{"id":198659,"date":"2019-02-06T17:59:06","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T12:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=198659"},"modified":"2019-02-10T17:34:19","modified_gmt":"2019-02-10T12:04:19","slug":"catch-the-corrupt-by-a-system-of-whistleblowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/catch-the-corrupt-by-a-system-of-whistleblowers\/","title":{"rendered":"Catch The Corrupt By A System Of Whistleblowers\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Shyamon Jayasinghe<\/a> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Shyamon Jayasinghe<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201c\u2026.a person clothed in power will tend to rob and steal. This is another version of Lord Acton\u2019s famous dictum that \u2018power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.\u2019\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

There Aren\u2019t\u00a0 <\/span>Steel -Clad \u201cHonest Persons.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

In a recent piece I wrote for the Colombo Telegraph under the caption, “Look not for Honest Men; Look for Systems that Keep Persons Honest<\/a><\/strong>,\u201d I made the point that Sri Lankans have hitherto relied on appeals to persons in authority to be honest or for \u201chonest men,\u201d to be put in charge. This will not work in practical society. I like to repeat that a person clothed in power will tend to rob and steal. This is another version of Lord Acton\u2019s famous dictum that \u201cpower corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.\u201d I would add that a reliance on policing a crime under a justice system would also not be enough. Yes, checks and balances are a \u201cmust\u201d in a an anti-corruption drive; but that, too, isn\u2019t enough. Let\u2019s bring in an age-old system of spying or dobbing on a crime-doer. Such people are called \u2018whistleblowers.\u2019<\/p>\n

Other Countries<\/b><\/p>\n

This proposal may be viewed by some as counterintuitively wrong. I can tell you that the UK and Canada have legislation in place to handsomely reward and protect whistleblowers-both in the public sector and the private sector. Right now, the Australian Labor Party (ALP) leader,Bill Shorten, has been reported in the Sunday Herald (02-02-2019) as having just such a legislation in the ALP\u2019s work plan. The Herald Sun hit the headlines by the lead captioned, \u201cDob in a Boss.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>The news report adds,\u201dAustralians who blow the whistle on their dodgy bosses will pocket hefty cash bounties\u2026 The federal Opposition will announce the lucrative crackdown\u00a0 <\/span>on corporate crime on the eve of the release of the banking Royal Commission\u2019s final report.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Royal Commission\u2019s report is out now and the scandalous behaviour of major banks are also out for all to see. Mind you, in this case, too, it was Jeff Morris, a whistleblower who had exposed the corrupt practice that led to the Royal Commission. \u201cIf you saw someone stealing from a store you will say something,\u201d remarked Shorten. So why not bring this out to the open and install a recognized system of dobbing?<\/p>\n

Burgeoning Crime Scene in Lanka<\/b><\/p>\n

Sri Lanka has been racked by large scale white collar crime with Ministers reportedly leading the robbing roadshow. Most Ministers of the past have already secured themselves as they had enough time to do that. However, smaller fry in the franchised chain of corruption that prevailed under the\u00a0 <\/span>former regime are in deeply troubled water.\u00a0 <\/span>A former Secretary to the President was convicted. The current President\u2019s close aide was caught red-handed openly taking a bribe.<\/p>\n

Huge cases of drug trafficking are hitting headlines daily. Where is this island of ours heading for with drug deals galore like this? Our younger generations would be ruined and their families distraught. At least cases are now coming to light, when previously little reporting occurred.<\/p>\n

Then, there could could well be, likewise, corporate crime taking place in the private sector. This is yet an unexamined area.<\/p>\n

Party Solidarity at Stake<\/b><\/p>\n

It is clear that what has surfaced is a the tip of a huge iceberg. Corruption has become a quick way for personal material enhancement and this is, perhaps, why more and more persons take to politics. Young adults from school prefer to give up schooling and either take to three-wheeling or to politics. The more skilled in crooked dealing the better one is at Lankan politics today.\u00a0 <\/span>Those who succeed entering Parliament would be ready to jump sides for profit. Political jumping in Sri Lanka has become a joke. Then, there is the latest demand for Ministerial portfolios. It is a new \u2018human right,\u2019 for MPs in Sri Lanka. The kith and kin of these dicy characters called MPs would lose face if portfolios are not won. The old style party solidarity is now at stake with every party capable of haemorrhaging into factions.<\/p>\n

SriLankan Airlines Commission<\/b><\/p>\n

The SriLankan Airlines Commission is the latest\u00a0 <\/span>to give us the juicy and sordid scene of coporate crime. That has become a drama with a former Chairman\u00a0 <\/span>having allegedly played ducks and drakes with public funds while nosediving the airline he was obligated to keep flying in the air profitably. SriLankan Air is now virtually grounded and broke.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here is a report by The Island Newspaper (6\/2\/19) that links the airline corruption with the former Lankan Ambassador, powerful relative of Mahinda Rajapakse, Jaliya Wickremasuriya;<\/p>\n

\u201cSriLankan Airlines had booked hotel rooms in Dubai for 100 individuals, including former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States, Jailiya Wickramasuriya and his family, the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) on irregularities at SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka was informed, yesterday.<\/i><\/p>\n

State Counsel Chathura Gunatilake, who led evidence, yesterday, presented the PCoI with an e-mail sent by a former CEO Kapila Chadrasena. It showed that the airline had made the above mentioned booking for those who travelled in a chartered flight in April 2013 from Washington to Mattala via Dubai.<\/i><\/p>\n

It was revealed last week that Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States from 2008 to 2014, Jaliya Wickramasuriya had ordered this chartered flight and billed it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Bandara Rathnayake, Manager Financial Compliance of SriLankan told the PCoI that they had informed the Foreign Ministry, which owed UL Rs. 9.1 million for chartered flights altogether, that Wickramasuriya had booked the flight without their approval. The Ministry also informed the Airline that Wickramasuriya had done so with the assistance of a Sri Lankan official and asked the institution to do an internal audit.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

Deterrence Effect of a Dobbing System<\/b><\/p>\n

Admittedly, many of these cases are still at the stage of charges and allegations although the prima facie case seems strong. For the purpose of this article it is not necessary that convictions should have followed. The point is that if we had a dobbing system in place much of such malpractices could have been deterred. The very prevalence of such an entrenched system will keep bosses on their toes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The corruption that surfaces now excludes similar white collar crime that may very well be taking place in the private sector.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Details of the system have got to be worked out. For instance, the quantum of award has to have criteria and process. Investigating bodies could recommend the reward amounts on the basis of the usefulness of the privy information offered. The secrecy of the whistleblowers must be kept tight and protected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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