Power of the corrupt

Tuesday 7th November, 2023

Sri Lankans have first-hand experience of the ill effects of the corrupting influence of power and the power of the corrupt so much so that even the bitterest critics of the IMF must have welcomed its condition that Sri Lanka take urgent action to combat corruption to qualify for the next tranche of its loan; desperate for dollars, the SLPP-UNP government has introduced tough anti-corruption laws. But it is only wishful thinking that laws alone can eliminate corruption however tough they may be. In fact, what has stood in the way of this country’s fight against corruption is not lack of strong laws but the absence of the political will to get rid of it.

The power of the corrupt has become patently clear during the past few days. Another mega sugar import duty racket has come to light. During the first few months of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration, the import duty on sugar was slashed from Rs. 50 to 25 cents a kilo, and the cronies of the Rajapaksa family made a killing, prominent among them being a person who sponsored the events held by Viyathmaga before the last presidential election to shore up Gotabaya’s image. The state coffers lost billions of rupees as a result. Ironically, even those who had defended the Treasury bond racketeers during the Yahapalana government let out howls of protests!

Gotabaya was ousted, and the Rajapaksa family members are not in the current Cabinet but corruption continues to thrive. The government increased the import duty on sugar to Rs. 50, the other day, after allowing its cronies to stockpile the commodity.

The benefit of the slashing of the import duty on sugar was not passed on to consumers, as is public knowledge, but the recent duty increase has caused the sugar prices to go up. Some SLPP politicians have the audacity to say that when the import duty on sugar was reduced, the government was questioned why it had done so, and now it is being asked why the duty has been restored. The issue is not tax revisions but that they are effected in such a way as to enable the pro-government racketeers to gain at the expense of the public.

There is no institution that the corrupt have spared. They have not only made a tremendous contribution to the country’s bankruptcy but also ruined cricket. Corruption has eaten into the vitals of the cricket administration and taken its toll on the national cricketers’ performance, which has been abysmal overall. The powerful crooks responsible for this sorry state of affairs did their darnedest to stick to their positions by blaming others; they would have succeeded in their endeavour but for public protests, which prompted Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe to act decisively at long last. But the corrupt are not likely to take it lying down. They are bound to strike back with might and main.

No sooner had the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Executive Committee been sacked and an interim committee with Arjuna Ranatunga as its Chairman, appointed than a section of the government claimed that Sports Minister Ranasinghe had done something high-handed. Given the power of the corrupt, one need not be surprised even if these elements succeed in having Ranasinghe sacked as the Sports Minister and the status quo ante restored at SLC.

Opinion may be divided on the selection of some members of the interim committee, and whether Ranatunga will be able to straighten up SLC and live up to the expectations of cricket lovers remains to be seen. Proof of the pudding is said to be in the eating. But the fact remains that the appointment of an interim committee was long overdue.