Cronyism and Corruption

Ranil Wickremesinghe was Prime Minister from December 2001, for a little over two years. He came into power on a wave of good will which seemed to increase after the Ceasefire Agreement he signed with the Tigers – the UNF triumphed in the local government elections that were held shortly afterwards.

Two years later however he lost conclusively in the General Election that the President called in April 2004. To a large extent this was due to what was perceived as his singleminded appeasement of the Tigers. As the constitutional expert Rohan Edrisinha, at first a fervent supporter of Wickremesinghe's peace move, was to put it later, Wickremesinghe's approach made clear that an excess of pragmatism was bound to be disastrous.

Yet it was apparent that Wickremesinghe's lack of principle extended to all areas of government. He had appointed his close friend and confidante, Charitha Ratwatte, Secretary to the first Ministry he had presided over in the late seventies, to the position of Secretary of the Treasury. His brief was to cut government spending and exercise tight discipline. Ratwatte was sincere and determined about his task, but found himself undermined by Wickremesinghe's selective indulgences. Loyal as he was, Ratwatte complained about everyone else, but failed to register that the rot started at the top.

He was scathing about the Secretary to the Foreign Ministry when totally unqualified young men were sent as drivers to various embassies.