ISSUES

Running the Central Bank
a la  Jayawardena

By Frederica Jansz An investigation by The Sunday Leader this week has found that the Governor, Central Bank, A.S. Jayawardena has not only favoured friends and associates when handing out key positions within the Central Bank but also appointed his own daughter as an economist to the bank. We have already pointed out that his niece Sarojini Kadurugamuwa serves as director (legal) at the Central Bank. Jayawardena recruited to the Central Bank his daughter, Menaka Jayawardena on July 13, 2000. He did so despite Menaka

Jayawardena not possessing a second upper degree as required for recruitment for staff class in the bank.

Menaka Jayawardena is a foreign graduate. A few months after her recruitment to the Central Bank she was allowed nine days no pay leave to travel overseas. Despite a policy at the Central Bank that employees who take no pay leave are not made permanent after the two year probation period, she was made permanent along with the others in her batch after two years.

Disappointed

Angry staff officers allege that Menaka Jayawardena was posted to the Economic Research Department at the Central Bank along with a close friend which resulted in one experienced officer, S. Nanayakkara, who had undergone training overseas in economics being transferred to the Training Department. Nanayakkara was so disappointed and disillusioned thereafter that she resigned from the bank.

More policy changes were made at the Central Bank following Menaka Jayawardena's appointment. Previous policy decisions stated that no officer would be sent for training overseas during their probation period. However, soon after the governor's daughter was appointed, all new recruits including Menaka Jayawardena were sent overseas for training on more than one occasion.

Employees at the Central Bank who intend to go abroad for post graduate studies are required to sit a qualifying exam. Menaka Jayawardena got only 19 out of 100 at this exam when the pass mark is 50.

Moves are also underway to change the rules in the bank to allow employees to take no pay leave for post-graduate studies and such leave would be treated as active service. This too, The Sunday Leader learns, is being done to assist Menaka Jayawardena. Present policy in the bank does not allow for no-pay leave to be treated as service.

Meanwhile, another appointment to be sanctioned by Governor A.S. Jayawardena has been stayed following a strong complaint made that once more - as pointed out in our expos‚ last week - the Governor is using his powers to nominate someone with a scarred track record to the Central Bank. Not only that, he has allegedly influenced his niece Sarojini Kadurugamuwa to make the recommendation despite there being charges of impropriety against the nominee.

This time around it is K.M. Parakrama R. Karunaratne, an attorney-at-law. Karunaratne was formerly deputy solicitor general at the Attorney General's Department. As senior state counsel, Karunaratne was the supervising officer of banking and insurance in the Attorney General's Department and as deputy solicitor general, he was the supervising officer of banking and debt recovery.

Applications for the post of a local legal consultant for law reforms in the financial sector were called as part of a two year project funded by the World Bank to strengthen new reforms for the Central Bank. One aspect of this work is drafting legal reforms in the financial sector while assisting a foreign consultant.

Although the Financial Sector Reforms Committee is housed at the Central Bank, the project is driven by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe under the direct intervention of R. Paskaralingam who is advisor to the Premier and who attends every meeting of this committee.

It was Paskaralingam who engineered the support of the World Bank for foreign and local consultants to look at the entirety of the financial sector law reforms over a period of two years, commencing from January 2003.

Paskaralingam is under the belief that the selection of the local consultant has been delayed or suspended because of the problem in selecting a suitable foreign consultant. Both these consultancies were advertised in the newspapers and over the internet last year and applications closed in November 2002.

Three foreign consultants were shortlisted. However, the one who was selected had an adverse report from the Commonwealth Secretariat for whom he earlier had done some work. Therefore that selection was not made.

As regards the local consultant, there were three suitable candidates and an internal committee of the Central Bank chaired by Sarojini Kadurugamuwa has made the selection of Parakrama Karunaratne.

Track record

Our investigations show that Kadurugamuwa and A.S. Jayawardena are trying to appoint Karunaratne to this prestigious post despite his scarred track record during his tenure at the AG's Department.

Parakrama Karunaratne is well known to Kadurugamuwa because as we have pointed out already, he was the supervising officer of banking and insurance in the Attorney General's Department and as deputy solicitor general, he was the supervising officer of banking and debt recovery.

