SRI LANKA: CORRUPTION PANELISTS TELL AMBASSADOR POLITICAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000779 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/INS TREASURY FOR LESLIE HULL MCC FOR S GROFF, D TETER, D NASSIRY AND E BURKE USAID FOR R HOWELL/ANE/IR, ELIZABETH HUME/CMM, BARBARA SMITH/DG E.O 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EAID KCOR PGOV CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: CORRUPTION PANELISTS TELL AMBASSADOR POLITICAL WILL IS INADEQUATE ¶1. (SBU) Summary: At a recent roundtable hosted by Ambassador, participants from government, civil society organizations, the private sector, and the media described corruption as endemic at all levels of Sri Lankan government, and also widespread in dealings between business and government. Most felt a pervasive culture of corruption in Sri Lanka, coupled with lack of public awareness of the consequences of corruption, has led to corruption in all levels of government. They agreed that anticorruption bodies lack the financial or institutional strength to effectively address the problem. Furthermore, multi-partisan support in Parliament must be encouraged to institute measures that would make government more transparent and more accountable. Passage of a Freedom of Information Act, such as the one drafted by the United National Front government in 2003 but never presented to Parliament, would be a critical first step. End summary. USAID CONVENES ANTI-CORRUPTION ACTIVISTS -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Ambassador recently hosted a roundtable on corruption that brought together a broad range of participants that included Justice Ameer Ismail, the Chairperson of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption; Mr. S.C. Mayadunne, former Auditor General of Sri Lanka; and Mr. J.C. Weliamuna, Director of the Sri Lanka Chapter of Transparency International. Other participants included academics, representatives of professional associations and the private sector, retired public officials, and civil society activists. ¶3. (SBU) USAID Sri Lanka's Office of Democracy and Governance organized the roundtable. The participants are active in the Consultative Council to Combat Corruption, a group that meets on a monthly basis and is supported by USAID's anti corruption program. The Council is working on developing a sustainable national strategy to combat corruption and raise awareness on corruption in the sectors and organizations they represent. BACKGROUND: INSTITUTIONAL WEAKNESSES PERMIT CORRUPTION -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Sri Lanka has taken a number of steps in the struggle against corruption, including enacting legislation to criminalize bribery and corruption; establishing a Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption; enacting legislation to control money laundering; and signing the UN Convention Against Corruption. But it is generally recognized that such actions, while essential and laudatory, are only a first step. In many instances, existing domestic legislation and the institutions tasked with combating corruption have been ineffective in preventing the abuse of power and corruption. The existing legal frameworks are flawed and the institutions mandated to combat corruption suffer from a lack of capacity and resources. FACTORS BEHIND PERVASIVE CORRUPTION -------------- ¶5. (SBU) During the discussion, participants identified the following factors as contributing to the pervasive culture of corruption in Sri Lanka: -- lack of public awareness of the causes and consequences of corruption; -- deep rooted culture of passivity and apathy of citizens; -- ineffective implementation or disregard of existing laws; -- lack of mechanisms to ensure accountability of government; -- ineffective media coverage of the issue particularly of the private sector; and -- lack of political will. ¶6. (SBU) Participants described the political process as a self-perpetuating cycle that gives politicians no incentive to resist or fight corruption. They noted that the nature of campaign finance in Sri Lanka results in politicians being indebted to their financial donors in the private sector. The civil service also is inherently corrupt, with many positions attractive entirely because of the opportunities they offer for enrichment. "Every village level administrator of the central government is corrupt," one COLOMBO 00000779 002 OF 003 participant charged. STEPS REQUIRED TO ADDRESS CORRUPTION -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The participants stated that the implementation of institutional, legal and policy reforms requires political will both within the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) and across political parties in Parliament. A clear commitment from political leaders must be augmented by other initiatives, including: -- Improving application of existing laws; -- Strengthening the capacity of existing institutions that combat corruption, specifically: the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption, the Auditor General's Department, and the National Procurement Authority; -- Modifying recruitment policies to ensure adequate human resources to support anti-corruption measures; -- Parliament should provide an independent budgetary