{"id":41216,"date":"2012-05-13T19:26:16","date_gmt":"2012-05-13T19:26:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=41216"},"modified":"2012-05-15T07:40:56","modified_gmt":"2012-05-15T07:40:56","slug":"an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/","title":{"rendered":"An Independent Audit Commission: DEW Has Worked Hard"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By<\/strong>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Malinda+Seneviratne&amp;x=16&amp;y=4\">Malinda Seneviratne<\/a>\u00a0&#8211;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1224\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wikileaks-us-the-worst-violators-of-human-rights-malinda-says\/malinda-seneviratne-at-the-dbu-colombo-3\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1224\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1224\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-1224\" title=\"Malinda Seneviratne. at the DBU, Colombo.\" src=\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/malinda1-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/malinda1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/malinda1-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1224\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Malinda Seneviratne<\/p><\/div>\n<p>If you were to ask a cross section of the voting population whether they believe that elected officials fill their bank accounts through bribes, commissions, falsification of accounts and other kinds of illegal, immoral and fraudulent means, it is likely that the vast majority would respond \u2018Yes, they do!\u2019<\/p>\n<p>For decades, the people of this country have seen exponential growth in the fortunes of the elected, regardless of their humble beginnings, righteous pledges to clean up and remain clean themselves and so on. It has come to a point where hanky-panky is taken as a given. It is an \u2018inevitable\u2019 that they have resolved to live with, an \u2018ok\u2019 price to pay provided that things they want get done.<\/p>\n<p>This probably explains the generally lukewarm public response to the COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises) findings. What is most significant about the revelations, then, is not the considerable evidence of mismanagement, inefficiency, corruption and downright fraud but the absence of horror on the part of the general public. It is an apathy that props wrongdoing.<\/p>\n<p>It would be erroneous however to blame public apathy and a culture of looking askance for all the ills that plague political society. Sri Lanka is not an anarchic political (non)arrangement. There are laws. There are law makers and law enforcers. There is a state and there are institutional arrangements designed to uphold justice and fair play.<\/p>\n<p>COPE findings have provided the Opposition with some debating points, but as expected, instead of strong statements to follow up with necessary action, the response from the Government side has focused on making counter-claims about wrongdoings of the UNP. That\u2019s just not enough.<br \/>\nThe scandal of the National Savings Bank purchasing The Finance shares at prices well above the going rate at the time has prompted the President to call for an investigation. Wrongdoers must be punished of course. Their pain should not however be alleviated by a different post in a different institution. More importantly, steps should be taken to prevent wrongdoing. Holes must be plugged..<\/p>\n<p>All this call for the immediate constitution of an Independent Audit Commission empowered to brush aside the objections of politicians and made of individuals with high moral fibre and proven track record in things such as decency, honour, discipline and ability.<br \/>\nDEW Gunasekera has worked hard. So has the rest of the COPE team. If there is one way to reward them, it is to make bodies such as COPE meaningless.<\/p>\n<p>(courtesy the nation Editor\u2019s blog)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":1224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>An Independent Audit Commission: DEW Has Worked Hard - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An Independent Audit Commission: DEW Has Worked Hard - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-05-13T19:26:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-05-15T07:40:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/malinda1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1797\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/\",\"name\":\"An Independent Audit Commission: DEW Has Worked Hard - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/malinda1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-05-13T19:26:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-05-15T07:40:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/malinda1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/malinda1.jpg\",\"width\":\"1797\",\"height\":\"2700\",\"caption\":\"Malinda Seneviratne\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"An Independent Audit Commission: DEW Has Worked Hard\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\",\"name\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"An Independent Audit Commission: DEW Has Worked Hard - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"An Independent Audit Commission: DEW Has Worked Hard - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2012-05-13T19:26:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-05-15T07:40:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1797,"height":2700,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/malinda1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/","name":"An Independent Audit Commission: DEW Has Worked Hard - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/malinda1.jpg","datePublished":"2012-05-13T19:26:16+00:00","dateModified":"2012-05-15T07:40:56+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/malinda1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/malinda1.jpg","width":"1797","height":"2700","caption":"Malinda Seneviratne"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-independent-audit-commission-dew-has-worked-hard\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"An Independent Audit Commission: DEW Has Worked Hard"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3","name":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/malinda1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41216"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41411,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41216\/revisions\/41411"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}