He, therefore, during his period at the AG's Department struck a friendship and close association with A.S. Jayawardena and Sarojini Kadurugamuwa. This is why an allegation is now being made that Kadurugamuwa, together with her uncle, A.S. Jayawardena are favouring the selection of Karunaratne to this post.

Another applicant, who was for several years the legal officer of an established bank, has strongly protested about even the candidature and the selection of Parakrama Karunaratne because there were serious allegations of impropriety on his part as a result of which he had to leave the AG's Department.

Our investigation also found that Paskaralingam is unaware that Kadurugamuwa has already decided on a selection of the local consultant, as Paskaralingam's approval should have been obtained owing to his close association in financial sector legal reform.

It would be interesting to see how this matter will be dealt with by the Central Bank Tender Board, which is headed by Deputy Governor W.A. Wijeywardena. Incidentally, it was Wijeywardena's appointment that was challenged before the Supreme Court for not conforming to the internal regulations of the bank and Justice Mark Fernando's illuminating judgement which set aside the appointment.

The Sunday Leader understands that Paskaralingam has been told by both Kadurugamuwa and her uncle the Governor, that the appointment of the local consultant is being delayed because of the inability to finalise a selection of the foreign consultant.

Disciplinary action

Parakrama Karunaratne applied for early retirement from public service whilst the AG's Department was contemplating disciplinary action against him. The allegations made against him at the time was that during the period from December 20, 1997 to August 1, 1998, Karunaratne had charged the Ports Authority an astronomical sum in legal fees without obtaining prior sanction from the relevant authorities.

From 1997 to 1999, Karunaratne was nominated as team leader for the Attorney General (AG), who at the time was Sarath N. Silva, to function in contractual negotiations with an international port operator for the BOT concession agreement in respect of the Queen Elizabeth Quay (QEQ) of the Colombo Port.

He assisted in drafting the main concessions agreement as well as in drafting and supervising the drafting of consequent agreements including the lease and port services agreement.

The issue with Karunaratne arose from the fact that he, together with another senior officer of the AG's Department, had entered into an agreement with the Ports Authority for the payment of a sum totaling around Rs. 4.7 million to them and to several other officers for work done on the QEQ project.

This payment had been made in addition to a payment to the officers of a sum of Rs. 4.7 million earlier, for which approval had been granted by the Finance Ministry on a recommendation of the AG. The Public Services Commission, meantime, had contended that such payments to public officers is contrary to the Establishment Code.

No formal approval

Later, the then Shipping Minister, M.H.M. Ashraff submitted a cabinet memorandum indicating that the AG had been aware of the arrangement for a further payment in respect of additional work entrusted to these officers. However, when the controversy broke, it transpired that no formal approval had been obtained either from the AG or the Ministry of Finance for the execution of the agreement or the payments made to the officers.

Subsequently the AG, Sarath Silva decided against holding any formal inquiry but merely to permit Karunaratne and the other officer to resign from the department. That was after the Additional Solicitor General L.R. De Silva, who was asked to inquire into the case, said criminal charges would have to be preferred unless they opted to resign. The two officers at first sent in their resignation letters which they later withdrew and instead submitted retirement papers.

This is not the only slur against Karunaratne during his career as a public officer attached to the AG's Department. In July 1997, he claimed a sum of Rs. 150,000 from the Central Bank for drafting a plaint and affidavit including consultation fees. At the time, Karunaratne was deputy solicitor general at the AG's Department.

When this amount was queried, the AG resubmitted a fresh bill to the secretary of the Central Bank stipulating Karunaratne's notarial brief fees as only Rs. 1,000 (one thousand) as against the earlier Rs. 150,000 claimed by the latter.

Karunaratne, however, was not to be subjugated. On July 10, 1997, Abdeen Associates, a legal firm, wrote to the governor of the Central Bank, stating that in the case of the Monetary Board of the Central Bank vs. the Central Bank Employees Union a cheque for rupees one hundred and fifty thousand (Rs. 150,000) be made out as fees for counsel, for drafting plaint, affidavit and other documents.

