By Correct Sri Lanka
The unfurling and rather sad socio economic and political landscape in Sri Lanka has been made more macabre and depressing with the antics of the Rajapakse offspring. This quartet being none other than Namal, Yoshitha, Rohitha and Shashindra. Rather than making this article gossip centred and superficial , what are the major substantive issues for governance as a result? The writers of the Correct Sri Lanka Campaign have the sole objective of correcting governance rather than go on a witch hunt of individuals, however great they maybe and however grave the offences they commit. Witch hunts and personal vendettas would make a Campaign with a greater purpose seem as petty as the regime it questions. However names need to be mentioned as a reference point for certain occurences.
Mahinda and sons
At a recent seminar Eran Wickramaratne, MP, made a point succinctly and with clarity. In kangaroo run states such as Sri Lanka, “the real offender of good governance is nepotism”. Nepotism is a key feature of corruption. This is indeed the root cause analysis for the violation of the main elements of good governance which are participation, democracy, transparency and accountability. The Rajapakse offspring head this network of nepotism or circle of fire. The circle of fire is around 300 to 400 friends and relations as is well known controlling from state nerve centres to share holdings in existing businesses especially hotels, to having started new businesses such as Carlton Sports Network, Media Factory and Red Cherry with well known individuals as front persons.
It is also well evinced that the key state interventionist enterprises such as Sri Lanka Telecom, Sri Lankan Airlines, Mihin Air, Sri Lanka Lotteries Board, Sri Lanka Cricket to name a few have state planted CEOs who are but lackeys of key figures, who behave in a consistent pattern with no transparency and lack of participation of appropriate persons in mechanisms such as tender processes and pitches for advertising.
As concerns the topic under consideration, The Correct Sri Lanka Campaign wishes to question the transparency with which the key entity of image building and action centre for youth in Sri Lanka, Tharunyata Hetak is directed.
Today Tharunyata Hetak, in real terms Namalta Hetak, is projected as the foremost youth organization in Sri Lanka with the website www.youth.com. In this website there is very little about youth and a lot about Namal. Hence the name Namalta Hetak.
Questions to be raised about this organization in the interest of transparency;
– Is this a registered voluntary organization?
– From where does it receive funds and on what does it spend?
– Who are the office bearers besides Namal and Lalith Piyum Perera, the Chairman of the NYSC?
– Is Tharunyata (Namalta) Hetak serving the National Youth Services Council (NYSC) or vice versa?
– What is the legal connection to other related entities such as The Sports arm which is known as the Carlton Sports Club and the money spinning, but not so transparent, sports TV channel known as the Carlton Sports Network?
– Who funded the Carlton Super Sevens Rugby Tournament besides Sri Lanka Insurance, Mobitel and Nation Lanka Finance? (By the way Nation Lanka and Mobitel both have in the management teams the Nawaloka brothers and a grandson – more nepotism)
– From where was Rs 150 million received to get down Indian stars Preity Zinta, Bipasha Basu, Sameera Reddy and Vivek Oberoi? Were the contributions from the innocent and inactive public of Sri Lanka which forms the PLCs of the aforementioned sponsors?
– Will there be a properly audited statement of accounts furnished at least to the youth of Sri Lanka which is served by Tharunyata (Namalta) Hetak?
Correct Sri Lanka is certain that the Hon. Namal Rajapakse MP, being a lawyer educated and claiming to be a young politician of a different calibre, will have good answers to the above questions.
The entities mentioned above are the 3 pillars upon which the youth of Sri Lanka are supposed to depend. The role of the National Youth Services Council pales into insignificance in the face of such colour and vigour as that of Tharunyata (Namalta) Hetak. The image of Tharunyata (Namalta) Hetak, projects great values and capacity building for youth in the Rakiyawata Saviyak (support to employment) program, celebration of international Mother’s Day Programs, awarding of Russian Higher Education Scholarships interspersed with a number of sports activities such as Marathons, Carlton Rugby Super Sevens, Crickets matches, Motor Racing events etc.
