Ceylon Today Editorial

NEW YEAR WISHES AND PIPE DREAMS

01 January 2017

As this paper has foretold in advance, the Chinese factor breaks through as a decisive force in the fluctuating fortunes and misfortunes of the government as well as of the Joint Opposition. This motley collection of so-called politicians, have been drawn together by two common factors: Hatred for Maithripala Sirisena and hatred for Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Naturally, in their minds, it's always been an imperative that this government must be ousted and the sooner the better. There's no doubt about it that investigations into serious frauds and killings under the previous government are being from day one impeded by persons within the investigative bodies and perhaps also in the Judiciary with the sole intention of preventing any successful prosecutions. The President came down hard on these forces in disgust just a month ago with biting criticisms that led to the resignation of the CIABOC chief Dilrukshi Wickramasinghe. That resignation has not changed the pace of the process that could hopefully lead to prosecutions. In other words, the moles of the Rajapaksa era remain ensconced in the system, working from within to ensure that allegations are not proved.

It's therefore an angered and deeply frustrated President who's left to unravel a massive tangle of political perfidy operating right under his nose. The CB Bond Scam which casts government's partner – the UNP – in bad light, is spoken of in hushed tones behind the scenes as being used as a trade-off to indefinitely drag out all cases against members of the previous government in exchange for its silence on the Bond scam.

It is this that has angered hitherto pro-Sirisena SLFP ministers and MPs in the government to the extent that they have been bringing heavy pressure to bear on the President to 'Get things going' on prosecuting the culprits in the former Rajapaksa regime...many of whom are leading lights in the JO. It would appear that in a bid to push this vital issue into the background, the government and the JO/SLPP have conspired to rather blow out of all proportion the Draft Bill on Power Ministers and Draft Constitutional proposals, when there is absolutely no sense in raising this hue and cry about them, because any idiot knows that they will either never get through the House or will do so only...if only...the latter at least passes a referendum. The Draft Ministries Bill to my mind is all a load of hogwash not worthy of debate in a school debating society. A more appropriate title for that Bill would have been 'A Red Herring to cover up the Draft Constitution and Delimitation Issues.'

The UNP has some stupid people but none so stupid, as to not know that a super powered minister who would dwarf the powers of the President is completely out of the equation. I think it was Rajitha Senaratne who defined it well saying Meka Vihuluwak. Added fuel came by way of G.L. Peiris announcing that MR would lead the group, presumably meaning the JO cum SLPP, at the coming LG elections, while on the other hand the Prime Minister on 5 January will go public with his perceptions on where the government stands in the midst of all these developments. To sustain the tempo the story was leaked that ten SLFPers were to quit the government and interestingly neither the UNP, SLFP nor JO have said anything about whether their recent membership drives were fruitful or not.That could suggest that the status quo as far as the government is concerned is about the same as it was back on 8 January 2015 and August of that year too.

JO keeps making noises in an effort to make the people feel disgruntled but its ho-ha about the new Constitution simply won't hold any water, because the most imbecilic man in the village will know that it must get through a referendum. Besides which, all parties represented in Parliament have subscribed their proposals for inclusion and the final document will very likely embody all of these proposals. Even TNA leader R. Sampanthan is on record as having acknowledged the fact that the referendum is mandatory. So what's the big JO fuss about it all? Rajitha Senaratne and UPFA General Secretary Mahinda Amaraweera have said that the JO hopes of the government falling...and soon at that! ...is just a pipe dream.

But lots of money, from China or elsewhere is dumped into the JO campaign talks. That money can at least get a lot of noise such as the hoarse yelling at Pada Yatras, Harbour and other strikes, bus strikes, GMOA walk-outs etc. But will it buy Tamil and Muslim votes for that wafer thin majority that's the vital factor?

Weekend Nation Editorial

Year 2017 Rhetoric vs Reality

01 January 2017

It has been already announced that there will be radical political and economic changes in the New Year. Underlying all this will be the urgent need to boost the economy in a manner that people can be given some of the benefits they expected through the creation of the Yahapalana government.

