(Lanka-e-News- 15.June.2016, 7.30PM) It is a well and widely known fact that the present health minister Rajitha Senaratne left the Rajapakse government and joined with common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena during the last presidential elections by citing the grounds that Rajapakse government is corrupt , and the pro good governance masses too accepted him.
It was Rajitha who was a judge when the case against ex Chief justice Shiranee Bandaranaike was heard by the Rajapakses and when they chased her out at midnight like a cat after hearing the case alone in the moonlight .In any case when he charged that the Rajapakses are corrupt and left them , the pro good governance masses accepted him. Not only did they accept him but also lifted him up so much so that he was made the No. one in the district at the general elections. The masses ensured that position to him on the assumption that Rajitha who was so vociferous against corruption of the Rajapakses is clean and not corrupt.
Nevertheless , based on the complaint lodged with the Police FCID that is appointed to investigate the corruption and frauds during the ‘’nefarious decade’ of the Rajapakse regime , in the ministry of fisheries and irrigation promotion , during his period there had been grave corruption and frauds , and complaints have been made against them.
(Fortunately , so far no complaints have been received pertaining to the ministries of health and irrigation which portfolios were held earlier on by the common opposition candidate and who is now the incumbent president Maithripala Sirsena.. Not only the FCID , even Lanka e news media Institution which is against corruption has not received any complaints).
Surprisingly , the complaint , noted hereunder made regarding the massive corruption and fraud in the Fisheries ministry when Rajitha was the minister had not so far been taken up .
Sadly , this incrimination directed against Rajitha dents and destroys the faith and confidence reposed in Rajitha by the people. It is the view of the people that if the frauds and corruption of Mahindananda and Weerawansa are being probed , why not minister Rajitha’s . Is it because the latter switched allegiance , and somersaulted to the Maitripala camp ? they ask . The people therefore may be thinking the screams of Rajapakses that the FCID is ‘taking revenge against us’ are true .
This fraud and corruption not only taints Rajitha’s reputation but also tarnishes the image of the government of good governance. In the circumstances this fraud shall be investigated , and an opportunity must be afforded to Rajitha to prove his innocence. If he is guilty on the other hand , punishment shall be duly meted out , his status notwithstanding.
The gist of the complaint made to the FCID pertaining to the fraud at the fisheries ministry of which he was the minster at that time is as follows :
This fraud has been perpetrated during the final phase of the Rajapakse regime. That was the time the devil was fleeing while destroying everything coming across its path. Unfortunately this is not a trivial fraud . It is gobbling up a 2000 % not just 10% or 15 % , that is, for a task that costs Rs. 9 million , an amount of Rs. 177 million had been approved ! A fraud which is so colossal to the detriment of the country that if those rascals behind it are not struck by lightning it is a miracle.
There exists a unit under the name of Promotion of irrigation and monitoring (PIMU) in the ministry of fisheries and promotion of irrigation projects . Under this ministry’s projects , to provide basic and research study facilities to the fisheries harbors of Silawatura (Mannar district) , Gurunagar (Jaffna district) and Gandara (Matara district) , a project was launched.
Power Asia Co. was entrusted with carrying out this project. The Co . showed that the budgeted expenditure in that regard is Rs. 177 million, whereas an established reputed Institution in the Island charges less than Rs. 9 million only as its fees to secure its expert advice for such a study .
Accordingly , the PIMU of the ministry of fisheries and irrigation promotion in order to implement this aforesaid project has paid an amount which is 2000 times more ! This is unalloyed and absolute corruption , misappropriation of public funds and hence a heinous crime committed on the people !
The most interesting and intriguing part of this racket is , the PIMU deciding to grant less than a month’s time to Power Asia in respect of this project . In the short history of business of Power Asia , never has it completed a project of such value . Besides this Institution has no previous experience in this sphere of engineering research studies .
Yet it is Lakshman Ratnayake a specialist in internal supplies of the fisheries ministry who had exerted intense pressure that this project shall be entrusted to Power Asia and none else. For the moment let us think we do not know that he was a most intimate and bosom pal of Rajitha Senaratne at that time .
After the approval , most expeditiously out of the sum of Rs. 117 million , a sum of Rs. 46 million was paid to Power Asia . But to the dismay of the racketeers whoever they may be, the government changed before they could grab the remaining amount. Mind you , because this amount was paid even before the treasury has approved , the fisheries port project that was in progress in Kalamitiya , Beruwala during that time ground to a halt due to non release of funds towards that.
The expenditure shown by Power Asia for the fisheries harbors at Silawatura , Gurunagar and Gandara are also most bizarre . They had shown an expenditure of Rs. 6000 million per fisheries port , meaning that the total expenditure for the three ports is Rs.18,000 million ! whereas believe it or not ,the expenditure incurred in respect of the Kelaniya fisheries port that is being established is only Rs. 900 million . Based on that the expenditure shown by Power Asia is 700 % more !
Though a complaint was lodged with the FCID pertaining to this massive fraud and misappropriation , so far it had not been taken up . Because some political force may be suppressing this investigation, last Friday , Sagala Ratnayake the minister in charge of law and order summoned the chiefs of the FCID and the CID , and instructed that investigations into complaints received so far , should not be halted, and not to close any file no matter who gives instructions .
In accordance with that, attempts to avert this investigation and cover up this massive fraud , will be detrimental and not be conducive to the physical and mental health, as well as the ‘political health’ of the health minister Rajitha Seneratne and the government of good governance.
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by (2016-06-15 14:12:48)
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