25 November 2023 03:22 pm Views - 1144
The request was made at the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Open and Accountable Government, which met in the Parliamentary complex recently under the Chair of MP Jagath Kumara Sumitraarachchi.
The officials said that it has not been possible to recruit competent officers due to insufficient salaries for the respective positions. The officials requested the committee to prepare the salary scales for the Bribery Commission in alignment with the salary scales of the Attorney General's Department.
Accordingly, the committee chair emphasized that in order to get the services of the Bribery or Corruption Investigation Commission efficiently, the officials should be set at the right salary scales.
The chairman further commented that the recommendations of the committee regarding the salary increase will be sent to the relevant departments.
The Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption also said even though the newly passed Anti-Corruption Act has empowered them to conduct investigations into more sectors than before, they have not been able to begin some tasks due to the lack of necessary electronic systems and technical equipment.
They said they have been unable to start the process of obtaining statements of assets and liabilities from those who are bound to provide them due to lack of necessary electronic systems and technical equipment.
The officials of the Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption informed the committee that they have the right to record statements from all those who should provide such statements of assets and liabilities and that the process should be done electronically. But due to the lack of necessary electronic systems and technical equipment the officials have not been able to begin the process.