When Mahinda Rajapaksa became Sri Lanka’s sixth president in 2005, we were up against three wars – terrorism, poverty and corruption. We won the war against terrorism in 2009. By 2014, the key economic indicators in comparison to 2004 reveals the economic revolution we have had during this period.

Briefly, the economic indicators in 2004 and 2014 are:
GDP in 2004 – USD 20.7; in 2014 – USD 80.0
Average inflation in 2004 – 9%; in 2014 – 3.3%
Foreign reserves in 2004 – USD 2.3 billion; in 2014 USD 8.3 billion
Debt/GDP ratio in 2004 – 102.3%; in 2014 – 70.7%
FDIs in 2004 – 24 billion; in 2014 – 1.6 billion
All share price index in 2014 – 1506; in 2014 – 7299
Unemployment in 2004 – 8.3%; in 2014 – 4.3%

The war against corruption on the other hand had lost political will. Overconfident of a grateful nation, the Rajapaksa administration saw no reason to counter or investigate the allegations. This only fueled more stories of corruption. This in turn tarnished the gigantic and rapid infrastructural development at the time, for it was portrayed the reason for the projects was to earn massive commissions. In fact, it was alleged that one third of the money went to line the Rajapaksa pockets. Basil Rajapaksa who played a key role in these projects earned the nickname, ‘Mr. Ten Percent’.

People angered over these allegations never stopped to question the obvious – if one third of the money received from foreign bank loans was pocketed, then how was the project completed. This anger translated into Mahinda Rajapaksa’s defeat, who left office in 2015 labelled as a thief and a rogue. Some posts on social media requested the new government to forget everything and just catch the thieves – that’s enough!

With Maithripala Sirisena coming in as the new president, a new era of good governance was expected as never before. He immediately changed the government and made Ranil Wickremesinghe the Prime Minister. Despite the fact that there already was a sitting PM, which made the new appointment unconstitutional, it did not create a ripple.

Though the Opposition accuse Wickremesinghe of entering premiership through the backdoor, it is not so. Throughout the 2014-2015 presidential election campaign, Sirisena openly pledged to make Wickremesinghe his PM. That is the main reason for the loyalists of United National Party en mass to vote for the Common Candidate, who throughout his political career had belonged to the arch rival political party, Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

Wickremesinghe does not fare well at elections. Still, UNP stalwarts believed him to be a great administrator. In the 70s he worked through the party ranks and became the youngest cabinet minister in his uncle, JR Jayawardene’s government. Against the likes of Lalith Athumathmudali and Gamini Dissanayaka, he did not shine. Though he initiated Sri Lanka National Guard and the National Youth Services Council (NYSCO) to provide vocational and career training to school leavers, schools in rural areas remained rural and training programs for teachers halted.

However, during the Premadasa government, he won the confidence of the business community, despite the role he played in suppressing the ’88-’89 Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna uprising. The excesses of the Premadasa administration was seen a necessary evil to counter the JVP brutality. During Chandrika Kumaratunga’s time, he managed to stabilize a dangerously tottering economy. This further accentuated the business community’s confidence had in him. It was believed that it was the people who did not give him the chance to perform the economic miracles he is capable.

The Unity Government where all political foes united was the opportunity for Wickremesinghe to unleash his potential and take the country to the next wave of economic revolution. Furthermore, his liberal views won the trust of the West, which the Rajapaksa administration did not have for most of its tenure. Together with this capability and confidence of the West, many believed the country needed Wickremesinghe.

The other attribute that stood in Wickremesinghe’s stead was that he was widely regarded as ‘Mr. Clean’. Under him, voters’ surmised the country stricken down by corruption would get the much needed break.

Though Sirisena was the executive president, it was the more political savvy Wickremesinghe who took the new administration’s reigns. Again, it was expected as Sirisena came to power to abolish the executive presidential powers.

However, when Wickremesinghe appointed Ravi Karunanayake as the Finance Minister people were not happy. Many perceived it as akin to letting the fox guard the chicken coop. Wickremesinghe soothed the concerns by taking the Central Bank, which has traditionally been under the finance ministry, under his wing.

At the same time, Wickremesinghe appointed Arjuna Mahendra, a Singaporean citizen, as the Central Bank Governor. Though to the general public Mahendran was an unfamiliar entity, Sirisena loyalists including Sirisena himself objected. It was only after Wickremesinghe pledged to take responsibility that the appointment got through. The objection to Mahendran arose not because he disparaged the country’s economy in 2005, but because of his links to Raj Rajrathnam.