Abdeen Associates stated in writing that on being informed that the AG had deleted this sum and requested the governor to draw the cheque in favour of "Razmara Abdeen." The latter is a member of the law firm Abdeen Associates. They maintained that this sum of money was due to Abdeen Associates who had assisted in drafting the relevant documentation.

Cheque No. 294730 for Rs. 150,000 was later sent to Abdeen Associates on July 21, 1997, by the secretary of the Central Bank.

A separate payment of Rs. 47,400 was also made to the AG's Department by the Central Bank based on the amended bill submitted by the AG to the Central Bank.

Objections

On August 6, 1997, Abdeen Associates wrote to the governor of the Central Bank, acknowledging receipt of cheque no. 294730 dated July 17, 1997 for Rs. 150,000. The letter stated that as agreed the monies had been paid to Deputy Solicitor General Parakrama Karunaratne as his fees.

This is why there are objections being voiced on A.S. Jayawardena appointing Karunaratne to this post.

Karunaratne was chosen by a technical evaluation committee at the Central Bank, chaired by Director (Legal) Sarojini Kadurugamuwa, Legal Consultant G.G. De Silva, Thassim from the World Bank and Algama from the Monetary Fund.

Last week we highlighted how G.G. De Silva, a retired deputy legal draftsman, was personally appointed by Governor A.S. Jayawardena in 1997 to the panel of legal and accounting consultants at the Central Bank. G.G. De Silva as a result drew a salary of Rs. 47,500 every month, working a maximum of four to five hours each day.

Since the complaint was received against the appointment of Karunaratne, the Governor instead of appointing a separate independent body to look into this matter merely requested his niece, Sarojini Kadurugamuwa to review Karunaratne's track record, who we have already pointed out is a close friend and associate of both the governor and Kadurugamuwa.

Meanwhile, Kadurugamuwa on January 10, this year, wrote to the present AG, K. C. Kamalasabayson requesting his advice and views on the matter.

AG's response

On January 23, Kamalasabayson responded asserting he does not wish to express any views on this issue. He, however, enclosed copies of the petition, statement of objections and order in the Supreme Court application no. 671/99 relating to the retirement of K. M. Parakrama R. Karunaratne asserting they could all be forwarded to the said committee for any decision that may be taken to justify the appointment or non appointment of Karunaratne to the Central Bank post.

In a subsequent internal memorandum to the Chairman, Tender Board Law Reforms Consultancy, W.A. Wijeywardena, Kadurugamuwa wrote that based on the documents submitted by the AG and the fact that there does not appear a formal inquiry was conducted into the conduct of Karunaratne over the QEQ matter, she sees no reason to invalidate the TEC recommendation of the suitability of Karunaratne for the consultancy.

However, Kadurugamuwa added that it may be premature to take a decision on this until the issue relating to the international consultant is resolved. A draft letter in this regard has also been submitted to the World Bank.

It remains to be seen if A.S. Jayawardena and Sarojini Kadurugamuwa will ignore the blemished track record of Karunaratne and officially nominate him to this prestigious post. This appears to be a certainty by the statement made in Sarojini Kadurugamuwa's letter last month on January 29, where she asserts she sees no reason to reverse the decision of the committee with regard to appointing Karunaratne to this post.

No  comment

Menaka Jayawardena when contacted said she did not wish to comment or clarify if any of the allegations against her are true or false.

Sarojini Kadurugamuwa was unavailable for comment.

New wave of Christianity 

By Marianne David 

A new wave of Christianity has begun. Though it all started some time ago, its presence has been made known in Sri Lanka only in the recent past.

“It seems that these new denominations — known as free churches — have not been accepted in the right spirit.

“Fast spreading all over the world, the free churches seem to be considered a threat by many though they are actually a natural worldwide phenomenon,” said an Anglican priest.

Though allegations are rampant that people are being converted unethically into the free churches that are springing up all over the place, the actual state of affairs is that a new expression of Christianity has begun, he explained.

However, many Christian congregations around the island have been the target of attacks in the recent past. Even rural churches have not been spared.

The reason given for these attacks is that people are being bought over to convert to the new denominations.

Misunderstood

“Human manipulation cannot bring about conversion. People have misunderstood this growing natural phenomenon. There is no guarantee that a person will stay if money is given. And from where can all this money be given? How much can you pay a Buddhist or a Roman Catholic to make them commit themselves lifelong and change their faith?” the Anglican priest questioned.