Almost two years ago it all began with high expectations. At the time, most people thought that investments were not coming to the country because of the authoritarian style of the then government led by Mahinda Rajapaksa. The reasons often cited were deficiencies in good governance and their inability to maintain good relations with the rest of the world, mainly India and the West and the general expectation was that a change of regime would result in a high flow of FDIs into the country.

The big change did happen, but the two-year period that followed hasn’t seen anything beyond mere expectation and preparation. None of those with allegations of large scale corruption from the previous administration have been punished. Only investigations have been made into such cases; nineteenth amendment to the Constitution was passed and only some preparatory work has been done for drafting a new constitution and resolving the national issue.

On the diplomatic front, friendly relations have been re-established with the West as well as all other important countries in the world. The right to information law has been passed enhancing democracy and a national health policy has been introduced to make certain essential drugs more affordable to the people.

However, in practical terms all these measures have failed to give people the kind of relief they expected. On the contrary, the government’s efforts to increase revenue and establish fiscal consolidation have heaped extra burdens on the people in the form of escalating cost of living while their incomes have remained the same.

As the joint government of the two main parties reach the second half of its term more tangible measures have become necessary to create the change that people expected. The people are becoming weary of mere talk and promises.

Despite negative developments in the area of democracy and good governance, the actions of the previous government were much more visible to the people in terms of change, the most prominent being ending the 30-year war, building noticeable infrastructure such as highways, ports and airports and other projects.

The delayed local government elections technically will have to be held within the new year while the do or die 2020 elections are fast approaching and now it’s time the ruling coalition gets into a mood they can meet people. And that is where mere talk about investments and economic development will not serve any purpose. Henceforth, whatever they do has to be tangible enough for the people if they are to reap electoral benefits which are fundamental to any democracy because it is the will of the people that finally matters.

The New Year is waiting to see a successful beginning of some major infrastructure projects, visible happenings in the much talked about Western Province Megapolis Project and the Colombo Port City with sizable foreign investments coming into the country which together should increase the income levels of the people in a convincing manner.

In the past two years people have been patiently observing all these developments with some hope and their patience has a limit. Therefore, the very survival of the government to a large extent will depend on what they do within this year. It’s a crucial year for the government as well as the country both politically and economically..

Sunday Times Editorial

Swim together or sink separately

01 January 2017

A New Year in the Gregorian calendar has dawned. For the Chinese it is the Year of the Rooster. 2016 was the Year of the Monkey; the monkey being regarded as a clever animal. There is also an old Chinese saying; “May you live in interesting times”, the origin of which however has negative connotations – of turbulent times. How 2017 will unfold is anyone’s guess.

In our first editorial of last year, we referred to the cacophony of voices in the then new Government. “Earlier, we had authoritarian rule, a Master Chef, so to say; now we have too many cooks”, we said. The carry forward from 2016 does not bode good tidings. We asked for decisive decision-making after the 2015 ‘trial run’. A look at the horizon (not astrologically, but politically) predicts a shaky coalition in the name of the Government of National Unity with sharp differences on how to manage the country; a new Constitution in the making that has already created waves, not just ripples; a third political force waiting for what it sees is rising mass disaffection with the Government and a possible break-up of the marriage of convenience; a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council hanging perilously; the Indian poaching issue unresolved; a shortage of the staple diet of Sri Lankans, rice; and if all that is not bad enough, the possibility of an impending drought that will hit farmer and country alike.

The Government was only too happy to announce that the 2017 Budget was passed last month by a majority of two-thirds in Parliament. That is a mirage of the ground reality. This Government is walking on quicksand and the outside world can see the political instability that prevails.

A three-cornered battle is taking place in the ring. The SLFP is split down the middle and the incumbent President continues his uphill task of securing the party membership to accept his leadership. The National Unity coalition is clearly divided on important issues and one need not be a seer to foretell that these divisions will intensify in 2017. Only the instinct of self-preservation will keep this Government together and afloat. They know they must swim together, or sink separately.

