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Greesing of Palms. Expose the Criminals!!

Prof. Hudson McLean

Accidentally I overheard an on-going conversation and when I heard the subject and Sri Lanka, naturally I barged in.

Soon after I mentioned this matter in my letter on the 5th Jan. 2006 in Lankaweb, I noticed the two on-going debates on Lubricants as well as an award of a Tender on hospital equipment, granted against specialist advise.

Although I have no interest in either, the SLG should allow the free-market forces to decide the position. Charge the fees and let the market decide for themselves.

My concern is not related to either of these matters.

The subject in hand is a major infrastructure project of immense national interest, funded by institutional investors, in the form of significant loans and grants.

The lobbyists and agents, representing foreign potential suppliers and participants involved in these Tender exercises have demanded between 5-10% ex-gratia payments from the suppliers and participants.

The middle management in the Sri Lankan firms, several of them are highly reputable, old, established, respectable companies, have already sounded out the potential foreign companies, on their stand on such "Greesing of Palms".

Greesing of Palms date back to the time of Christ. Judas sold Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of Silver. Such favours are a common practice from USA to Japan to Africa to Russia. Military officers earning US$ 1000 per month have managed to save several millions in a space of five years!! Even in Sri Lanka!

With that kind of money, one can buy any football club in the world or even the Southfork Farm in Great Britain, for a mere UK Pounds 10 million or so.

When an infrastructure project where the survival of a Sovereign State is concerned, if the agent or the representative cannot survive on an agreed compensation and seek additional remuneration at the expense of the project, then it is considered illegal and an offence.

Speciall when the local agent or the representative claims that the sum in question is payable to a government official, and it is impossible(?) to authenticate, where does the buck stop?

Currently we have the names of several local representatives (companies) and their front men. We also know the names of the prime applicants who are submitting the Tenders.

In due course, we shall publish the Name of the Project(s), the potential bidders, and the names of their Agents and how much was demanded and how much was paid, to whom and how!

The thing which puzzles me is that, if a government official demanded a BRIBE from the local agent in confidence, he should not pass this information to the foreign supplier. This cost or expense may be built into the price of the Tender. This could also mean that the agent or the prime company senior management is unaware of the corrupt practices of its middle-management employees, on the back of a reputable name.

We knew that late Minister Gamini Dissanayake sent his "bag-man" to Skanska in Sweden to collect his commissions four times a year and bank the funds in the Isle of Man, Lloyds Bank.

On the positive side of the equation, the government officials or the Tender Board may have nothing to do with this kind of financial transaction. This could be another scam to cream-off the funds from a foreign supplier by placing a government official as a scape-goat.

May I suggest to the HE PRESIDENT, in order to slow-down such illegal and corrupt practices, that the Tender Board and all the official project managers include a clear statement on all such TENDER APPLICATIONS that-;

ALL TENDERERS HEREBY CERTIFY THAT NO EX-GRATIA PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN DEMANDED OR OFFERED OR MADE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN RELATION TO THIS SUBMISSION OF TENDER, BY OR TO ANY PERSON OR CORPORATE ENTITY. ANY VIOLATION SHALL GIVE RISE TO CIVIL LAW REMEDIES AND CANCELLATION OF THE TENDER SUBMISSION WITHOUT ANY COMPENSATION OR RETURN OF DUTIES PAID, SUPPORTED BY A PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE FACT.

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