VZCZCXRO2072
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DE RUEHLM #2119/01 3560639
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R 220639Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5006
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0406
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 9726
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 6662
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 4722
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI 2087
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 7226
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1634
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 002119 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER 
 
DRL/IL FOR LAUREN HOLT 
 
STATE FOR SCA/INS 
 
MCC FOR S GROFF, D NASSIRY AND E BURKE 
 
GENEVA PASS USTR 
 
 
E.O 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PHUM SOCI EAID CE
SUBJECT:  CORRUPTION WORSENING IN SRI LANKA 
 
 
¶1.  Summary: On December 9th 2006, the Sri Lanka Chapter of 
Transparency International organized the National Integrity Awards 
to commemorate United Nations International Anti Corruption Day. 
Justice Ameer Ismail, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Commission to 
Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption and Ambassador 
Robert O. Blake were among the guests. Three members of the Sri 
Lanka administrative service were honored for their courage in 
bringing various aspects of government fraud and corruption to 
light.  Chief Guest Anura Roy of India and later the Ambassador 
urged Sri Lanka to enact a Freedom of Information Act to ensure 
transparency and accountability of government. World Bank and 
Transparency International indices confirm popular perceptions that 
the scope of corruption is increasing.  A recent USAID assessment 
found that the percent of a public sector contract paid in bribes 
has nearly tripled.  President Rajapakse has pledged his full 
backing to investigations of all corruption.   End Summary 
 
Importance of Freedom of Information 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. The Sri Lanka Chapter of Transparency International commemorated 
United Nations International Anti Corruption Day on Saturday, 
December 9th 2006. Ambassador Robert O. Blake was the guest of honor 
and the event was co-sponsored by the United States Agency for 
International Development's Anti Corruption Program which is 
supported with tsunami supplemental funding. 
 
¶3. The Executive Director of Transparency International, Mr. J.C. 
Welimuna, said in his introductory remarks, that: "abuse of power 
for personal gain - in other words corruption - has been one of the 
major causes in the failure of the Sri Lanka State...". He commented 
that all branches of government, the private sector and civil 
society have failed to show sufficient commitment to address 
corruption in their respective sectors.  Weliamuna lamented that "A 
culture of secrecy has invaded our lives."  The escalating conflict 
in Sri Lanka and government's imposition of more far reaching 
Emergency Regulations to address the security threat have resulted 
in a more restrictive operating environment for the independent 
media. 
 
¶4. The keynote speaker at the event was Ms. Aruna Roy, a leader of 
the civil society campaign in India that successfully campaigned for 
the enactment of a Freedom of Information Act in India. Ms. Roy 
spoke of the importance of such legislation to ensure transparency 
and accountability of government to the citizens and urged that Sri 
Lanka enact its own such law.  Note:  In 2003, the United National 
Front (UNF) government, led by then-Prime Minister Ranil 
Wickremesinghe, approved the drafting of a Freedom of Information 
Bill, but with the fall of the UNF government in April 2004, the 
bill was never tabled before Parliament. 
 
¶5. Ambassador Blake told the audience Sri Lanka needs effective laws 
and procedures to combat corruption. He cited the example of India 
where the Freedom of Information Act provides the necessary 
legislative framework to encourage integrity and accountability in 
government. He encouraged the Government of Sri Lanka to pass its 
own Right to Information Law.  He also reviewed the steps the USG 
has taken to ensure integrity in government, such as the creation of 
Inspectors General that report to Congress, and the requirement that 
all senior officials file annual financial disclosure forms. 
 
Three Courageous Civil Servants 
------------------------------- 
 
¶6. Transparency International awarded three GSL officials for their 
efforts to root out corruption in government.  The first runner-up, 
a woman, was recognized for her courage in reporting sexual 
harassment by her supervisor and helping to make sexual harassment a 
crime under GSL regulations governing the conduct of official 
employees.  The other runner-up was an auditor in the Ministry of 
Irrigation who took the initiative to inspect irrigation projects 
 
COLOMBO 00002119  002 OF 002 
 
 
around the country, thereby discovering widespread misuse and 
diversion of Ministry funds.  The winner, the Auditor General of Sri 
Lanka, was recognized for his six years of work as Auditor General 
during which he uncovered tens of billions of rupees in corruption 
in the tax and other systems, and also brought the Auditor General's 
office up to international standards. 
 
Comment on Worsening Corruption in Sri Lanka 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. The award ceremony was timely.  There is a universal consensus 
that corruption is increasing in Sri Lanka.  Both the Transparency 
International Corruption Perception and the World Bank's Control of 
Corruption indices for Sri Lanka show a decline in recent years. The 
World Bank Control of Corruption Index has shown a decline from 
-0.17 in 2004 to -0.31 in 2005. Transparency International's 
Corruption Perception Index shows a decline from 67th place in 2004 
to 84th in the 2006 ranking. During the recent USAID Democracy and 
Governance assessment, anecdotal evidence from the private sector 
indicated that the percent of a public sector contract paid in 
bribes has nearly tripled. 
 
¶8. Several government entities do try to address corruption, the 
most important being: the Commission to Investigate Allegations of 
Bribery or Corruption, the Auditor General's Department and the 
National Procurement Agency.  However, there is a confusion of 
mandates and these institutions frequently interpret their mandates 
narrowly, inhibiting their effectiveness. 
 
¶9. Mr. Wijedasa Rajapakse, a Memember of Parliament and Chairman of 
the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises told the media 
alleging that state owned enterprises are "highly corrupt" and the 
loss incurred by these corporations is at least one hundred billion 
Sri Lanka Rupees (United States $ 100 million).  Mr. Nimal Perera, 
Deputy Auditor General of Sri Lanka, commented that these figures 
have not been confirmed by an audit.  But there is no question 
corruption is widespread.  To his credit, President Rajapakse has 
pledged his full backing to investigations of all corruption. 
 
BLAKE