GulfNews,  Tue Mar  7 19:59:17 EST 2006

    Colombo: President Mahinda Rajapakse will seek an explanation from a Cabinet minister who had failed to adhere to instructions given during their visit to Geneva for peace talks.

An explanation is to be sought from Rohitha Bogollagama, Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion, as to why he disregarded his instructions and chose to stay at a suite in the Geneva Hilton instead of Chateau de Bossey during talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Rajapakse has already directed that neither the Government nor any of its agencies should meet the bill for his stay, The Sunday Times newspaper reported.

Rajapakse's move comes in the wake of repeated complaints to him that Bogollagama had chosen to disregard government policy and stayed in expensive hotels during his visits abroad.
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- The Academic

Not only did this .. take the whole family to Geneva at tax payers expense, he had the audacity to bring his son for classified government briefings. Apparently he wanted to teach his son politics! He thinks he can waste my tax rupees for his son's education and to give his wife a holiday... he must be some kind of a clown!  

Congratulations to Mr.Rajapaksa for getting the ideots like Bogollagama answerable to their stupid behaviors. These are rare news from Sri Lanka and appears that MR is heading the right direction.

This clearly shows that ideots like Bogollagama are not interested at all about SL security and only worried about their personal well being. There are thousands of them, MR better start cleaning those worms now!

Well, good thing to remember is that Bogollagama's son when well trained by his father for politics, can be outright rejected at the polls, since now we know that he can be as corrupt as his trainer.

Manjula says:

Quote:

Congratulations to Mr.Rajapaksa for getting the ideots like Bogollagama answerable to their stupid behaviors. These are rare news from Sri Lanka and appears that MR is heading the right direction

Very true, Manjula. Ministers got away with many dispicable acts like this (and worse) in the past, specially when CBK was in power. A good example can be found on the website:

http://www.dailynews.lk/2004/12/29/new01.html

An extract from the report which appeared soon after the Tsunami disaster says:

Quote:

Meanwhile, the President's Office and the Government request that all monies destined for the victims of Sunday's disaster be sent directly to the special bank account opened by the President's Office given below:

Central Bank of Sri Lanka

Account Number: 46060

The government requests all state institutions and government authorities not to open separate bank accounts to collect funds. Individuals and institutions could send all monies collected to the above account.

This directive was not adhered to. Nor was an investigation held into instances where the directive was not adhered to. Hopefully President Rajapakse (on the right track?) will do something.

If MR really wants to show that he is going to make a change in corrupted Sri Lankan politics, he should sack that ideot from his government immediately.  Can we trust on these kind of people anymore? JVP should show its back bone on these issues. If MR try to put the incidence under the carpet, people will judge him.


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agro

Well done Mahinda R, keep up with the good work.

But calling explanation alone is not sufficient, Bogolla should be sacked as there is no way the man can give a satisfactory explanation to retain his position.

As Manjula suggest - Yes the voters should remember the name Bogollagama so that they can reject Bogolla family outright in future elections- no matter even if they cross over and pop up from other party.

this a one side of the storey
why cann't we wait for the ministre's reply
most of the contributers want a fair trial after hanging the accused

It is one of this DRAMA by our politicians whatever their party/color/caste etc.,

According to my knowledge this BOGGLES was on MR's tour party to India a few moons ago and again he was at Mayura Hilton with his better half and sibblings for a cool USD2000 (LKR200,000) per night suite away from the presidential party.

SOOOOOOOOOOO, as mentioned here,  MR gave instructions that BOGGLES has to pay by his own pocket and finally a 3rd party has done the payment and the matter is close from there.

Since this BOGGLEs dude is assigned the lucrative investment promotion and BOI - (not to be mistaken as a Bunch Of Idiots), he will have hundreds of these 3rd parities from all over the globe to pay for his dirty deeds and finally the Punchisinghos like rest of us have to pay the final price. fi

So after a hue and cry from MR and all others, this DRAMA will have the same ending as well. So this is another DRAMA and the script is well documented.

As you all know with much scrutinity by US law enforcement, it will be harder for someone like BOGGLES to get the commisions from all this BOI deeds by way of hard cash or else in Swiss Accounts and this is the right Royal way to get this black money with  a royal treat for family and siblings and mind you he is training his SON to follow his steps and  this BOGGLES curse will have to face by my children for another generation as well.


