The SJB yesterday (27) took the government to task for appointing Seevali Arukgoda as Director General of Customs despite serious allegations against him over the irregular release of 323 containers.
Addressing the media at the SJB party headquarters, Colombo, SJB MP Mujibur Rahuman said a committee appointed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had held Arukgoda responsible for failing in his supervisory duties when 309 containers were released from the port without inspection. “Yet,
instead of taking action against him, the government rewarded him with the top post,” he said.
Rahuman pointed out that a complaint against Arukgoda was already before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corrupiton (CIABOC), but no action had been taken.
“This government came to power promising to end corruption. But what we see is that if someone is close to the President, or his party, allegations don’t matter. They are still promoted to the highest offices,” he said.
“None of the containers were inspected. The Customs Department itself admitted it had released the containers on the instructions of Minister Bimal Rathnayake to the then Director General,” he said.
Rahuman warned that the losses to the state caused by the release of the 309 containers had still not been calculated. “The government takes decisions to please its associates and has made no effort to recover the damage caused by this illegal release. The current President, despite his talk of upholding the rule of law, is acting no differently from his predecessors,” he said.
Rahuman alleged that the NPP government had abandoned its promise to end fraud and corruption. “Instead of probing whether individuals facing serious allegations are suitable for office, the President is appointing his associates and party loyalists to top posts. If they are close to him, corruption charges don’t seem to matter,” he said.
by Saman Indrajith ✍️