The Local Government and Provincial Council elections cannot be postponed much longer without the Government turning representative democracy on its head. The results are the worrying factor for the ruling parties, especially the President-led SLFP. In a recent interview with a foreign newspaper, the Prime Minister said he believed 2017 would see a turn-around of the economy and fortunes, for both the country and the Government. His proposals are, however, getting regularly shot down by his coalition partner, the latest being the Development (Special Provisions) Bill.

Political maneouvering between the divided SLFP and within the divided Government will be the order of the day in 2017. The UNP has begun to hit back at the SLFP which carried out a not-so-subtle campaign criticising the UNP initiatives in Government. Now, UNP MPs are being selectively unleashed in a tit-for-tat initiative to counter the SLFP ministers lashing out at the UNP. This week two of them hammered the President’s own brother for heading a ‘rice mafia’ and accused some of working hand-in-glove with the SLFP Opposition to defeat the Government and install an SLFP Administration. All this disunity will be at the expense of national development. Foreign investors will look askance at Sri Lanka. As a substitute, Hambantota port has been earmarked for China and Trincomalee harbour and Palali airport for India. How all this pans out for the ordinary people – who will have to sit tight in the meantime, hoping for the best will be testing times for the nation.

The 2017 challenges facing the world

 

While Sri Lanka welcomes 2017 with a degree of uncertainty, the world seems to do so with even greater trepidation. The advent of a maverick business tycoon to the Presidency of the United States of America is being watched with bated breath throughout the world. European and Chinese leaders have already voiced concern and made adverse comments about the assumption of Donald Trump to the post of President of USA later this month, while Russia has welcomed him with cautious optimism.

This week’s US Government decision to expel Russian diplomats on allegations that Moscow interfered with the US electoral process, and last week’s US Government decision not to vote for a non-binding UN resolution condemning Israel on its controversial settlements policy have boxed the incoming President into a compromising position.

Many expect that some of the outrageous things Trump said on the campaign trail will be left behind as platform rhetoric – none more dangerous than his comment that the issue of global warming and climate change is a “hoax”.

The Paris Climate Agreement of 2015 which came into force last year where 195 countries promised to limit global warming is now at risk if one of the world’s biggest contributors to climate change pulls out of the Agreement, or does not abide by it. Among the most vulnerable are small island-nations. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has launched a campaign to ‘Help Save the Fridge’; a reference to the melting ice in the Arctic that is swelling sea levels and asking Governments, companies and citizens around the world to make the right choices about energy conservation and use.

Sri Lankans would have also experienced a warmer December than before with warm afternoons and cooling off only at night. According to the Met Department, the average Colombo mean temperature in December 2011 was 27.0 degrees Celsius and just four years later, i.e. in December 2015 it was 27.9 degrees Celsius – almost one full degree Celsius higher in such a short span. Last month’s (December 2016) average temperature will only be available today from the Met Dept.

While this thrust towards doing something to arrest global warming is gathering momentum, now comes a new US President who pooh-poohs the entire exercise seeing things perhaps purely from a profit-oriented businessman’s perspective.

If climate change is a threat to the planet as a whole in the not-too-distant future, the immediate dangers to world peace, and peoples living on the edge comes from the wars, a refugee crisis on par with what happened during World War II, human trafficking, xenophobia, nuclear fallouts and what not — the 2016 issues that will be entered into the 2017 ledger.

All is not gloom and doom though. Despite the news that grabs the headlines more often than not, vast progress has also been made, outside of the politics of the day, especially in the alleviation of poverty. So much so, private philanthropists like Bill Gates are optimistic that poverty as is known today can be abolished in his lifetime. Recent statistics on the eradication of disease, hunger and ignorance are positive.

Ordinary people – and not the politicians, are dictating terms nowadays around the world and setting the agendas for themselves. Whether the world flourishes or flounders remains to be seen.

