The Ultimate Swindlers List
By R. Wijewardene
Battle lines have now been drawn, and the daggers are evidently out. In just six weeks, two gladiators of contemporary Sri Lankan polity will face each other in what promises to be an epic political battle.
The limited time frame available for campaigning has heightened the inevitable high drama of a Sri Lankan election. Just days after the date for this contest was finally announced both sides are already brandishing their weapons – chief amongst them corruption.
In this bitter battle for popularity corruption is Sarath Fonseka’s main weapon against the Rajapaksa juggernaut. Nothing has alienated this country’s population more than the present administration’s wanton misuse of pubic funds and the extent of the nepotism cultivated and indulged at every level by this nation’s political leadership.
As a military man free of the baggage of a political career Fonseka’s image as a clean candidate is a key part of his platform. However the Rajapaksas’ notoriously effective propaganda machine has hit back and the suggestion that Fonseka isn’t quite as clean as he is made out to be is now flying around the internet. But for all their attempts to sully the General’s reputation, in this case, the Rajapaksas may be fighting a losing battle.
Through their own efforts they have secured a place in the popular imagination as the most corrupt administration in this nation’s history. And this week The Sunday Leader has compiled a list, by no means comprehensive, of cases of government corruption, highlighted by this newspaper alone over the last four years of Rajapaksa rule;
While the allegations in every case are extremely serious, with billions of rupees misspent, ultimately no action has been taken regarding any of the following instances of massive corruption.
And that indifference to corruption — the administration’s utter complacency and its belief that war victories would allow it to remain popular regardless of the massive theft being committed at every level of government, is largely responsible for the Rajapaksas’ current predicament.
Mihin Air
This bizarre project to create a national budget airline — named after the President has become a byword for massive waste. The sums spent on this misguided venture have been simply catastrophic. The airline lost over Rs. 3 billion between 2007 and 2008.
And after being unable to continue to finance the lease of its aircraft after just a year of operation Mihin Air stopped flights in April 2008.
But even that debacle wasn’t enough to put a stop to the flying farce, and the 2008 budget allocated a tranche of over Rs. 500 million to allow Mihin to resume operations.
Millions of rupees to salvage a prestige project but while the airline may bear the name of the President the massive expenditure is being borne by the public.
Worse, while billions have been wasted on Mihin Air the national airline SriLankan has been abandoned to crass mismanagement.
SriLankan
SriLankan Airlines’ CEO, Peter Hill’s failure to accommodate the President’s enormous retinue on a flight led the government to terminate Emirates’ management contract with the airline.
The re-nationalisation of the airline however has been a disaster and a once profitable privately run airline is now registering losses that rival those of any government corporation.
The once self-reliant SriLankan has become a drain on public finances and with Rs. 10 billion worth of losses, last year’s Treasury funds must now be used to keep the airline afloat. Once gain therefore the public finds itself bearing the cost for the government’s egoism.
Airports
Sri Lanka now finds itself in the unique position of having more foundation stones for airports than functioning airports.
The reasonably sensible Wellawaya airport project initiated by the previous government was abandoned by this government in favour of the Weerawila airport.
But Weerawila was from the outset an utterly unsuitable location, given its proximity to nearby wildlife sanctuaries and its distance from major cities. Eventually the project was shelved though millions were spent on the groundwork and on clearing and fencing the site.
Hambantota has now been identified as the site for the much needed second airport. But apart from proximity to the President’s fife why a sparsely populated town in the deep south needs an international airport remains an open question.
MiG Deal
Airlines and aviation appear to be a real specialty for this administration. However the infamous MiG Deal ultimately raises the broader issue of defence purchases. War is a profitable business and massive increases in defence expenditure have created more scope for corruption.
All defence purchases are channelled through Lanka Logistics, a company controlled by the government. Lanka Logistics and Technologies coordinates all the military’s defence purchases worth thousands of billions of rupees, but the company has not published accounts since its inception. And this absolute lack of transparency and the nexus between arms purchases, the state, and the ruling family virtually guarantees allegations of corruption.
However the government is so insecure regarding the various allegations of corruption levelled against it that it has simply moved to censor reporting on defence purchases.
But these attempts at suppression have been taken by the public as a virtual admission of guilt, and news regarding various crooked deals have been replaced by a steady stream of rumours.
Rumours have made a large portion of the public believe that those at the upper echelons of the government did indeed profit from the war.
An allegation with potentially catastrophic consequences for Rajapaksa’s chances of re-election.
Oil hedging
While aviation is clearly a government specialty, corruption is now a diversified industry and in 2007/2008 the administration moved in to oil.
Extraordinarily the fact that the country, despite various grand claims and promises, is yet to strike oil hasn’t prevented the administration from profiting from black gold.
In 2008, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) purchased oil futures contracts for the supply of oil at $135 a barrel only to find that the price of oil would plunge to less than $ 40 in early 2009.
The CPC however was locked into buying fuel at almost three times the market rate and the losses from the deal threatened to reach one billion dollars.
