Hon. Sujeewa Dissanayake

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, thank you for the opportunity to participate in this debate on COPE’s Fourth Report.

¶ 02 First, I share the grief of all communities in Kurunegala over the tragic loss of seven monks due to the cave collapse at the “Naa Uyana” Forest Monastery.

¶ 03 Over the past year, COPE summoned many institutions: National Youth Services Council, National Gem and Jewellery Authority, Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, Lalith Athulathmudali Mahapola Trust Fund, Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Land Reclamation Commission, among others. We saw misuses and waste often driven by political interference and a small fraction of officials. COPE has the mandate over about 457 entities.

¶ 04 We have seen how rulers misused public funds: Ministers used A/C buses to transport their dogs’ medicines; leaders used national carriers to fly pets abroad; and the greatest daylight robbery — the Central Bank bond scam — was committed, with some involved still in Parliament. Some leaders promised to catch thieves and hang them at Galle Face; in the end, the thieves were brought into power instead.

¶ 05 Lands were plundered by corrupt Ministers, yet such individuals were again appointed as Ministers by those very leaders. Those who came like “Viharamaha Devi” left the throne only to enthrone the “Queen of Thieves.” The overnight Central Bank robbery stands as testimony, and those who promised to catch thieves handed them power.

¶ 06 In this past year, we have acted to protect transparency and fiscal discipline. We have not bankrupted State institutions.