Sunday Observer Editorial

A ‘To Do’ List

01 January 2017

As our planet begins yet another 365-day solar orbit, we habitually look ahead for the New Year and, we think of all the things that we could not do in the past 12 months and try to envisage our list of things to do in the 12 months ahead.

As Sri Lankans, ‘we’ means our island society with its political leadership in Government and Opposition, as well as its citizenry. ‘We’ must also include our beautiful island home itself as it continues to shelter us as it has done since humanity evolved.

Since New Year’s Day is a matter of planetary movement, we begin with things that need to be done for Mother Earth and, especially – for us – the Sri Lankan island. According to global environmental measurements, the Earth’s atmosphere is getting hotter by the year. The consequent melting of the planet’s ice caps and rise in sea levels means that our island is getting smaller while neighbouring islands, like the Maldivian archipelago, face obliteration if the current rate of global warming continues.

What this means to us is that, if Colombo’s real estate values are sky-rocketing today, in less than half a century, there could be no Colombo and, it will be the hill-country that will enjoy a property boom. In terms of human survival, especially, that of our children and future generations, high on our task list should be the multitude of issues affecting the Earth and the atmosphere – rampant heat emissions and toxic effluents, chemical pollutants (including plastics), deforestation, soil erosion, etc.

Have we correctly mandated our government to manage this process through detailed economic and social planning that will steer our nation away from a disastrous lifestyle to a model of ‘development’ that controls waste, damaging extravagance and, environmentally destructive economic practices? Will our business sector lead the way towards a more ecologically viable pattern of development? How will eco-sensitive business be profitable? How will Government facilitate an economy that makes it profitable? And what is the cap on profit-making that will complement the global cap on heat emissions?

As individuals, is our private lifestyle changing to match the health of the Earth we live on? What are the ‘caps’ that we impose on ourselves and, what are our new, Earth-friendly, lifestyle goals and aspirations?

Even as we add climate change to our ‘To Do’ List, by next week, we will enter a period of national politics critical to our stability and success as a nation. On January 9, our Parliament convenes in its historic first session as a Constitutional Assembly to begin formally deliberating on our future political system. As the many detailed and difficult aspects of constitution-making proceed, the Government and Opposition face the challenge of building a consensus on a new Constitution that will inspire the citizens with a vision of a society that upholds community, social equality and other norms of high civilization.

This must necessarily include political structures that celebrate and unify an ethnically and regionally diverse nation. It must also include new avenues of public participation in governance that enables better citizens’ oversight of, and inputs into, that governance so that we avoid the massive corruption and the easy recourse to authoritarianism of the past. Work to repair the social and economic damage of the internal war, especially, in those regions and communities most affected, must show clear progress in the coming months if bitterness and estrangement is not to revive as enmity.

For the Government, high on its 2017 task list will be the further reorientation of national management away from politically and personally opportunistic practices to systematic planning based on accurately discerned national needs – in the economy and in social management. We must move sharply away from that mode of ‘beautification’ to one of intelligent development as befits our civilization.

The war against corruption and, especially the political-criminal nexus, must proceed with greater vigour that sees results of significance rather than token, showpiece, prosecutions against small fry allowing the big-timers to escape. Justice must be seen to be done in this aspect more than in any other aspect of public life.

While the Government must get going on the task list for 2017, the Opposition needs to be more collaborative within itself in Parliament so that its watchdog and corrective role is coherent. Opposition politics should not be obscured by short term political survival interests, like the antics among some Opposition parliamentarians to escape justice and redress for past misgovernance. All Opposition parties and parliamentarians, while working to ensure the interests of their specific constituencies, must also ensure a proper monitoring of national governance overall, irrespective of sectional interests.

Civil society, too, needs to move in a similar direction of a convergence of interests. At the same time, privately funded social action and service organizations need to evolve new models of operation that rely more on citizens’ support rather than the support of resource-rich special interest groups, both here and abroad. The business community faces the challenge of reviving that culture of philanthropy exemplified by those great founders of colleges and hospitals and other social institutions in our recent past as well as in our historic civilization.