In 2006, Karunanayake and Mahendran met Rajrathnam in his Madison Avenue in New York office, Galleon Fund Management, and received a cheque for USD three million to buy Union Bank shares in his personal name through his Securities Investment account.

Instead, the cheque was wired via Standard Chartered Bank to an unrelated party, Nexia Corporation Services Limited, a nominee account of Lincoln Piyasena, without the Central Bank’s authority. The prosecution accused Karunanayake of aiding and abetting Rajrathnam of attempting to launder money. In 2009, Karunanayake along with Nexia Corporation Services Limited and Piyasena were indicted on charges of not following the usual procedure.

Interestingly, shortly after Karunanayake returned to Sri Lanka with the said cheque, Rajrathnam came under U.S. authority’s investigations. Someone from Sri lanka tipped the authority that Rajrathnam is funding the proscribed terrorist group, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Indeed, investigations revealed that Rajrathnam had generously contributed USD 3.5 million to the LTTE fronted Tamil Rehabilitation Organization, but not since it was accused of its connection to the LTTE and had its assets frozen. Thus, there was no proof that Rajrathnam knowingly contributed to the LTTE.

However, the extensive wiretaps of conversations he had with his associates found ample evidence of inside trading, which has helped him generate profits or avoid losses of $72 million. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated that the 11-year sentence Rajrathnam received proves “privileged professionals do not get a free pass to pursue profit through corrupt means.”

When Rajrathnam began his prison sentence in 2011, Karunanayake was already embroiled in the court case for money laundry. It was under the same black cloud he assumed his duties as the Yahapalana Government’s finance minister. In fact, on 29 January 2015, Karunanayake could not present himself to the Colombo High Court as he had to present the 2015 interim budget before the parliament. The Courts thus postponed the hearing to 4 March.

On 18 May 2015, the Colombo High Court discharged Karunanayake from all charges. However, Colombo Telegraph reports that on 10 March 2017, Attorney-at-Law and Public Interest Litigation Activist Nagananda Kodituwakku complained to Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption that former Attorney General Yuvanjana Wijayatilake had abused his office to unethically grant favors to Karunanayake in the money laundering case.

It was not only this case that stood against him. Karunanayake was the Trade, Commerce and Consumer Affairs minister from 2001-2004. During this time, he was linked to two major scandals – the Sathosa bankruptcy and an issue with tin roofing assigned to the poor.

Today, he is linked with the 2015 Central Bank bond scam – considered the biggest heist in Sri Lanka banking history. In an interesting twist of events, on 24 July 2017 the Presidential Commission of Inquiry probing this scam learns from former owner of Monarch Residencies that a company connected to Arjun Aloysius had paid the lease for a 4,000 square foot luxury apartment for the use of Karunanayake. After eight months, this apartment was purchased for Rs. 165 million by a company whose directors are directly related to Karunanayake.

Wickremesinghe who initially made light of the bond scam makes no comment of it now. Recently Wickremesinghe pulled up Ranjan Ramanayaka for his indisciplined mouth and asked to leave the party if he must criticize it. Thus, his silence over mounting evidence against Karunanayake is very questionable.

This alleged scam took place over two years ago. Given Sri Lanka’s general tendencies, it should have died a natural death. Furthermore, powerful trade unions such as the GMOA is more interested in the fate of SAITM, to which Joint Opposition had lent its weight. No one protests or at least threatens trade union action over the bond scam. Yet, presidential commission upon commission is keeping it alive. It is similar to the supplementary budgets for ministers’ luxury vehicles that pops up just when the country is reeling after a disaster. Eventually, after the public’s feathers are sufficiently ruffled, President Sirisena kicks these to the bin, thus emerging as the champion of the people.

Though he lamented that his directive to sack Mahendran soon after the scam was ignored, he cannot exonerate himself. The simple reason being, he dissolved the 2015 parliament to stop the COPE Committee from exposing the scam and its engineers.

The tragedy for the Yahapalana voters is the loss of an idol. The bond scam has smeared Wickremesinghe’s ‘Mr. Clean’ image. The successive trade union actions by powerful GMOA and CPC has shot his reputation as a good administrator. The falling key indicators has shredded illusions of him being a great economist. Exactly 30 years to the date after JRJ signed the Indo-Lanka Accord, Wickremesinghe signs the Hambanthota Port agreement on 29 July 2017. The shameless genuflecting to the West who are interfering with our constitution, national security and insisting of persecuting our military had turned Yahapalana to Yamapalana. The Yahapalana Government brought to catch the thieves have become the thieves and their voters do not know where to turn next.