People attack these churches because they either feel that Christians are in league with the Tigers, that the temple is losing its base or because they have an inferiority complex, said a group of professionals.

They charge that there is a systematic effort to blacken the Christian community by a small extremist group and that this group — which also opposes the peace process — has coined the term ‘unethical conversion’ to attempt advancing a theory that mass scale unethical conversion is occurring in the country.

“We feel that there is a political party behind this. Perhaps they feel that if they attack the small churches that can be attacked, they can make a case that the Christians are in league with the Tigers and the attackers being the champions of the Sinhalese cause. We have evidence that this is what they are trying to do,” they said.

Described as ‘non-white indigenous independent Christians groups,’ there are over 330 million the world over, said a doctor who spoke to The Sunday Leader about this phenomenon, adding that over a third of the churches in the world are free churches.

The biggest outbreak — the house church movement — was in China after the revolution. As a result, the church in China grew by 100%, he explained.

There are around 1,600 of these free churches in Sri Lanka and 251 of 256 divisional areas, have free churches.

“The revival within Christians touches off on their family and neighbours. I believe it is a work of God and a judgement on the main churches not doing their missionary work,” said a priest.

“The personal experience when Christ comes into your heart makes a big change and our world has changed because of that. These churches spread the good news and people have personal experiences of Jesus Christ,” he said.

“Personal experiences of Jesus Christ are also found in the main churches when the priest preaches the good news biblically,” he further said.

Social service

The smaller churches have a large number of poor people who mainly come due to problems such as alcoholism, wife-beating and drug addiction, he explained.

“The main reason why people come to these churches is because there is a good effect over their problems, like alcoholism. But these congregations do not consist only of poor people. The educated, uneducated, rich and poor are brought together into one congregation.”

These churches from the beginning have been interested in social service and is still doing it, he says. “It is done out of compassion for people and not as a means of conversion. Social service is part of the Christian faith and practice. The experience is within you and that changes your life and makes you unselfish and service oriented. Many children study in Christian schools and there is no forced conversion. People do it as a choice from the heart,” the priest further said.

“All over the world, Buddhist monks take the word of the Buddha and convert even foreigners. But that does not mean foreigners are doing it for money. Likewise, people are genuinely having a spiritual experience and changing. It is this good news that is spreading.”

The new converts are not given money by the church, explained members. “They give money to the church and contribute towards the upkeep of the church and the pastor. That is the beauty of it. Even in the rural areas very poor people give off the little they have to their church and to their pastor,” they said.

Many people feel that you can hold a person to a faith by means of a bribe, but this just cannot be done, explained a priest.

“It is the experience of a life change. Christ himself called it the good news. Conversion is an internal thing, a radical transformation inside which no external influence can effect. You cannot do it by bribing a person, it has to be volitional and happen internally. Once the good news comes out, there is a radical change in the life of the person. Their behaviour changes, there is increased social concern and they live out Christ in the world,” this priest said.

Unearthing CBK’s cover for killer squads

 A confidential report by former Western Province (North Range), Deputy Inspector General, O. K. Hemachandra has revealed startling details on how President Chandrika Kumaratunga has interfered with the police and connived to shield underworld crooks while allowing her official security to function as a modern day mafia.

It has already been revealed how Kumaratunga harboured an underworld thug within the Presidential Security Division (PSD). The exploits of the infamous Baddegana Sanjeewa are now history — albeit distasteful to Sri Lankans. 

The report by Hemachandra at the time he was DIG, has detailed how the PSD’s former strongman Nihal Karunaratne, threatened an entire police team that carried out a raid on Baddegana Sanjeewa’s house on February 2, 2000. The matter did not end with Karunaratne’s show of strength. According to written evidence, President Chandrika Kumaratunga also joined the fray, abusing her powers as President and casting an ugly slur on the office of the executive head of state when she telephoned DIG Hemachandra  and pressured him into taking action against the police officers who had carried out the raid on Sanjeewa’s house, and not the criminals caught.