Correct Sri Lanka also finds that sponsorships for events from enterprises such as SL Telecom, Mobitel and SL Insurance cannot be obtained by the right thinking charity organizers of the country as these are exclusively for events organized by high powered offspring. These donations/sponsorships do not take place in a transparent manner at all.
However the key question – Is Tharunyata (Namalta) Hetak really serving the youth of Sri Lanka? An interview with youth recently on matters pertaining to them resulted in a witty answer so true. They said in colloquial language -Tharunyata Hotak (nothing for the youth), Thaththatai, Namaltai Hetak (There is a tomorrow for the Father and Namal)
If Correct Sri Lanka were to demonstrate the cocktail of financial governance violations by one of the sponsors of Carlton Super Sevens, Mobitel is a good example. Mobitel’s CEO is Lalith de Silva, connected to influential persons, a former employee, lack lustre and inept, brought back to Mobitel as he would obey orders from the top. In very simple terms a recent advertising pitch by Mobitel worth Rs 750 million was awarded, violating all guidelines for selection of advertising agencies, to the Media Factory in which the Presidential off spring are stakeholders. Disgruntled heads of well known media agencies do not open their mouth for fear of reprisal in the form of removal of other standing advertising contracts or not receiving those in the pipeline.
Carlton Sports Network is a totally opaque enterprise. Several newspapers and well known media personalities are really concerned about the favouritism received by this network with no experience nor ability to meet requirements of a proper media network. This favouritism or rather nepotism is severely hampering the revenue earnings of state media institutions. The Sunday leader website has just reported that Carlton Sports Network is attempting to swipe off the telecasting rights for the 2012 Olympics from Rupavahini, which already lost a large slice of earnings from Cricket telecasts. This is also well documented under the violations of Sri Lanka Cricket in the COPE Report. There is also conflict of interest on the part of Sri Lanka Cricket’s Nishantha Ranatunga who is heading the Carlton Sports Network. What the public would like to know again, is the status and real ownership of this company as well as its balance sheet.
Would the public be pleasantly surprised by the fact that all the income from Carlton Sports Network is being channeled to the Youth and Sports development sector? Then truly, Correct Sri Lanka and the public can say that the Rajapaksa cubs have really come through by earning and investing meaningfully in the youth of Sri Lanka. Please do be transparent about this.
Senguttuvan / June 2, 2012
I have no knowledge if the allegations made here can be maintained except to say I am glad people are beginning to exercise their right to raise questions where doubts arise. The Colombo Telegraph should be congratulated for providing the space for such necessary discussion in a society claiming to be democratic.
Parents,perched high in politics, bending and breaking rules to help their off-spring make fortunes or build political careers is nothing new in wobbling democratic societies. This is more marked in Afro-Asian societies across doctrinaire politics (North Korea, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and much of Sub-SaharaN Africa)
The liberal and educated CBK is one leader who did not overly help her children get into political leadership. She, in fact, brought them up well and kept them out of night-clubs and other vulgar frollicking. Of course, not that there was lack of effort in her part at least to get sonna boy into the Tourist trade – for starters. In the line of the quality of her noble upbringing she gave them a sound education and saw to it they get recognised degrees – not questionable bogus ones.
Senguttuan
/
John Wayne / June 3, 2012
Great Stuff keep it coming and tell us more about the campaign for good governance – particularly economic governance which is solely needed!
1. This article should be translated into and run in the Sinhala language newspapers. The youth of Lanka must be educated on the REAL story of Rajapakse and Sons looting and bankrupting the country and incurring debt, which is the reason for the falling rupee and rising cost of living. The debt and borrowings of the regime would need to be paid by the YOUTH and future generations – of the country! They capture of TV stations like Carleton Sports to disseminate the spin.
2. Also lists of the Rajapakse holdings should be circulated and young people should be encouraged to boycott their businesses and media channels. Bollywood starts that fool Vivek Oberoi and the likes should be educated on how they are contributing to corruption and nepotism in Lanka.
3. The nexus between the sports business and financial crime was best illustrated in the Hambantota Commonwealth Games Bid which would have bankrupted the country if won! Huge sums were spent on this by Ajit Nivard Cabraal ad the Central Bank and Namal. Cabraal must be impeached for financial crime and negligence since unlike his boss he does not have immunity. There are several clear cut cases against him, Commonwelath Games, NSB and looting of the EPF.
