‘Transparency International Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Office of the District Secretary, Badulla conducted a training programme on Good Governance for Grama Niladhari Officials of Badulla District on 3rd and 4th March of 2008. This is the first of a series of awareness programmes that will be conducted by TISL, Representation Unit during the year 2008 with the focus of having People’s Platform to address contemporary good governance issues in the district by the end of year. A preparatory field visit was also done in which the TISL team met the District Secretary, Additional District Secretary, Secretary to the Governor and a few Community Based Organization (CBO) representatives of the area. The responses received proved the need of an independent organization like TISL to intervene in redressing the corruption related issues that are thriving in the area.
The training programme had three separate sessions conducted for a total number of 320 officials in Sinhala and 23 officials in Tamil. Each training programme was held from 8.30 am to 4.00 pm. Mr. A.K. Chandrakantha, Former Deputy Director General of Commission to Investigate Allegations on Bribery or Corruption, Mr. F.X.S Wijekumar, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, Ms. Duleeka Vidanapatirana, Programme Manager-Education of TISL and Mr. Dhanushka Wijekoon, Programme Manager-Representation were the resource persons of the programme. The support extended by Mr. Rohana Keerthi Dasanayake, District secretary of Badulla and Mr. M.A.H Silva, Additional District Secretary of Badulla, who were amongst the participants of the sessions deserves a special mention. The enthusiasm shown by the officials were really encouraging and inviting TISL to conduct its future programmes in the district.
Whilst the training programmes were in progress, a team of TISL officials did an observatory field visit on which they met a few CBO representatives and people in the area. The team recorded a number of corruption related incidents. TISL will take up these issues in designing its future programmes for the district.