Corruption and perks awarded to the CPC Chairman among others are said to have been behind the skewed deal, but ultimate responsibility must lie with the President who in his capacity as Finance Minister should have been aware of the specifics of any agreement. While the deal was abrogated in late 2008 it is likely the government — i.e. tax payers of this country — will have to fork out millions of dollars worth of compensation to Citibank and Standard Chartered for prematurely terminating the deal — again, billions of rupees of extra public expenditure as a result of government indifference, incompetence and greed.
Maga Neguma
The state owned entity for road development functions like a private company.
Headed by a close associate of the Rajapaksas’, Jaliya Kulasekera, billions of rupees worth of contracts for road development have been channelled to Maga Neguma.
However many of the projects are said to be overvalued. And the entity’s record for completing road works remains patchy. Maga Neguma vehicles are more often seen carrying government propaganda than actually building roads.
The Southern Expressway
The government’s showpiece, touted as the nation’s most ambitious and vital infrastructure project is in tatters. Years behind schedule and massively over budget, the Southern Expressway is now synonymous with extravagance, mismanagement and excesses.
While a 300 million dollar ADB loan was provided for the purpose of constructing the highway, the government, more for reasons of prestige than necessity expanded the scheme from a two lane to a four lane project resulting in serious financial shortfalls, with the government claiming in 2008 that another 100 million dollars worth of financing would be required to fund the construction of the final phase of the project.
Originally scheduled to be completed in 2010 it may be another five years before any vehicles actually make the journey from Colombo to Matara in the promised two hours.
And a series of poorly constructed and collapsing bridges along the length of the highway will only further delay the project as these unsafe bridges will have to be reconstructed at massive expense.
Katunayake Expressway
Highways to nowhere appear to be another government speciality and while the Katunayake initiative is decades old this government has not lost the opportunity to profit from it. Reviving the stalled programme a Rs.10 billion contract was awarded to MCC — a Chinese company with limited expertise in road building rather than a better qualified French company. Again the fact that the local representative for the Chinese company was connected to the ruling family likely played a part in that erudite decision.
Hambantota
While wild elephants are rapidly becoming an endangered species in Sri Lanka the government is doing its best to increase the country’s population of white elephants.
While part of the Hambantota project — the port — seems a sensible enough government scheme to move the country’s capital to an area that lacks population and water resources is potentially a massively corrupt disaster.
Vast tracts of land have been marked out for IT parks and industrial zones but who will work in these still unbuilt factories and outsourcing centers miles from any source of skilled labour remains to be seen.
While the financing for the government’s grandiose Hambantota schemes come from China, on what basis the tenders for the construction of the facilities at the port site were granted remains unclear.
And plans for a Safari Park at Hambantota now suggest the administration is ready to indulge in dictatorial levels of extravagance and waste — spending its limited financial resources on wild life parks with lions and rhinos when genuine sanctuaries can be found just minutes from Hambantota. The projected cost of the Safari Park is a staggering Rs.1.6 billion.
Kerawalapitiya
The combined fuel cycle plant built to ease the country’s dire electricity shortage is yet another of the government’s white elephants. The government paid $400 million for a plant thought to be worth approximately half that figure.
And the plant in fact generates only 200 megawatts of power rather than the 300 originally specified. Worse, the electricity that is generated by the plant is extremely expensive and is being sold by the CEB at a significant loss. So the upshot of the Kerawalapitiya plant has been to push a loss making state enterprise further into debt.
Uma Oya Scheme
The Uma Oya Scheme is another white elephant. The government has allocated more than $400 million for the construction of dams across the already extensively tapped Uma Oya. The original estimate for the cost of the project was $160 million and environmental impact reports have been circumvented to allow the unviable scheme to proceed. Again the government’s decisions to grant overvalued contracts for the construction of unnecessary projects only raises the spectre of corruption.
Deniyaya Palace
Built by the clan for the clan, the sprawling edifice hidden in the backwaters of Deniyaya came for many to symbolise the absolute excess, and extravagance of the regime. And whatever suspicions the people had regarding corruption at the site were only confirmed when the government moved to arrest the reporters who originally revealed the location of the not quite presidential palace.
Oh and lets not forget…
Golden Key
While Golden Key may seem like an instance of personal greed on the part of Lalith Kotelawala, the Central Bank’s deliberately lax regulations and its tolerance of unauthorised finance companies and general financial fraud created the conditions that allowed Kotelawala to engineer Sri Lanka’s largest financial sandal. The fact that Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal actively suppressed investigation into reported malpractices at Golden Key adds to the government’s culpability and as Cabraal is himself a political appointee the ultimate responsibility rests with those who appointed him (no prizes for guessing who that was).
Tip of the iceberg
The corruption implicit in the above mentioned mega projects is itself a damning indictment on the present administration. But the reality is that even these huge frauds and the enormous losses suffered by the people of Sri Lanka as a result of the loss making Mihin Air or the catastrophic oil hedging deal for example represent only the tip of the government’s iceberg of criminality.
