education and the police departments have ruffled a few feathers.
One initially thought a spokesman for the Education would come forward to defend the department for many thought that although certainly there are some corrupt elements in the institution it is still not bad as the police or Sri Lanka cricket.
Instead one saw a denial coming from the Police Department and yes with a valid argument – If there’s corruption prove it.
Well, all one can say is ‘let’s forget the past and move forward’. Too many people had been badmouthing the predecessors too much lately and the comments by Minister Ratnayake makes a difference since that is the first time any sports minister has openly acknowledged the rampant corruption in the country’s premier sports body.
Otherwise as the JVP parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake commented a few weeks ago it is quite hilarious the manner the new cabinet has gone on to criticize their Cabinet colleagues who held their subjects just before them as if they were from another government.
The Maithripala Sirisena-Nimal Siripala de Silva tussle continues to rage with Minister Sirisena criticizing the state of affairs at the institutions that come under him. Prime among them is the debate over the drug shortage.
If Minister Sirisena is really keen on improving the health sector, that’s fine. And the same should be said about Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena who too has been making major declarations. Everybody will help if these ministers can do a better job than their predecessors.
However it still remains quite a challenge for anybody to guarantee a transparent government since both the two parliamentary committees to fight corruption, the COPE and Public Accounts Committee (PAC), have two government ministers as their heads. Many are of the opinion that it goes to display the degree of seriousness of the UPFA in fighting the evil. If the ruling coalition has clear records why can’t it appoint opposition members to the top slots of these bodies, everybody asks.
In the absence of a culture of whistle blowers and a strong structured mechanism to check on public spending, corruption is likely to continue unabated.