/
Panda / June 2, 2012
The future certainly looks extra bright, and prosperous, for the heirs to the Rajapaksa dynasty. They will be transported into their chosen roles, in their latest flashy vehicles. Wonder which “rich” uncle bought them these shiny playthings.
/
Visakha Tillekeratne, Justice for Victims / June 2, 2012
I think as requested Mr Namal Rajapaksa should respond to this article.
/
koko-jumbo / June 4, 2012
no RajaPASSA’s are going to answer any of these questions unless public rallies (w/o Ranil and Sajith) and march towards the downfall of this regime. The only hope for the Sri Lankans is SF (a different CHE)
/
Jim Hardy / June 2, 2012
Exactly correct needs lots of answers, but it will go on unabated shameless junta.
/
Lasantha Pethiyagoda / June 2, 2012
In Australia, all parliamentarians of both houses (legislative assembly and senate) have to submit an audited account of their wealth annually to the Australian Taxation Office.
Any capital gains made (ie from selling property)have to be declared in order that the appropriate capital gains tax is levied. All individuals, from the prime minister downwards, has to submit an annual income tax return to the ATO.
No assets can be written in favour of children, or passed to friends or placed under ficticious company names without the danger of the issues being exposed by the media.
On the rare occasion that those weilding political power are found to have breached the codes of ethics or swindled public funds, they would rather step down while investigations are held, and resign their seats in parliament even if later found innocent.
No national leader has ever nominated their children as heirs (from Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser, Robert Hawke, Paul Keating, John Howard, Kevin Rudd, to Julia Gillard). Perhaps Sri Lanka could model its political culture along the Australian lines, in order to become a more mature democracy.
/
Panda / June 2, 2012
Mr. Pethiyagoda, you are absolutely right. A democracy is where the people vote for their leader, and at the end of the his/her term, the leadership is not passed on to his unqualified relatives including children, but the next choice voted by the people in the country. Sri Lanka embarrassingly is run by a single family, who hold over 200 top leadership posts, nepotism at it’s worst, for the entire world to see. We all know that the heir to the throne Namal is being groomed to wear the crown one day, and it seems we Sri Lankans can do nothing but watch. The Rajapaksa’s have anointed themselves kings, princes, and keepers of the kingdom.
Democracy? What democracy?
/
PresiDunce Bean / June 6, 2012
@Lasantha Pethiyagoda
Ha…haa…try telling this to the Sinhala majority and they will say we don’t need to follow a country like Australia that was made up of convicts…we have a 2500 year old culture…blah blah blah…blah blah blah…then Rajapaksa will get on stage and scream “Maa…throoo…booo…meyaar”…we have a home grown solution for everything…Weerawansa will ask everyone to boycott American, European and Australian products…and the majority idiots in this country will accept the free buriyani packet and cool drink bottle along with a 500 ruppee note…scream “Jaya…waaay…waaa” and go home.
There is no hope for Sri Lanka as long as the majority can be enticed to vote or protest for a few handouts by the ruling party…
/
Sahan / June 2, 2012
Where did they get that money to spend on Indian actors? Not to forget they will be doing all this on the day before Poson Poya day. I don’t think it’s suitable at all.
/
koko-jumbo / June 4, 2012
Poson gift is yet to come – hikes in daily needs after poson is the poson gift the lovely sri lankans who cheered and welcomed Preeti and Vivek as well as other item dancers.
/
Lal / June 2, 2012
I don’t think Mr. Namal Rajapaksa will have answers for these.
/
Senguttuvan / June 2, 2012
Lasantha Pethiyagoda talks of the good standards in a country that has chosen to live under a strict sytem of Justice, Law and Order. Not a bogus democracy. Countries that enshrine these high standards often succeed while those who fool around
tend to collapse. Argentina and Brazil had the same resources, huge land like USA and Canada. Why did the 2 South American countries fail for long while the 2 North American countries recorded phenomenal success? Because the North Americans chose to live under Law and Order. Look at the example of Israel sorrounded by oil-rich despotic regimes.Israel is successful whereas countries around are seeped in intrigue, assassinations, revolutions and are Failed societies ruled by dictators going on for very long periods unopposed.