The vast majority of corruption takes place not in mega projects but in a myriad of petty frauds and thefts committed by over 100 ministers and hundreds of MPs and provincial council members.
A simple example is the gross fraud committed at the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, an agency that falls under the purview of Minister Keheliya Rambukwella’s Ministry. In that instance insurance was made compulsory for Sri Lankan domestic workers, and those looking to secure employment in Kuwait had to purchase insurance though a single authorised agent. This agent however was an unregistered company selling over-valued insurance and operating from inside the Sri Lankan Embassy in Kuwait.
Over Rs.100 million worth of fraudulent insurance was purchased by unwitting maids and the idea that the government appears to have resorted to thieving from the maids who toil in the Middle East is an indication of the depth of the greed and indifference that run through the regime.
And of course the sheer extent of the corruption now prevalent in every arm of the government is such that no list can be remotely comprehensive. But even this brief sample serves as an indication as to why an unknown maverick – Sarath Fonseka — stands a chance of defeating a man who just months ago was perhaps the most popular leader in Sri Lanka’s history.
And of course corruption isn’t the only trick up Fonseka’s ex military sleeve. Nepotism with Rajapaksa relatives and allies stuffed into every conceivable position, and the absolute brutality of the police — the despicable deaths in custody at Angulana or the use of policemen in the beating of the hapless Sivakumaran at Bambalapitiya will be potent ammunition for the General.
Fonseka in fact has a formidable arsenal of weapons at his disposal, including his status as a war hero and ironically most if not all these weapons were given to him by the Rajapaksas through their own short sightedness, venality and greed.
Mother of all mothers- the inflation of the CPC Refinery expansion cost from $ 800 million to $ 1,795 million for an expansion of half the capacity!
No doubt one of the most corrupt regimes every to be established. Its all about the caliber of the people. What a waste of public funds. (land like no other i guess) hope things will be taken over by a better set of hands next year.
More and MORE please!
When there are Sinhala politicians, why do we thamils need Prabhakaran?
p perialingam,
u r wrong.
we r citizens in this country and we had tamil kingdoms rule this country for century’s, just like sinhala kings.
we have equal responsibility to develop this country like any other races.
having said that, all we want is equal rights, all human being r equal and not just kill a tamil or burn him like in 83, or chase a family our of their home or kidnap and extort money from minority businessman or burn property and give university placement based on talent and not on race .
so all we want is a political solution to guarantee that these kind of mistakes will never repeat in the future.
Dear Kugan
I do not dispute that you are a citizen,but you have got the Tamil Kindom thing wrong. I accept the fact that greedy invaders crossed the palk strait (Kalla Thoni) and grabbed the Sinhalese land and stayed from time to time. But they were always driven back to Tamil Naadu with tails between their legs. Out of the Tamils who came some decided to stay on and , because Sihalese Buddhists compassion , they allowed to them to stay on.You are a descendant from them. half coninued to have murdurous ,greeedy rogues while others became good citizens living with Sinhalese with harmony.As a majority , and having owned thisland for over 3000 years, the country is ours but as a citizen you have equal rights. 83 riots which killed many innocent Tamils was not done by Sinhalese,but the thugs of the then government. On the otherhand, how many Sinhalese Buddhists were killed by Tamil invaders and had their homes burnt?How many temples and Buddhist shrines were burnt?. Money extortion is a trademark of Tamil LTTE and you know only last week Canada jailed about 15 Tamils for this. There is no problem now as the LTTE murderers are wiped out hence no solution. Even S.L has given Citizenship to people imported during English rule though India was willing to accept them back . Their votes have a big impact in Sri Lankan Politics. If you still don’t like it, you can always go to Tamil Naadu or contact a smuggler to take you to Australia and claim bogus refugee status.
Paul,
What about Vijaya, The gratest “kalla thoni” of all
Paul Smith, you are a racist bigot and a coward who is scared to comment under your own name!
Sri Lanka belongs to ALL communities, not just to one.
paul Smith,
I’m not here to argue who came first,
look at countries like singapore,canada.
as far as ur the citizen, ur equal to anyone in the country.
but for information on sri lankan history,
Timeline: Sri Lanka
A chronology of key events:
Fifth century BC – Indo-Aryan migrants from northern India settle on the island; the Sinhalese emerge as the most powerful of the various clans.
Third century BC – Beginning of Tamil migration from India.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/country_profiles/1166237.stm
so basically just 2 centuries is the difference .
so u didnt own the country for 3000 years alone, just 200 years.
kugan, your source is bbc – biase brodcasting coorperation. british successfully divided us like they did to other colonies as india hindu/muslim etc…singapore racism is high a chinese will not sit near nor employ a indian i have seen this. forget history this is our land & we will protect it be sure of that. those who want to live peacefully & follow the laws of the land welcome -other can leave to canada in the smelly boats like dogs!
