The laws against bribery and corruption should be immediately enforced since the country is presently facing a severe debt crisis, said former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva yesterday. He expressed these views addressing the gathering at the official website launching ceremony of the Voice Against Corruption Organization in Colombo yesterday.
The former Chief Justice alleged that the government was carrying out development projects without having a tender procedure and beyond the existing laws and regulations by passing the tragedy of debt crisis to future generations. He further said that in order to create a society free of bribery and corruption, Sri Lanka should duly enforce the United Nations Convention against Corruption that was ratified in March 2004. “Sri Lanka is the second country that ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption. So we have an international obligation to implement it effectively,’ he said.
The former Chief Justice further said the existing act on investigating allegations of bribery or corruption should be amended enabling the commission to investigate any suspicious incidents. “According to the present act, the commission commences investigations after receiving a complaint. It is a noticeable deficiency in the act. It further said, if any person was found guilty of making a false complaint, he would be liable to imprisonment for a term of ten years. Due to these kinds of provisions, complainants are reluctant to make complaints over bribery and corruption incidents,” he further said.
The Voice against Corruption organization’s official website was launched by former Auditor General S.C. Mayadunne under the URL: http://www.anticorruptsl.com.
JVP parliamentarian Sunil Hadunnetti the convener of the Voice against Corruption organization and former JVP parliamentarian Wasantha Samarasinghe also participated on this occasion.
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