By Gamini Abeywardane
Samagi Jana
Balawegaya Member of Parliament, Eran Wickramaratne through a private members
bill, has presented a very timely and forthright proposal which will address
the core issue of corruption in the country.
Wickramaratne
in a Twitter post says he presented this bill in furtherance of public interest
seeking to amend the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Law No.01 of 1975 echoing
the demands for change and accountability.
According to
him first, it seeks to remove the archaic secrecy provisions within the Act to
keep it in line with the obligations of disclosure under the Right to
Information Act and the principle of maximum disclosure.
Second, he
says the bill seeks to ensure that electoral candidates will submit Asset
Declaration’s with their nomination papers.
Third, the
bill has included the country’s President also in the list of individuals to whom
this law applies. Currently there is no requirement for the President to
declare assets.
Fourth, the
bill ensures that asset declarations are routinely examined and verified at a
central authority – the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or
Corruption (CIABOC).
Fifth, the
bill supports law enforcement to pursue asset recovery in the case of stolen
assets. This has been specifically included to address the demands from the Aragalaya
to recover stolen assets.
Wickramaratne
says that if we are to eliminate or minimise corruption, the example needs to
be set by the executive arm of the government. He calls upon all present and
past Presidents, Prime Ministers and Cabinet Ministers to join him in
voluntarily making a public declaration of assets and liabilities.
This is a
vital initiative to bring about the transparency and accountability which is a
key demand of the Aragalaya and all other right thinking and honest people who
want to see a better Sri Lanka.
These reforms,
if ever introduced, will restore some confidence in the system of government we
have. However it is doubtful whether the move will garner support from the
current set of corrupt politicians
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