Brilliant Paul, and Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. They wanna be a majority go to TN there are millions of the kind. The SInhalese (I am not one) are compassionate and kind ..No govt. has incited burning of mosques like the Babri Masjid in India for ex. There is corruption for sure and that is not limited to race and neither is police brutality weather its LAPD or Colombo..its the Human Condition. The Tamils seek refuge in France, Italy and Germany and learn their languages so do the same in SL brother. Take Care.
Dear Paul
You clearly need to get your facts right tamils from India ( who you tagged as Kalla Thoni) were bought by the british so they can work in the plantations in the hill country purely because the sinhalese living in this country were lazy and had no stamina to do hard labour and they are the backbone of our Tea Exports which brings so billions of dollars to this country,tell me one sinhalese who has made it big in business nor in any field before the year 83 in this country ? Saravanamutthu helped Cricket in this country if not for him you have be boasting about the cricket stars in this country(Than the sinhalese build SSC – Sinhalese Sports Club),Tamils owend most of the Cinemas in this country in 83 ( which were all burnt in the riots) so they helped Cinema field in this country,now we all can see the state of the Cinemas produced in this country many have won awards abroad.The minorities rule pettah business which is the main Trading points in Sri Lanka and than the Sinhalese than started building Kiribathgoda as a Trading point ( restricting anyone but Singhalese to own shops in the area).many shops were robbed and was set on fire during the riots specifically targetting the Tamil businessmen,even now recently most of the tamil businessman were kidnapped and was asked ransom from their family members.MAS,Brandix,EAM,John Keells ( Ken Balendra),Celinco Life ( R.Reganathan),Muralidaran all prominent figures in the country and the business help regain this poor economy are the minorities not the majority.The Majority can only sit and talk about the past and wate time.you dont even have the guts to proper politics yes tell me how many Buddist Monks and Temples were burnt tell me the numbers ? just read the pappers to see how many of the minorities have died and the houses burnt.so this country was and will always will be depended on the minorities.remember that.
Suresh
Names don’t matter but the facts. This is what Australia, a pro Tamil Country, who up to now not banned LTTE had to say .Remember the Gentleman who says it, also an Immigrant.No comments from world leaders or any body Please read as it is very important.
This should be a world wide rule. If you want to move to any country and become part of that country…WELCOME, But if want to change anything in that new country you wish to live in …GOODBYE
It took a lot of courage for this man to speak what he had to say for the world to hear. The retribution could be phenomenal, but at least he was willing to take a stand on his and Austrilia’s beliefs. Yes, allow those that want to come, to come. But understand that if you want to go to a country not of your birth, you should expect to live by their rules and respect their ways of life. This doesn’t mean you have to give up yours. I think he explains it very well.
Every Country Needs A Leader Like This!
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd – Australia
Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks..
Separately, Rudd angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation’s mosques. Quote:
‘IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians. ‘
‘This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom’
‘We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!’
‘Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.’
‘We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.’
‘This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, ‘THE RIGHT TO LEAVE’.’
‘If you aren’t happy here then LEAVE. We didn’t force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.’
Maybe if we circulate this amongst ourselves, WE will find the courage to start speaking and voicing the same truths.
If you agree please SEND THIS ON and ON to as many people as you know
.
Don’t forget that Sinhala people also came from India {Orissa state} and lord Buddha’s parents r hindus. Lord Buddha is also hindu
ha ha
the bengali kalla thonis calling the tamil nadu kalla thonis, buggers why don’t you admit that the only original owners of lanka from Ravana’ s time were the veddas, Lord Karthikeya(or Murugan) came on earth and even took his consort Valli Amma from the veddas, so just stoip bickering and move on with love and regards to each other
Kugan,
the university entrance system is based on talent, not on race.
It is similar to the affirmative action rules operating in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa to create equal opportunities to the underprivileged. and like with any affirmative action program some people will lose out
while the Z score system was harsh on the Tamil students in the Jaffna district when first introduced, Tamil students in the northern and the North eastern province have benefited greatly from this in the recent past.
There was no Tamil kingdom in Sri Lanka. You were reading all these nonsense from your Tamil politicions. A piece of land int he Yappa Patuna was given to a blind singer by a Sinhla king. Then the whole place was know as Yarlpaanam by Tamils. That means no Tamils were living (legally, even now Tamils have that habit of being Kalla Thoni, see all the trouble they cause to Australia. Old habit die hard.) in Sri Lanka and no Tamil kingdom. Once the Yappa Pattuna was developped by Sinhalese and the relatives of this blind singer went and spread stories in India, they started the invasion.
The best political solution is sending all the Tamils back to India where they came from. Let them ask for Tamil state or whatever they get from their mother India.
Timeline: Sri Lanka
A chronology of key events:
Fifth century BC – Indo-Aryan migrants from northern India settle on the island; the Sinhalese emerge as the most powerful of the various clans.
