-Written by a group of officials serving in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(Lanka-e-News -13.Oct.2024, 9.15 pm)
Hon. Wijitha Herath,
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
⋆ Investigate the fraudulent individual named Maxwell Keegal in the staff of Ms. Aruni Wijewardene, recently reappointed as the Foreign Secretary. His salaries and foreign travel payments are illegal, and steps should be taken to recover these from the state. No one is permitted to meet with those who draw public funds as salaries, and even departmental officers are denied the opportunity to meet with the Secretary.
⋆ Investigate the appointments to foreign missions given to members of Ms. Wijewardene’s staff. A personal assistant, who is an administrative service officer, has been appointed to a foreign mission post without prioritizing officers who arrived through competitive exams. It’s concerning that those who passed the examination are not given priority, and instead, her close associates are favored.
⋆ Review how the Director-General of the Foreign Missions Management Department has appointed friends to foreign mission posts. This department has assigned positions without transparency, and recruitment procedures have been altered to favor certain individuals.
⋆ Investigate how positions in foreign missions were awarded without conducting interviews within the Foreign Missions Management Department.
⋆ Look into officers who have held foreign mission positions for over five years without transfers. Some of these officers have never passed an exam, yet continue to serve in foreign missions.
⋆ Examine the duties and vacant positions of officials in the Legal Department, particularly concerning the signing of bilateral and multilateral agreements. A process must be established to ensure that signed agreements and projects are properly documented and verified.
⋆ Ensure that all officials are performing public service commensurate with their salaries. Many officials do not perform any duties according to their job descriptions, with only a minority of active officers bearing the workload of others.
⋆ Investigate the fraudulent activities covered under consular privileges and the weaknesses in the consular system’s IT structure. Despite the state spending significant amounts on computer systems, only one is operational in the consular section, and it is underperforming.
⋆ Review the unnecessary expenditures during the relocation of the consular office to Battaramulla.
⋆ Audit all purchases made in every department to ensure proper procedures are being followed, and that goods are being inventoried and maintained correctly.
⋆ Assess the performance of all officials in carrying out their duties and whether they are maximizing their working hours. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has essentially become a resting ground for those seeking privileges, without fulfilling their duties.
⋆ Review the misuse of official vehicles by those who are not entitled to them and investigate transportation facilities provided to foreign service officers.
⋆ Investigate the vast rent paid for the Selinko building and the financial mismanagement behind maintaining the Ministry in three separate locations, which has led to administrative inefficiencies and the misuse of public funds.
⋆ Look into the procedures for appointing foreign service officers, especially those retired and reappointed based on personal connections, bypassing qualified candidates.
⋆ Propose a transparent system of scoring based on seniority, experience, qualifications, and contributions to the ministry for the selection of foreign service appointments, ensuring fairness.
⋆ Cancel all foreign service appointments made in violation of procedures, bring back improperly appointed officers, and recover funds spent on these appointments from those responsible.
⋆ Investigate the internal appointments of development officers and consular officers and propose incentives to ensure fairness and equity among all officials.
⋆ Investigate the fraudulent appointments of office workers and drivers.
This letter highlights several serious concerns about favoritism, corruption, and administrative irregularities within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and requests immediate action from the Minister.
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by (2024-10-13 15:54:53)
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