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Wannilage Gomarie
Dambana
Sri Lanka

ahilla wrote:

this a one side of the storey
why cann't we wait for the ministre's reply
most of the contributers want a fair trial after hanging the accused

I agree. The poor Minister is still trying answer why he spent 2000 bucks a night
during MR's visit to Delhi and now he is being asked to answer this?? Totally
unfair in my opinion. The poor man has to be a minister,train his son the finer arts
of being a politician, "take care" of the BOI, buy expensive gifts to lady docs etc etc
and now we want him to waste his time by explaining this stuff..

Who said politicians had a easy life??


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There are no minorities in Sri Lanka. --- Dr.Percy Mahinda Rajapakse Ph.D

I would rather prefer to wait and see what is the outcome of the investigation in to this crime of wasting taxpayers' money.  Will it be like all other investigations and inquiries?  Let's see.  Bogollagama already did it in India and there was a lot of due and cry at that time.  Inspite of that he had the courage to do it again.  Let's see what MR is going to do with him.

Anybody can verify whether this is true.......but I assure you it is.
When Mr.Bogollogama was appointed minister of science and technology by CBK, he hired his brother in law for no valid reason as the managing director. He was given a chauffer driven vehicle and the car was leased for 86 000 Ruppees per month. On top of that the chauffer's salary and the insurance money was also paid through the already fund starved ministry. Oh and this brother in law guy, the first thing he did when he came to the office was change his chair and get a chair for around 40 000 ruppees without going through any of the expected protocols as if the ministry funds was his heritage. I am 100% certain about this incident because I was attached to the ministry at the time. I left in disgust as soon as I got the opportunity. Minister Tissa Vitharana who replaced Bogollagama was a gentelman of the highest calibre and it was a refreshing change indeed!

MR is very good at diverting issues and this one pretty much to divert attention from JVP and JHU.

He is capable of questioning his loyal party member only. Just wait for two months and see what action he will take on him?The answer is NONE.

ahilla wrote:

this a one side of the storey
why cann't we wait for the ministre's reply
most of the contributers want a fair trial after hanging the accused

Yep ahilla,

The otherside might be, he stayed at the expensive place for 'security reasons'and the wine there is in good quality.  The other reason is his portfolio; as Enterprise development Minister he has to do some thing enterprising.

LankanExile wrote:

MR is very good at diverting issues and this one pretty much to divert attention from JVP and JHU.

He is capable of questioning his loyal party member only. Just wait for two months and see what action he will take on him?The answer is NONE.

Exactly Exile,

we should not get carried away by this.  When you point out a finger there are 4 fingers pointing at you.  What about the allegation of miappropriation of Tsunami funds (Hambantotoa dev. A/C) ?

It seems to me to be clear tha Mr. Bogollagama was only doing his patriotic duty. The Nordic salmon-eating  barbarians have only recently attained a degree of semi-civilization and this shows in many of their habits. For example their Ministers have no idea of dignity, and can often be seen in such embarrassing situations as doing their own shopping, or walking to the cinema, or getting on a bus for purposes other than collecting commission off the bus driver. Admittedly upstanding citizens have tried to show them the folly of their ways by assassinating them where possible, but, like toddy tappers at a banquet climbing the chandeliers and scratching their private parts, the Nordics continue in the primitive ways of their forbears.

So Sri Lanka, with its glorious tradition of 2,500 years of righteous governance can show them the Asian way of luxury hotels and chauffeur driven Mercedes.

I believe the target of his benevolence in sacrificing his offspring's free time to attend government meetings was to prevent his fellow colleagues from straying from the true path. Our traditional customs of nepotism have been corrupted in recent years by perfidious western influences, and indeed even the last President and her mother had one close relation who ignored the family path of living off the gravy train and went to Australia to serve as a menial literary critic and ignoble great novelist. Other ministers have been known to have offspring that abandon tradition to become wastrels dedicated to such ignominious pursuits as working in law, finance, medicine and IT. Mr. Bogollagama is reminding them of their duties as Sinhalese patriots to ensure that their offspring are as unsullied by any useful occupation as their parents are.

How blessed is Mother Lanka to have such deserving children.