Third century BC – Beginning of Tamil migration from India.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/country_profiles/1166237.stm
so u guys also came from india , just 200 years before tamils,
so if this land dont belong to us, then doesnt belong to u too coz u came just 200 years before.
so i dont know where u got ur history resource from but i have quoted mine,
Before the British Invasion the country divided by several areas North & East,West , South and the hill capital,British emerged all to one land because of the administration burdens.Know you history right Fool.
to kalag
As you say, if all the migrants need to go back to their own countries, SL will be left only to the veddhas!
Sri Lankan airline’s web, when quotes fares for various sectors, gives a fare and notifies in the side line “Seats as per the fare quoted are sold out on this flight. However, seats are currently available upon a surcharge”. Even if you try for dates few months in advance also, the same message comes. Next the fare quoted with the said surcharge is usually double of what is quoted without ‘surcharge’. But travel agents offer 25% less than the fare with surcharge. I do not understand this gimmick or comic. Is this also part of a swindle somewhere? Will anyone from Sri Lankan airline clarify?
Corruption and stealing. Thats why tha Nation is going down Hill
some air lines, including cathay pacific and singapore offer flights at a higher cost than that offered by agents. one of the reason is that Agents reserve tickets in bulk and in advance
if the web site is malfunctioning, you should contact the web-host or the site contact. that would be common sense
well said waruna
1. we dont need a new air port, wat we need is a high way to the current air port and a express high tech trains from air port.
wats the point in building the second one when 1st one itself dont have all the basic required facility.
reason is simple, if its a new project, more money involved and therefor can do alot of corruption.
This I totally agee with you. You have the potential to become a great patriot of S.L, like Mr. Kadiragaamer. He was the first to expose Tamil side of Greedy politics to the world.
Why don’t you just shut up if you have nothing sensible to say ‘Paul Smith’…??
suresh what paul says is sensible if you dont want to accept its up to you! what kugan says is a pack of bull to me
Kugan do have a point.why cant you see that you Sinhalese are idiots,as the old saying :Sinhalayo modoyo”.and paul smith and you are the biggest of em all
according to this tabloid article, if you start a project which costs a lot of money (which most infrastructure projects do) it is automatically presumed to be corrupt (which is also true). So lets listen to these adiot writers and not start any public projects that costs a lot of money
Obviously corruption under this regime is much worse when compared to previous governments in SL. My valuable advice to the voters is to bring back Ranil who is the only honest and decent politician in SL.
Corruption, mismanagement by the politiciens itself is the next calamity of Lanka after the LTTE.
gen. SF led the war by eliminating corruption in the forces. Hope he can eliminate corrupt politiciens
The MR brothers have become a liabilty and a curse in SL They must go– the sooner the better. It is a great blessing that now there are two strong contenders against him.
Lanka is a country where we know the politicians are the most corrupt but no one has been punished for the last 30 yrs. desite swinding billions but recently a parliment worker was punished for stealing a bun!
Lanka is a country where the biggest criminal in the country is a minister. Many crimes are known to the whole country with ample video evidence, but the law can not touch them.
Lanka is a country where when the ego of politicies cause loss of 6 billion another 3 billion is given but no one is responsible !
Lanka is a country where on evidence is found, no culprit is found when so many anti-govt. people/ organisations are attacked meaning there is no law for such criminals.
What is the purpose of such govt? Over to you Mr Fonseka to clean this minefield too!
Joseph
Why only Sri Lanka. What about India where 156 MPs have been involved or convicted of murder!!
Sky is the limit is a common, innocent statement ,but has surely produced unique shades of meaning after the enthronement of the Rajapakse clan. Airports,Mihin,MIG,Sri Lankan Airlinees festoons the clear sky. I am a born cynic what is to come will be worse.
THE ACCUSATIONS LEVELED AGAINST CURRENT GOVERNMENT ARE COMMON TO ANY GOVERNMENT RULED THIS COUNTRY.USAID THAT, UNP RULED THIS COUNTRY THAN ANY THE PARTY.DID THEY GET AWAY..? WHEN THEY ARE IN OPPOSITION, TALKING LIKE ” SHEELAWANTHAYO” IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO THE PUBLIC.BECAUSE,WE KNOW THE TRUTH.
HAVING SAIAT WE DO NOT APPROVE MISUSE OF PUBLIC FUNDS AT ALL AND THE PROPER MACHANISM SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED.WHY UNP CAN’T HELP THE GOVERNMENT TO ESTABLISHE T NECESSARY INSTITUTE SGIVING THE GOVERNMENT 2/3 MAJORITY IN THE PARLIAMENT INSTEAD OF TALKING NONSENSE.PEOPLE KNOW WELL RANIL’S “PRATHIGAMEE” INTENTIONS.
THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT HAD GONE THROUGH VERY TOUGH TIMES WITH THE WAR AND THEY HAVE GIVEN US THE MOST SOUGHT FREEDOM.LET US GIVE THE GOVERNMENT THE FAIR TIME FRAME TO COMPLETE ITS TASK.PRESIDENT RAJAPAKSHA IS A TRUE “LANKA PUTRA” UNLIKE RANIL.HE WILL DEVELOP THIS COUNTRY AND UNITE THE PEOPLE.
