A good start

Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena is on a crusade to eliminate bribery in his Ministry. The tough stand taken by him against three UPFA Provincial Councillors found taking bribes hopefully will be the first salvo to rid all Ministries and Government Departments of bribery and corruption.

According to news reports the three PC members have taken bribes totalling Rs 225,000 promising appointments to two persons as sanitary labourers in the Health Ministry. To cap it all they have deposited the bribe money in a State bank. This shows the sheer audacity of the bribe takers who apparently had no qualms about stashing away their ill-gotten money in a Government bank. In a way it is symbolic of the malaise affecting all arms of the State.

This incident no doubt is only the tip of the iceberg. It is common knowledge that not only Provincial Councils but all local bodies are reeking with bribery and corruption. Today nothing gets done at local level without oiling palms. Even the construction of a small strip of road or a culvert involves massive corruption.

The award of tenders is another lucrative source of easy money to those at the helm of local authorities. Today one has only to see the opulence in which certain heads of local bodies live to gauge the extent of the corruption that is sweeping the system. Some of them who could hardly have afforded a motorcycle in the past now live in veritable mansions and travel in four wheelers. But no service worth mentioning is performed for the benefit of the people. The Government should seriously consider taking over some of these corrupt bodies and exercise direct control even if they are ruled by the incumbent party in power.

Dealing with an isolated case of bribery therefore is not the ideal way to tackle rampant irregularities in local Government where corruption has become endemic. A holistic approach is needed to get rid of this cancer. There should be a determined effort to confront the issue head on. Regular checks should be carried out on members’ assets and details of their wealth and the wrongdoers exposed. We say this because today local bodies rather than being of service to the public have become a burden to them. One has only to see the state of the roads, the decaying bridges and culverts and the rundown state of public amenities and facilities to form an opinion as to the service provided by these local bodies.

Hopefully the Minister’s move to haul over the colt members of his own party for bribery will send the right message to those similarly inclined. Ideally he should enjoin on all his Ministerial colleagues to be similarly vigilant in their own Ministries to hound out bribe takers. Ditto for all Government departments and corporations. True it is a Herculean task to eliminate bribery and corruption in State bodies overnight. But small beginnings such as the action taken by the Minister may eventually help if not totally eliminating at least to minimize bribery in the State sector. This is because corruption today is taking a heavy toll of Government departments eating away at their resources at a time the country needs all the wherewithal at its disposal to rebuild the country from the ashes of war.

A concerted effort is therefore needed to tackle corruption in the State sector which has assumed gigantic proportions. Not only corruption there is also an urgent need to eliminate rampant waste and inculcate a proper work ethic among Government servants who are notoriously lax and lethargic. A sense of ownership and belonging should be instilled in all Government servants as a first measure.

Today one has only to walk into a Government department to see the sense of drift laid back attitudes of the staff. Overhead fans buzz in vacant spaces while it is an all too common sight to see employees hanging on telephones in aimless conversations with groups huddled in corners engaged in idle talk to the neglect of their duties. What is needed therefore is an attitudinal change to make our Government servants break away from this straitjacket and breathe in more dynamism to their work.

This is because the country today needs a vibrant public sector to back the massive development undertakings of the Government. There is no time for shirkers. The public sector needs to be exorcised of all its ills including bribery and corruption not to mention general backwardness if we are to achieve our development goals.