Until about the late 1970s, we enjoyed a reasonably good Justice and Law-Order system. Today???? The Police and the Courts have lost the confidence of the people. As to Parliment ????
What Sri Lanka needs is a thorough overhaul of her destroyed systems.
These were ruined in about 50. It takes thrice that number of years to re-build. This is one of the reasons the Tamils want to save themselves and go on their own, their way in an undivided country.
Senguttuvan
/
Anti-B.S. / June 3, 2012
If any of the Rajapaksas consider it below their dignity to answer any of the simple questions asked in this article, perhaps the David Blackers, Sanjiva Wijesinhas, Dayan Jayatillekas, Malinda Seneviratnes etc. could come off their elevated (state-funded) perches and tell us, the great unwashed, how their world, synonymous with that of the Rajapaksas, is really unfolding!
Come on chaps, you are only too ready to defend the indefensible. Why not this time?
/
SK / June 3, 2012
(Dis)Honourable. Namal Rajapakse (MP) should answer. However my firends he will not. He does not know how to answer. He knows how to loot. Just like those before him. Just like those after. You didn’t hear Gadaffi’s sons answer. You didn’t hear Saddam’s sons answer either.
/
kris karu / June 3, 2012
Lasantha Pethiyagoda – do not try to compare Australia to Sri Lanka two different contries with two different wealth ,don’t beliive australian has no corruptions in political level good example retirments of politions to obtain their super after lost their power which normal citizen has to wait to complete their age limit until recent changes,Australian culture there is no family bond like asian culture therfore do not try to compare former australin Priministers attitude towards their ausprings.this is pure jealousy, how come Julia Gillard nominate her kids to politics ,still she is living together with her boyfreind (not married) don’t write to pulic forums with pure jealousy with out knowing the true facts for the sake of living in australia with free sri lankan education
/
kris karu / June 3, 2012
Beautful picture pure family bond those kids recently represented SL rugby asian five nation tournament finaly lost to host country otherwise sl will be include to best five countries in ASIA biggest achivement in Sri Lankan Rugby history
/
kris karu / June 3, 2012
Beautful picture pure family bond those kids recently represented SL rugby asian five nation tournament finaly lost to host country otherwise sl will be included to the best five countries in ASIA biggest achivement in Sri Lankan Rugby history
/
Suren Joy / June 3, 2012
Kharma Vipaka. What goes around comes around. They will get natural justice. Gods will punish them. They will all go to hell. for what the “Royal Family” has done to Sri Lanka is unprecedented in the history of Sri Lanka. Making so much money while the poor people suffer. What they did to General Sarath Fonseka, they will go to Hell…!
/
mango / June 3, 2012
kris karu-Julia Gillard,Australian PM never had kids.Go online and see how small her home is in state of Vic,you will fall off your chair.
7 years of rajarule has really brought everything to a new and unimaginable low.every week these people indulge in robbery/scandal to make us poorer,people with nothing are something and they think we dont see? That the party can go on?
/
Ainsley Abeywickreme / June 3, 2012
Correct Sri Lanka – I agree with many of the points made but some parts are misleading. For example, Sashindra is not a son of Mahinda though that sentence is misleadingly phrased as such.
Also though Roshitha is mentioned, there is no reason given in the article as to why or how he has also been caught up in the objections correctly leveled against his brothers Namal and Yoshitha.
/
raymond / June 4, 2012
The so-called “crown prince” is only a synthetic lawyer. His education, if any, is far below expectation!!
/
bo / June 5, 2012
Namal is a clown. MR is making a fool of himself by trying to dress up a clown with the mantle of a future president. No wonder this country is the laughing stock of the world. I suppose the public need some entertainment and humour, so here we have the funniest sketch ever written. MR and Namal Comedy Show!!!
/
Kris / June 7, 2012
namal is better than ranil and somawansa
/