TO BE SUCCEEDED WITH THEIR PERSONAL AGENDAS, RANIL AND MANGALA ARE WORKING VERY HARD TO MAKE PUBLIC ” BOORUWO”. IF THEY ARE REAL ” DESHAPREMEENS” THEY SHOULD NEVER ATTEMPT SUCH HORRIBLE ACTS.WHATEVER THEY DO, RANIL WILL NEVER BECOME THE PRESIDENT OF THIS COUNTY BY PEOPLES’ VOTE.
exactly mate, this r just mere speculation, without any credible facts true to sunday leader style, but one thing has come to light by this, the amount of development work this govt had done in this short period…
compared with the mr cleans time during 2001to 2003,highlighted, by COPE report, this are just pure third class gossip from a third class so called news paper.
WE HEAR ABOUT THE PROMISE TO IMPLEMENT THE 17 TH AMENDMENT, ABOLISH THE EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT BY THE NEW ALLIANCE BUT NONE OF THEM HAVE GIVEN A FIRM PROMISE TO THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY IF AND HOW THEY ARE GOING TO GET BACK THE BILLIONS ROBBED FROM THE COFFERS OF THIS STATE BY THE PRESENT REGIME. WE ARE CASTIGATED TO PAY MULTIPLE TAXES ONLY TO BE EXTRAVAGANTLY USED FOR THE BENEFIT OF A FEW OR TO BE ROBBED IN THE MANNAR EXPLAINED IN YOUR ARTICLE. IF KOTHALAWELA WAS IMPRISONED AND CO WERE IMPRISONED AND ASSETS FROZEN, WE NEED THE NEW REGIMES OPEN COMMITMENT TO THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY THAT NONE OF THESE ROGUES WILL BE PERMITTED TO LEAVE THIS COUNTRY WITH THEIR ILL GOTTEN BILLIONS. ONLY IF THIS IS DONE WILL IT GIVE THE RIGHT MESSAGE TO EVERY POLITICIAN PRESENT AND FUTURE THAT ONES ELLECTED TO PUBLIC OFFICE TO SERVE THE COUNTRY HONESTLY AND NOT TO SERVE ONE’S SELF.
these are the original patriots”desha premin”.all the others againt them are “desha drohin,vijathika balavegavan,kumantrana karuwan”.dear god please help us.and let the srilankan peopels eyes open on this petriotic heros of this mother land.praba distroyed people and welth of this country.i think this petriotics have done more damage to our mother lanka than prabakaran.
The list is long but you have left out so many! CPC/ Iran oil refinery deal, Trincomalee India IT parks, corrupt land deals in the East, what about all the foreign trips? bogolagama? how much money did bathiudeen make money from the IDPs? what about hezbulla and mervyn silva how much did they steal. Please publish more the public needs to see it all
World leaders should lean from Rajapaksha family how to steal public funds. Mahinda started with Helping Hambantota and ending with Hambantota airport, how wonderful world for Rajapaksha family, last four years.
..WHY BLAME THE REGIME ?..BLAME THE PEOPLE WHO VOTED FOR THIS REGIME..SL TAMILS BOYCOTTED THE LAST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION…BECAUSE THEY HAVE LOST THE CONFIDENCE IN THE WHOLE MAJORITY MANIA RULE….AND TAMIL WILL CONTINUE TO BOYCOTT THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION…..DEMOCRACY HAS BECOME DEMOCRAZY IN SL AS WELL AS IN MANY COUNTRIES….WHEN KINGS RULED THESE COUNTRIES THERE WERE NO CORRUPTION,CRIME,NEPOTISM…..DEMOCRACY WILL WORK ONLY IN HOMOGENOUS SOCIETY…EXAMPLE GREECE…WHERE IT WAS ORGINATED.
…THIS IS FOR THE MAHAVAMSA FANS..AFTER 500 YEARS THE SAME MAHAVAMSA IS GOING TO TELL THE FUTURE GENERATION THE MAHAWELI AND KOTMALE PROJECTS WERE PLANNED BY SINHALA RULERS AND COMPLETED BY SINHALA ENGINEERS…THIS STORY BOOK WILL OMIT BRITISH,AND SWEDISH 100 % PATICIPATION AND CONTRIBUTION…PAST MAHAVAMSA HAS OMIT MANY TRUTHS …SPECIALLY ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF DEPORTED CRIMINAL NAME VIJAYA(NOT A WORD ABOUT THIS VIJAYA IS MENTIONED IN ANCIENT BENGALI OR BIHARI CHRONICALS.)SINHALEASE ARE NO DOUBT A SOUNTH INDIAN ORIGINS..GO TO KERALA AND SEE HE WOMEN DRESS AND WHAT PEOPLE EAT.CHECK THE INDAN MAP IN KERALA EVEN TODAY THERE IS A COASTAL TOWN PANADURE EXIST…HOW COME BUDDHAS STATUE HAS GOT MORE GREEK FACIAL IDENTITY..??? BECAUSE IT WAS MADE BY GREEK SCULPTURES SO THE ANCIENT DAMS AND BUILDINGS IN SRI LANKA…GREECE WAS SUPER POWER MANY THOUSANDS YEARS AGO…MAHAVAMSA ALWAYS HIDE THE TRUTH.
