Navy
leaks a worry
Newly appointed Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda is the latest
to get worried about leaks to the media. In a circular issued recently,
the Navy Commander has stated that documents and other items contained
in files used by the Navy have been made available to civilians
by Navy personnel without permission. As this is an act which is
contrary to Navy discipline and hence illegal, anyone found guilty
of such an offence is being warned they will be liable for disciplinary
action. Staff Officers/ Commanding Officers / Officers in Charge
/ Officers who are Unit Heads have been asked to advise officers
under them to refrain from such acts. The attention of all naval
personnel has been drawn to SLN Order 0806, issued in this connection.
Not
forgotten
As the nominations procedure came to a conclusion at the Elections
Secretariat on Friday, the Elections Commissioner went on to thank
everyone who had helped with the days programme, not forgetting
the caterers at the occasion.
Clean
up time
Talking of caterers, after the cost of meals was increased in Parliament,
there were rumblings that the food provided was not worth the price.
Maybe the message has got thorough because in the past two to three
weeks, the meals provided have improved a great deal. Along with
the meals, the messy environs around some of the departments inside
the Legislature too seem to be getting cleaned up. Maybe it’s
clean up time for those employed in the House by the Diyawanna.
What’s
cooking?
And more on the subject of cookery. The Auditor General’s
Report on the accounts of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board for 2004 says
equipment valued at over Rs 2.7 million had been purchased from
March to December last year with a view to conducting a course on
cookery from April that year. However that course had not been conducted,
it says. Wonder what is cooking in the SLTB after these revelations.
How many Lankans for top UN job?
How many candidates will Sri Lanka eventually field for the post
of UN Secretary-General next year? First, we had former Foreign
Minister Tyronne Fernando officially throwing his hat into the ring.
However, his decision to announce his candidature far far in advance
of December 2006 (when incumbent Kofi Annan completes his term)
was a sort of a pre-emptive strike that failed to materialise when
he was ousted from his job. But the letter the Foreign Ministry
sent to UN missions in New York touting Fernando's candidature was
never withdrawn.
Last
year, the government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga declared
its official candidate for the Secretary-General's job - Jayantha
Dhanapala, head of the Sri Lankan Peace Secretariat. The announcement
followed a letter to all diplomatic missions in New York about the
new candidate. Dhanapala is already in the middle of a campaign
for the job, which is also being eyed by a Thai and a South Korean.
Now
comes word from Brussels that Niranjan de Silva Deva Aditiya, a
member of the European Parliament and one time adviser to former
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, is gearing up to join the fray.
Aditiya has been telling friends and associates in Brussels that
he would be the official Sri Lankan nominee for the Secretary-General's
job -- if and when Wickremesinghe is elected President in next month's
poll. Aditiya is also quoted as saying that he has already got this
assurance from Wickremesinghe.
But whether this is fact or fiction remains to be seen. |