Disgusted and angry, on February 9, 2000, Hemachandra wrote a confidential memo to the late IGP Lucky Kodituwakku stating that the President had spoken to him by telephone that day and discussed the arrest of “Captain Ranji” and others at the house of Baddegana Sanjeewa who was at the time a member of the PSD.

Hemachandra told his boss how Kumaratunga had charged that a special police team led by IP Samudrajeewa had framed an arrest at Sanjeewa’s house. IP Samudrajeewa at the time was attached to the Special Unit of the Peliyagoda Police.

Despite the DIG telling the President that Samudrajeewa had done his job well and arrested not only Captain Ranji but three other wanted underworld characters at Sanjeewa’s house, Kumaratunga had insisted that the top cop take IP Samudrajeewa and IP Ratnayake out of this inquiry. She had further charged that a full investigation should be carried out to ascertain how Captain Ranji had indeed been placed under arrest, lending the impression that Captain Ranji should not have been arrested despite being wanted for three murders in Negombo.

Disgusted

DIG Hemachandra was so disgusted with the President’s blatant protection of a criminal and intimidation of police officers, he informed the IGP that under these circumstances, it would be impossible to conduct a full and proper inquiry and that instead the case should be handed over to the CID or any other special unit.

In a previous report to the IGP, before the President telephoned him, Hemachandra had explained that the Negombo Police were having certain constraints in arresting Captain Ranji and his cohorts “due to pressure brought upon them by the Director, PSD.”

He says under his personal supervision, he sent IP Samudrajeewa who was then attached to the Peliyagoda Investigative Unit and a team of police officers to Baddegana Sanjeewa’s house after he had received information that a wanted underworld thug named Captain Ranji was there.

At this house, Hemachandra says the special police team had arrested Captain Ranji together with L. K. P. de Silva and L. N. Pushpakumara alias Sana, together with A. N. Manjula Perera and Maddumage Sarath Priyantha. All were wanted criminals and part of an underworld gang operating in Negombo. The cops had also recovered 13 rounds of live ammunition at Sanjeewa’s house on this occasion.

The DIG says that Sanjeewa meanwhile, had been very abusive towards the police party and questioned them as to why they were taking away the people who were at his house. Sanjeewa had then summoned the then PSD Director Nihal Karunaratne as well as the OIC, Mirihana Police who had arrived and ordered IP Samudrajeewa to wait until Karunaratne arrives before taking away the criminals.

Karunaratne had soon arrived on the scene and had also abused the police team threatening them saying while the cops had only about seven weapons, he has 40 and not to overstep their mark.

Full knowledge of weapons

However, the police party had brought the suspects to the Peliyagoda police station. Hemachandra in his report stated that the police also suspected that some of the weapons used by these criminals are in concealed locations about which Sanjeewa had full knowledge.

Hemachandra at the time stated that he intended directing the HQI Negombo and IP Samudrajeewa of the Special Unit to question Sanjeewa and if necessary to arrest and recover the weapons that had been used in a series of crimes.

Hemachandra added that the PSD Director should also be cautioned not to interfere in this investigation.

This was however not to be.  Not just Karunaratne, but the President herself interfered, insisting the criminals be protected and the cops who carried out the raid be reprimanded.

This has been Kumaratunga’s track record, despite her vociferous claims insisting she is free of corruption and committed to clean governance. 

The President has figured before when she interfered with the law to safeguard underworld thugs. Another instance where Kumaratunga blotched her copy book was when an assassin named Sunil Ranasinghe was contracted by members of the underworld to murder the late leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), Kumar Ponnambalam.

It is alleged that the President personally interfered in this investigation too, preventing police from carrying out a full and impartial investigation.

Later, she threatened DIG F. Alles for initiating an impartial inquiry into the alleged assassination attempt on Minister S. B. Dissanayake at Padiyapalella in Maturata in the year 2001.

This time too, members of the PSD were caught by the Maturata Police in the possession of a rocket launcher, a T56 gun, ammunition and hand grenades. It was suspected that the group was on a mission to assassinate S. B. Dissanayake who had crossed over to the UNP and was scheduled to address a large public gathering at Hanguranketha that evening.  

DIG Alles also complained that the President had abused him in Sinhalese, all because he refused to bow to pressure and political intimidation.

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