Monday 15th January, 2024

The SJB is planning to move another motion of no confidence against Keheliya Rambukwella over the fraudulent procurement of a consignment of fake immunoglobulin on his watch as the Minister of Health. This is a welcome move. The first no-faith motion against Rambukwella was defeated in Parliament in September 2023.

Issues usually do not last long in Sri Lanka, but the immunoglobulin racket, which has shaken the conscience of the nation, is an exception. But the government is determined to prevent the mastermind behind it from being exposed, much less brought to justice. If public funds had been wasted on a stock of fake pharmaceutical drugs and the lives of patients endangered in this manner in any other country, swift justice would have been delivered to the culprits.

The CID has chosen to investigate the immunoglobulin scam without arresting and prosecuting Rambukwella. Its probe is like Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark. The government has thrown several health officials under the bus in a bid to mislead the public into thinking that its politicians were not involved in the mega racket.

Rambukwella purses his mouth in a cynical smirk when questions are raised about allegations against him and the government at media briefings. He also has the chutzpah to ask rhetorical questions from journalists instead of answering their queries on the health sector rackets during his tenure as the Minister of Health. Reflected in this kind of dismissiveness and arrogance is his confidence that he is above the law. This kind of cavalier attitude irks the public beyond measure and their ire is directed at not only Rambukwella but also the entire government, especially President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is contesting the next presidential election.

One of the main reasons why Mahinda Rajapaksa lost his popularity and suffered an ignominious defeat at the 2015 presidential election was his partiality towards the corrupt and other such anti-social characters including Mervyn Silva, who is now on a crusade to protect democracy!

By shielding Rambukwella and others with serious allegations against them, the government is not only ruining things for itself but also endangering democracy by aggravating the erosion of public faith in the legal and judicial processes and driving the irate people to back ultra-radical political groups with a history of holding kangaroo trials. Promises are being made in some quarters to bring down the current administration by extra-parliamentary means and hang the crooks in its ranks. Paying oppressive taxes and struggling to keep their heads above water, the people are concerned about the misuse of state funds. So, they will do everything in their power to have those who either waste or steal their money punished, regardless of the methods used for that purpose.

The government seems to think that Aragalaya is over and it can revert to its old ways with impunity. Otherwise, a group of SLPP MPs would not have thrown a lavish boat party off Colombo the other day. The factors that led to the 2022 uprising are still there, and they will influence the resentful voters, especially the youth, at future elections. President Wickremesinghe seems to think he will be able to win the next presidential election by leveraging whatever gains the government has made on the economic front, but if he is seen to be turning a blind eye to corruption and defending the corrupt who steal public funds, he will have his work cut out.

More information about the immunoglobulin scam has surfaced since the first motion of no confidence was moved against Rambukwella. New evidence should be included in the next no-confidence motion to be moved so that the government MPs will not be able to claim that the allegations against him are unsubstantiated.

It is up to the government to let Rambukwella stew in his own juice or defend him again, incur the wrath of the public and suffer an electoral haymaker.