By Nizla Naizer
An investigative journalist and a fair minded government school teacher were declared champions of the anti-corruption movement by Transparency International Sri Lanka yesterday at a function held to commemorate Anti-Corruption Day at BMICH.

Along with journalist Thusitha Pitigala and teacher cum unionist Priyantha Fernando, a special mention award was given to the Officer-In-Charge of the Potuhera Police Station, Deshabandu Senaratne.

The three awards were presented by Peter Eigen, founder of Transparency International, the global coalition of anti-corruption. At the ceremony, Transparency International Sri Lanka released the second ‘Sri Lanka Governance Report’ outlining the key issues impacting good governance in Sri Lanka. They also announced the winners of the Anti-Corruption Cartoon Campaign with the aim of bringing more awareness in the country. The winners of the cartoon dealt with the true nature of corruption in the country, said judge H.W. Punchihewa. “We saw administrators as traitors, law makers as law breakers all through the eyes of the common man who faces this everyday.” Producer of Sirasa TV’s investigative programme ‘Vimarshana,’ Thusitha Pitigala was given the award for his outstanding contribution to unearthing corruption and following through on the story with a tenacity that leads to action being taken by the officials responsible.

Receiving the award from Transparency International founder, Dr. Peter Enger, Pitigala said that this award may be an impetus for other media organisations to work towards anti-corruption.

“But it’s important to protect our informants,” he warns, “The Bribery or Corruption Commission couldn’t protect the stand taken by the senior officials in the Blood Bank when they testified and they were transferred from their posts immediately.” The Blood Bank incident was an expose by Pitigala where he unearthed the fact that outdated plasma kits were being used to collect blood samples in the National Blood Bank causing a major impact among the public and government authorities.

“I’ve come this far in the last five years with Vimarshana due to the support of the team at MTV,” Pitigala continued, “I don’t think we’ll stop our work because there’s a great demand for these investigative programmes, and we’ve got a lot of material to work on with the level of corruption in our society.”

A teacher with a cause, Priyantha Dissanayake, is similarly endowed with grit and a passion to fight corruption. “At the age 17, I survived an LTTE attack (the much talked about Rotawewa massacre), which left me with a gunshot wound before I came to Anuradhapura to work as a teacher,” he explained, “And from the start there’s been a drive within me to fight for a cause.” His cause was combating corruption and Dissanayake was instrumental in uncovering the Rs. 9 million scandal, where officials claimed that examination papers cost much more than they actually were.

He is now a teacher at the Devanampiyatissa Vidyalaya in Anuradhapura, but also acts as Secretary to the National Teachers’ Union and People’s Action for Human Rights in Anuradhapura. Despite being subjected to political pressure in the Central Province and death threats, Dissanayake vows to keep working.

“When I walked in here, half the cartoons had a corrupt educational officer theme,” he informed the audience. “I’m disappointed to say this problem starts at the grassroots of our country. This is a nation where the O/L paper is leaked out before the exams; I’ve told my own children not to have too much hope. This must stop. I wait for the day these awards won’t be necessary.”

Working in a department subjected to severe public criticism and scorn, Officer-In-Charge of the Potuhera Police Station, Inspector Deshadanadu Senaratne has created a new dimension to Police work in the small town. He encourages feedback and allows the public to access him directly on his mobile phone whenever there is a complaint and has made his Police station a truly comforting place to visit. “I want to make the Police force I handle, true protectors of the law. We’re like the captain of a ship, if the captain steers wrong, the ship goes off course.”

Potuhera Police Station operates with clear procedures and an easier way of getting things done, a truly transparent station which should serve as an example to the rest of the system, which is more crippled by corruption than any other.

The winners were selected by an eminent panel comprising former judge of the Supreme Court Justice T.B. Weerasooriya, former Vice Chancellor of University of Colombo Professor Savithri Goonesekere, former Secretary to the Ministry of Education Ariyarathna Hewage and distinguished educationist and Chancellor – Eastern University Jezima Ismail.

“From 73 nominees we narrowed it down to 10, and the winners were selected from the criteria listed out by the Transparency International,” Ismail explained, “We were looking for people who had integrity in their personal and professional lives.”

“We’re celebrating Anti-Corruption Day for the fifth consecutive year,” Transparency International Sri Lanka Executive Director J.C. Weliamuna said adding that it’s a crucial time in the history of Sri Lanka. “High and powerful networks are trying to silence the anti-corruption movement in this country. We must strategise together like them to outsmart corruption.”

“It’s not easy to fight corruption,” UNDP Country Coordinator Neil Buhne explained to the gathering giving the UN’s point of view. “As UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, the world’s reeling in a financial crisis caused by greed and corruption, but if we stand together we can make a difference. The message is that your ‘No’ counts.”

Transparency International Peter Enger who has had a history of fighting corruption explained his reasoning behind the day. “I left the World Bank because I wanted to fight corruption and there was no mechanism letting me. The World Bank is bound by governments and the governments approve of corruption. There is an unholy alliance where rich nations resort to bribing because they find it an acceptable way of doing business.”

From bribing a school teacher to business deals in the international arena, Einger claims that US$ 1,000 billion are lost each year through corruption. “The real damage is the perversion of economic dev elopement. That’s the reason the world is reeling in poverty.”