STATE ACCOUNTABILITY

TWO-PRONGED INVESTIGATIONS

Finding both missing people and money is critical – Dr. Jehan Perera explains

The arrest of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser and member of parliament Namal Rajapaksa on corruption charges related to the massive Airbus purchase scandal of 2013 is a matter of public attention. 

That year, SriLankan Airlines had contracted for 10 Airbus planes with further leases arranged for a fleet renewal programme valued at over US$ 2.5 billion. 

This amount is comparable in size to the US$ 3 billion IMF bailout package and reveals the scale of exposure that the loss making state owned carrier was taking on. Furthermore, the penalties paid after deciding to exit the leases exceeded 100 million dollars. 

Compared to previous governments, the present leadership is demonstrating a commendable determination to push the accountability process forward.

However, there is a larger test of accountability… 

This isn’t only about hunting for missing dollars but also whether the government can pursue missing persons with the same determination. A million dollars belongs to the nation; and when it disappears through alleged corruption or the abuse of power, the public is entitled to know what happened to it and who is responsible. 

Missing persons belong to families, communities and the country as a whole; and when they disappear as a result of political violence or enforced disappearance, those who remain are equally entitled to know what happened and who is responsible.

These aren’t separate questions of accountability. 

They arise from the same underlying obligation of the state to protect the public interest and apply the law equally, regardless of who is harmed or implicated. 

Public money can’t be treated as less important because it was allegedly lost through political connections. Nor can the life of a citizen be considered less valuable because that person disappeared during a period of political violence, or belonged to an ethnic or political group that wasn’t powerful at the time.

Accountability mustn’t stop at corruption, nor should it be measured only in terms of money

There is a strong public case for pursuing accountability for corruption, irrespective of the political status of those being investigated. The main issues that led to the electoral watershed in 2024 were corruption and the abuse of power – and it’s widely believed that they fed into the collapse of the national economy in 2022. 

But accountability mustn’t stop at corruption, nor should it be measured only in terms of money. 

If the state demonstrates political will when public money has allegedly disappeared, it needs to exhibit the same political will when it comes to the people who have disappeared. The credibility of the accountability process will ultimately depend on whether the same standard is applied to both.

The Airbus case is important because what’s at stake isn’t simply the size of the alleged bribe. What’s more troubling is the deliberate commitment of scarce public resources to a loss making enterprise for personal gain that’s far smaller than the cost imposed on the national budget. 

Corruption isn’t only about what an individual allegedly receives as a commission or bribe. It’s also about the public resources committed, institutions weakened and opportunities lost when decisions serve private rather than public benefit. 

The same principle applies to people: the disappearance of a citizen isn’t simply a private tragedy for the family concerned. It also displays the failure of the state to launch an effective investigation and call for accountability by the relevant authorities. 

When such disappearances remain unresolved for decades, the failure becomes institutional.

Having completed two years in office, the government is trying to identify those responsible for the current state of affairs in the country and bring them to justice. It also needs to be thinking about what institutions and systems should be changed so that past problems can’t easily recur. 

This means moving from anticorruption politics to system reform. One can prosecute a set of corrupt individuals and still leave behind a system that produces yet another set. And the real measure of success shouldn’t simply be how many former politicians are investigated or prosecuted.

By the end of this government’s term, it will be necessary to see if Sri Lanka has become a country where it’s harder for any future government to abuse power, irrespective of whether it takes the form of embezzling public funds or failing to protect the lives and rights of citizens.