Our ‘government servants’, like the bureaucracy and the guardians of law and order, should, once again, make efficiency, integrity and humane care high on their task list for 2017.

As citizens, we will see that the List can be long and that we, too, as individual Lankans, must do our bit in most, if not all, these tasks. Life looks busy this year. Come next January 1, will our List be longer or, will we be able to sit back and relax with a good cup of tea and look back at a year of work well done?

Sunday Island Editorial

S.P. Tao

01 January 2017

 

There was insufficient focus last week on the visit here of Mr. S.P. Tao, the Singapore property tycoon, for the symbolic ground breaking of the USD 166 million Havelock City Commercial Development. Despite being already past 100 years in age, Tao made the special effort to come here for the launch of an iconic 46-storeyed project that will comprise 600,000 square feet of top quality office space and a 200,000 square foot shopping mall which, as he said, "will visually anchor" the Havelock City residencies where 450 apartments have been completed and are already in occupation and work is going apace on the balance 650 units.

Tao is a businessman who has gone public about his great affection for this country which he first visited in 1941 when his then employer gave him a week’s rest and recreation vacation. He chose to spend his holiday at the Mount Lavinia Hotel, coming here from Rangoon where he was working at the time. He is on record saying that "I was so impressed by the gentle and friendly people and the natural beauty of your country. Subsequent to that, I took many holiday trips to my unforgettable Ceylon." His business links with this country began in the late fifties when he was in the commodities and shipping business with a lot of dealings with the Food Department. He sold the Ceylon Shipping Corporation its first ship, the SS Lanka Rani in exchange for a 20 percent stake of Colombo Dockyards.

It was in 1990, when he was in Colombo on Dockyard business, that he was persuaded by his friends here (he had many of them) who knew he was active in the property business to take a look at the Echelon Square site on which the World Trade Center (WTC), often presented as the country’s best address, now stands. He walked the site and was impressed by it. He said about three years ago when he was here to join in the celebration of the WTC’s 15th anniversary that the possibilities of the site that piqued his interest was more than that of a possible commercial development in an emerging market. He said in his speech at the anniversary event in October 2012 that he went back to Singapore and through his close friends (Mr. Baku Mahadeva was one of them), told the concerned authorities that he intended investing in an unprecedented development on the site "even though it may be 10 years ahead of the market." This was at a time when the northern insurgency was raging and there was little prospect of an early end to the war. Tao’s decision to invest here certainly gave a much needed boost to the business confidence in the country. He was by then a big name in the regional property industry having developed two World Trade Centers in his native Nanjing in China and in Jakarta in Indonesia.

Tao believed that in building the Colombo WTC there were three major givens to achieving his vision – the most appropriate design concept, one of the world’s leading construction companies and as he stressed NO bank borrowings. "Otherwise I might not have achieved my idealistic goal," he said. Admittedly Overseas Realty, the public listed company controlled by Tao’s Shin Kwang Group, which built and operates the WTC had numerous setbacks during the construction and had to face other challenges such as the LTTE attack on the neighboring Central Bank soon after then President Chandrika Kumaratunga had opened the building in 1997. But conditions improved in subsequent years and Tao’s group was encouraged to make its second major investment here in Havelock City in partnership with the Bank of Ceylon which owned the extensive 18-acre site on which the development is proceeding apace. It was for the launching of the latest phase in this project that Tao was here last week in the country which he says is closest to his heart after China, his birthplace.