allocation to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption and the Auditor General's Department to establish financial independence for these institutions. Currently, both institutions are dependent on the executive branch for financial resources; -- Targeting the prevention of corruption as well as the investigation, prosecution and punishment of corrupt officials; and, -- Raising public awareness, with particular emphasis on the private sector, of the root causes and consequences of corruption. RECOMMENDATIONS AND INITIATIVES -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The following are some of the panelists' primary recommendations and initiatives: -- More effective enabling legislation for the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption and the Auditor General's Department should be passed. -- Legislation is needed to protect whistleblowers. -- The former Auditor General of Sri Lanka, Mr. S.C. Mayadunne, has advocated for the Auditor General's Department publicizing all audit reports of GSL institutions and state corporations, including publishing them on the department's website. -- Civil society organizations are campaigning for the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption to prepare and issue annual statistical and analytical reports on its activities. -- Representatives from the private sector and civil society organizations proposed that the private sector work with the GSL to promote the use of information and communication technology to increase transparency in government. The GSL's Information and Communication Technology Authority, supported with funding from the World Bank, has been promoting e-government as one method to address corruption. -- The United National Front government that was in power from 2002-2004 intended to enact a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the draft legislation has been prepared. The Sri Lanka Chapter of Transparency International and other civil society organizations are campaigning to persuade the Ministry of Justice to present the draft FOIA to Parliament. -- Transparency International/Sri Lanka and other civil society organizations have called for the international donor community to fund, provide technical support, and encourage the mobilization of indigenous coalitions to combat corruption. Examples include: o Transparency International/Sri Lanka has established a "Coalition Against Corruption" - a forum for civil society groups to address COLOMBO 00000779 003 OF 003 problems of corruption; o A group of civil servants has established the Clean Hands program, a voluntary alliance of public officials who oppose corruption in the government sector; and, o Global Compact, an association of private companies, is following a similar course in the private business sector. USAID ANTI-CORRUPTION PROGRAM -------------- ¶9. (SBU) USAID has funded a two year anti-corruption program, to be completed in September 2007, under its Tsunami Reconstruction Program. USAID provides training and technical assistance for the staff from the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption and the Auditor General's Department. Training programs are developing staff capacity in such areas as information technology; case management; forensic auditing; and written English. Support is being provided to civil society organizations to implement media campaigns and public awareness campaigns in communities affected by the tsunami. The program has brought together a cross section of representatives from professional bodies, the private sector, journalists, academics and civil society to prepare a national plan to combat corruption that will be launched in July 2007. The final strategy report will be presented to President Rajapakse at a national conference in July 2007. COMMENT: AN OPEN MEETING TO AIR CORRUPTION ISSUES -------------- -------------- ¶10. (SBU) The Ambassador observed during the roundtable discussion that it appeared the persistence of corruption in Sri Lanka resulted from "a systematic failure to act" on problems that were widely recognized. He suggested that Parliament is key to countering corruption, as the opposition party would always have an incentive to hold the government accountable. The Ambassador added that India's experience suggested that a Freedom of Information Act would be a critical first step in strengthening the legal framework to combat corruption in Sri Lanka. The representative of Transparency International suggested holding a high-level "open meeting" at which the President, donors, diplomats, and anticorruption bodies discussed how to fight corruption. This would give the government an opportunity, and an obligation, to say publicly that it was against corruption. The Ambassador welcomed this suggestion and said this should be discussed in July with President Rajapakse. ¶11. (SBU) Another factor that helps focus attention on corruption is the active role of the JVP party, which helped get President Rajapakse elected and has strong political support in the President's southern Sinhalese electoral base. The JVP has made action on corruption one of its central planks. Its dogged determination to curb corruption has wide populist appeal that is likely to encourage the President and Parliament to act. BLAKE