Buddha has got a greek face!! Come on – I thought eveyone new Buddha is of Napalese origin and has classical Chinese/ Nepalese( Mongolian features) Geez .
Sinhala> Arya- Sinhala> Indo-european languages
Sinhala> Sinha( lion ) – Le( blood)
Sinhala emblem> Lion. Also shred by> Rajputs> Raja Putra( son of kings)>
Simha( lion in sanskrit)> Singh( Rajput) Singh( Punjabi/Sikh)> Sinha( sinhala) means> Lion
Rajastan> Raja Istan( land of kings)
Sinhala Kings names> Raja Singha( Lion King) > emblem Lion
All indicates Sinhala aryan origins( Aryan is greek for Iranian)
South Indian Dravida emblem in the Tiger( hence adopted by LTTE)
..SINHALEASE ALWAYS LEARN LATE..MAY BE SOME DNA PROBLEM..REMEMBER THE MASSCARE OF TAMILS WHEN FEDERAL PARTY PROTESTED THE SINHALA SRI FOR CAR NUMBER PLATE DURING 50S??? THE SAME SINHALEASE AFTER 40 YEARS REALISED THAT SRI ( A HOLY WORD TOUCHING DIRTS ON ROADS) IS NOT SUITABLE FOR CAR PLATE..AND CHANGED TO ENGLISH ALPHABET…..IT WILL TAKE ANOTHER 40 YEARS TO UNDERSTAND WHY TAMIL PREFERD ARMS THAN VOTES WHICH THEY HAVE PRACTICED FROM 1948 TO 1983…AND LOST EVERYTHING.
..KALAG WHY NOT SINHALESE GO BACK TO BANGALDESH THE LAND OF DEPORTED CRIMINAL VIJAYA..ACCORDING MAHAVAMSA..THE SAME MAHAVAMSA GOES TELLING THIS CRIMINAL WHO DECLARED AS AKING AFTER MASSCARING KUVENI GOT BRIDES FROM PANDYA(TAMIL) KINGOM IN SOUTH INDIA SO HIS 700 THUGS..SO YOUR REAL MOTHERS ARE TAMILS YES OR NO..IT WAS A CUSTOM IN THOSE DAYS MOST PRINCES MARRIED BRIDES FROM SOUH INDIAN ROYAL FAMILIES(ALL TAMILS)…SO PAST AND PRESENT POPULATION WERE CREATED BY TAMIL MOTHERS…YES OR NO??? DONT PARADE YOUR IGNORANCE….THESE KALLATHONIES WERE CREATED BY YOUR OWN SINHALA POLITICIANS TO CAPTURE YOUR VOTES..CAN ANY SL POLITICIANS CONTEST EVEN TODAY WITHOUT MENTION ABOUT TAMILS ? THEY HAVE STARTED THIS ANTI-TAMIL ELECTION PROPAGANDA SINCE 1948 BECAUSE THEN AND NOW THEY HAVE NOTHING TO TALK.
..PAUL SMITH WHY CANT YOU GIVE YOUR ORIGINAL SINHALEASE NAME? IF KADIRGAMAR WHO CANT EVEN SPEAK TAMIL PROPERLY IS A TAMIL ..THEN NAVARATNA(NAVARTNAM),GUNARATNA(GUNARATNAM),……………………………………DHANAPALA(DHANAPALAN),PERUMA(PERUMAL) ,ARIYARATNA(ARIYARATNAM)…..ARE ALL TAMILS …EH?
the MOST CORRUPT SRI LANKAN FAMILY
RAJAPAKSA 10% COMMISSION FAMILY SHOULD BE BEATEN
VOTE FOR GENERAL
You have missed out the deal struck by Fauzie and her family with an Indian Company on oil field in Mannar with the connivance of an Sri Lankan Canadian. We were told that the first barrel of oil will be in the world market in 2010!!!. Is this a complete rip off ?
A Robber baron
No wonder we left this corrupt dump called Sri Lanka. We are now living in the best country in the world pursuing the dream made possible by a government that is honest, transparent and accountable. It is the only country in the developed world to survive the Global Fiancial Crisis with a surplus budget.
P.Diddy
you chose to go abroad for your personal needs and choices dont con saying that you left because you cant stand the corruption here,you are just a coward like the rest of the diapora.
Dear Friends,
The way the war was carried out helped tamils in one aspect. The whole world knows the underlying issue now. Since the defeat of the LTTE, every move is closely watched (disappearances, killings, curruption, and the connectins with dictators).
