DailyMirror- Editorial:
The organizing committee (OC) of the New Delhi Commonwealth Games has locked all files relating to the games in a room and officials are now expected to account for every rupee of the Rs.1,600 crores spent on the games.
One wonders how useful it would be if such a procedure could be followed here in Sri Lanka for all the State sponsored events.
True that it was the gross corruption charges levelled against some games officials that saw the need for such a move post-Commonwealth Games. Thanks to the last minute damage control action the Delhi Commonwealth games that hit with one snag after the other in the run up to the event, ended up a success.
The OC has also informed that any agency that was keen on doing a probe on the projects of the event could contact the officer in charge and get copies of relevant files.
That kind of transparency no doubt would help minimize corruption at least in the future though there could always be dubious ‘experts’ who are good at tallying the figures and vouch for accountability.
One of the reasons for the failure to pin this government for financial accountability is the perceived pro-opposition outlook of the movement, the fact it has been led by forces known as essentially pro-opposition. Another factor is its penchant to tie up transparency slogans with the ones of human rights.
Both these factors have helped the government to dismiss all calls for accountability as being part of a ‘grand conspiracy to topple the regime’.
What is necessary therefore is the participation and the spearheading of the campaign by individuals who are known for their independence. Also the campaign for good governance should be a stand alone one with an all-inclusive proposal as to how corruption should be fought at state, semi-government and in the private sectors.
The group should cultivate its own set of whistle blowers especially in the state and semi-government sectors with an assurance that they would not be penalized for exposing corruption.
With a massive development drive now underway corruption even by leading politicians cannot be ruled out given the poor mechanisms to guarantee accountability.
If the UPFA hierarchy is keen on fighting corruption what it should do is to set up a system that would encourage whistleblowers and publish the accounts of all major projects for public scrutiny.