MP Dhammika Perera should disclose assets and liabilities to the public – IRES

by PRIYAN DE SILVA

The Executive Director of the Institute of Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies Manjula Gajanayaka says that SLPP National List MP Dhammika Perera should disclose his assets and liabilities to the public.Gajanayake said that after being sworn in as a member of Parliament on Monday the lawmaker had told the media that he had handed over his declaration of assets and liabilities to the Secretary General of Parliament. He even informed the Speaker of it before he was sworn in.

The IRES chief said that the papers handed over to the Secretary General of Parliament would remain in a sealed envelope and no one would have access to them. Even the Chairman of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka was not in a position to check the declarations of assets and liabilities. “If MP Dhammika Perera wants to prove that he is above board he should publish his declaration of assets and liabilities so that the general public can assess for themselves’’

Gajanayake said that handing over declarations of assets and liabilities to the relevant authorities was a mere formality. The contents remained in a sealed envelope unless someone made a complaint to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.

Lodging a complaint without knowing the actual contents of the declaration of assets and liabilities was a risk because if the complaint was dismissed by a court of law the complainant is liable to pay damages. This is the main reason why social activists have been requesting Parliament to amend this law.The Declaration of Assets And Liabilities Law No 1 of 1975 is a law to compel certain specified categories of persons to make periodic declarations of their assets and liabilities in and outside Sri Lanka.

Gajanayaka said that the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Law No 1 of 1975 amended in 1985 and 1988 was one of the most outdated laws in the country. “The first thing those who want to change the system should do is to change this law” Gajanayaka said If lawmaker Dhammika Perera genuinely wants to help rebuild the economy without expecting anything in return he should set an example by disclosing his assets and liabilities to the public.