Citezens remember eventhough all our politicias bad mouth about the west they still like all their children educated in the US, UK, AUS or Canada! Why not the new allies like India, China, Iran, Cuba & Libya!! I guess they are not advanced enough!!!
As long as masses don’t have the ability to think for themselves its easy for the politicians to manipulate the system.
Ask your self how can a Man over 60′s or a Child under 10 in an IDP camp can be a threat to our nation whereas # 2 LTTE is a minister? Don’t you think for yourselves??
Country needs change but MR or SF is not the answer! Country needs wise politicians and not crooks and thieves.
God bless the lost paradise!
Kumar
Thank you for the feedback. We are looking to compile as comprehensive as possible a list of regime frauds in order to publish a top 10 ten government heists feature, and would be grateful if readers could post substantiated reports of government corruption on this discussion thread.
Sincerely,
R. Wijewardene
wije, can you also do the same what happened under the UNP regime?? arn’t they the people who created corruption?
Tell me Don why is BBC biase towards the Tamils ?? anyone who says the truth is biased is it ? Fool.
Sri Lanka is nothig without the Minorities.
Peace and Law ?! wait and watch Mahinda and the Family steall all our tax money.you idiots wil still vote for them.
Could you please roll back your time of reporting to 1977 please?
Billy, am sure u are a stalwart of the present regime… doesnt matter ..people like u have to exist and show a damn blind eye to reality..hey chum wake up will ya ??? we live in the 21st century !!
When an year ends it is customary to give Hampers to those you seek favours – Hamper is a dignified term used in the corporate world for Bribe. This is universal so we don’t have to make a loud cry. But in the context of a country those who take Bribe should ensure that they do not take Bribe at the cost of the country – I mean devastate the economy as we see today. Look at the cost of living. Basic essentials are sold at exhorbitant prices. The first and foremost thing is to arrest the escalating prices. Thr present Government has to find a solution fast before the Presedential Election fever hots up otherwise they will no doubt lose their Identity for ever.
Sounds like a lot of projects were shelved because of the war. They were all
started in good faith, but for the selfishness of a certain %.
Now if there was a RESPONSIBLE democracy in Sri Lanka, where a certain
power-hungry dragoon would leave the status quo alone till the country
stabilized after the draining of the terroristic war, and not intrude so early
into an unnecessary political arena (because this is the one and only time his
popularity is at a somewhat high), then even the might-be/probable corruption
should become something of a positive, and become an investment with hefty
turnovers.
Hi Billy,be honest tell the world,what was the offer made,for this statement made by you,on the 29th Nov. 2009.
Mr made a secret pact with Prabakaran by paying 180 million to stop people of north and east voting. This is how he became president. He also is a currupt leader by buying members of parliment to build up the majority. On the whole there is no end to his cruption.
Those who are arguing who came first to the island please follow the logic instead of relying on mythology.
The island is visible from the south coast of India. The original inhabitants of the island share the gene pool of south Indians. In fact the Sinhalese and the Tamils share 55% of the gene pool. The Sinhala language by which the Sinhalese are identified was not even around 2500 years ago. The Mahavamsa the mythology written in the 7th century by Mahanama was written in Pali not Sinhala. The Sinhala race came into being with the evolution of the language. Therefore no race either Tamil or Sinhala can claim one came before the other as their ancestry is one.
It is important for the people of the island to recognise this. It is propostrous to claim that the Tamils who are indegenous people of this island to be invaders. It is this misconception arising through a distorted politically biased history that has been the cause of this conflict between communities that share the same ancestry.
It is true that there has been invasions by monarchs from the southern india in recent past. But the island has been the home of the Tamils millenea before such invasions. It is a cheap and politically motivated ploy by racists leaders who play up these events and the 19th century upcountry Tamil migration to deny the existance of the indigenous Tamil who had shared this island since time immemorial.
I trust The Sunday leader will take a firm stance on the comments which are divisive and are sowing seeds of hatred between people.
Navalan
Rogue politicians in SL. What is new? I feel sorry for the people of SL and I hope that they will use their votes wisely this time.
Is there no hope for Sri Lankans ? For too long they have suffered at the hands of politicians who were only interested in creating wealth for themselves and had no interest in taking the country forward. Sometimes I think we were better off under the British. At least they built more infrastructure and did not create disharmony between the tamils and the sinhalese. There was no corruption under the british either.
BREAKING NEWS
CHAMAGOBA is the new holding company of the Rajapakse family, they will be going public soon. Its expected that the price woud shoot Rs1000 within days as this is a cash rich company
Let us leave behind the past and look forward. Our country is right now at its peak with corruption and lawlessness. I hope the electorate will see through this and speak their minds at the ballot box next year. If not, let us ask the U.S and the U.K to invade us to eradicate the “family” and their businesses and bring about law order to this great country of ours.
On the 23rd of July 1983 many innocent Tamils were afftected in Colombo. We did not support the Tigers at that time. However we supported the Tigers and recked the country which is now only worthy to the dogs.
The weels of justice will griend slowly so keep looking until Srilanka is no more.
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