News
New move to fast track corruption cases against public officials
View(s):- Changes to Parliament Standing Orders proposed to allow COPE and COPA to refer allegations directly to Police or CIABOC, bypassing the AG
By Chandani Kirinde and Damith Wickramasekera
Public officials facing allegations of bribery or corruption after scrutiny by the two parliamentary oversight committees—COPE and COPA—will be referred directly to the police or the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIAOBC), bypassing the Attorney General.
The motion to amend Standing Orders was presented to Parliament on Friday and will be taken up for debate on a later date.
The tightening of laws to stop corruption in the public sector comes on the heels of the recently passed amendment to the National Audit Act, which empowers the Auditor General to refer complaints directly to the police in cases of fraud, corruption, or misappropriation uncovered during audits. The Act also provides for surcharges to be imposed on officials or institutions found guilty of financial misconduct.
The amendments to the Standing Orders were proposed by
NPP Parliamentarian Nishantha Samaraweera, who chairs the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), and NPP Parliamentarian Aravinda Senarath, who heads the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA).
Once the Standing Orders are amended, the two committees, after examining the reports presented to them by the Auditor General and reaching the conclusion that serious financial fraud or acts of corruption have occurred, may refer such matters directly to the CIAOBOC or the Inspector General of Police for necessary action.
Under the existing Standing Orders, once COPE or COPA reports are tabled in Parliament, they are referred to the Minister of Finance and the ministers in charge of the institutions under probe.
The respective ministers are then required to submit their observations to Parliament within eight weeks and also submit a statement of actions proposed to be taken in line with the recommendation made by the committees.
When Parliament so decides, the report concerned may be referred to the Attorney General for his observations and necessary action, the current Standing Orders state.
The proposed changes to the Standing Orders to expedite the action have been referred to the parliamentary Committee on Standing Orders for consideration.
Meanwhile, the five-member Surcharge Review Committee, which has to be set up under the newly passed National Audit (Amendment) Act, is yet to be set up.
This committee is empowered to consider the recommendations made by the Auditor General and decide the amount to be imposed as a surcharge by way of penalty for financial fraud.
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