S.P. Tao has made a remarkable journey in his long life with his career beginning after stowing away in a Jardine Matheson ship bound for Indo-China armed with a Confucian upbringing, a Jesuit education and the proverbial five silver coins given him by his father. Some 50 years later, after a successful career in commodity trading in Burma and shipping in Hong Kong and Thailand taking on the Conference Lines, he switched his focus to brick and mortar in Singapore teaming with Jardine Matheson to build Singapore Land and later Jakarta Land. It is Sri Lanka’s great good fortune that this country was a stopping place in Tao’s memorable journey, and even at his age he chose to come here last week to be present at the launch of the next phase of what he is doing here. That he chose to confront the infirmities of his great age and come here was clearly an index of his affection for the country.

Tao said last week that he is a fervent believer that the property market is the biggest enterprise in any leading city in the world and its development tracks a country’s social and economic success. It is certainly the lead industry here although questions abound of whether there will be takers for all the massive constructions proceeding apace particularly in greater Colombo. Meeting their infrastructure demands would also be a major challenge. Nevertheless, it is clear that the various developers be they China Harbor with the Colombo Port City, John Keells Holding with its mega Cinnamon Life project, or the plethora of other lesser ventures are confident enough to invest hugely in large developments. Overseas Realty has made a cash call on its shareholders to raise funds for its ongoing development. Given current conditions on the Colombo stock market, there is little incentive for shareholders to pay the twenty rupee price per share new share given that it is trading at this level on the secondary market. But Shin Kwang which is the dominant shareholder will take up its rights and mop up anything that will not be subscribed, analysts believe. That is surely an index of Tao’s confidence of the future of this country.

Ceylon Today Editorial

Is Financial dependency dragging down sports?

31 December 2016

A soccer veteran cum promoter recently said in the course of an interview on TV that he was "very saddened" by the negative course of the game in the country.

"What" he postulated, was happening to the game in Sri Lanka ? Making reference to a comment in the print media he added that the entire ambiance of the game was like that of a funeral house wake. Opinions fop men such as this need to be taken seriously . This game that was once held in high esteem has bottomed out in the virtual graveyard of sports, bottomed out into almost nothing resembling its former dynamic vitality. What's worse is that there seems to be absolutely no initiative emerging from the administrators who are quite content to twiddling their thumbs and playing musical chairs with the fate of the game. Plum positions in the Sri Lanka Football Federation hierarchy seem to be bearing no visible fruit either on or off the playing field or on the national football radar screens. Let's take a quick look at the carnage.

There seems to be quite some concern about soccer being played in the island. Once known as the sport of the poor, it has today been adopted as a preferred sport by those in very affluent circumstances while they also seem to be getting quite a handsome financial return for their 'involvement' in the sport. They are obviously well looked after by the World Body for soccer, FIFA. FIFA has been in the limelight these days for notoriously dubious actions relating to various deals that have been made in connection with elections of officials and selection of venues for major tournaments as well as from broadcasting ' benefits'. And the dollar conversion value vis a vis the Lanka rupee is becoming more attractive by the day too !! So very attractive that it stimulates vested interests more than the CSE.

FIFA as the world body for soccer draws in a lot of income from determining the course of the Soccer World Cup and all that it entails from start to the final whistle. It is estimated to draw in an amazing $ 5.7 billion plus windfall for those in the game. That excludes other avenues of related incomes derived from interest payments, gains in foreign exchange fluctuations and so on. FIFA has been investigated for corruption by authorities in the US and Switzerland. Many senior officials have been accused with involvement in these allegations of bribery and sundry kickbacks running into over US$ 100 million.

According to reports after the 2014 World Cup each of the national associations was given two million dollars with American associations getting the major share of around $ 137 million. We in Sri Lanka wonder how and why these officials who get elected to such national bodies hang on, for long periods of time! We now know why !

Anyone who gains access into such 'dreams come true situations' naturally thrive on them. They follow the game played by their world body and emulate those strategies. Money is the main thing that ensures longevity to such hopeful 'sports-men' who by all appearances seem to be well taken care of as seen from the above description. In fact, sports and perks are inseparable in Sri Lanka and no one is interested in putting a stop to it, but, adversely to sports, are willing to accept it and also exploit it.

FIFA has set the example and they can afford it, but, associations in countries like Sri Lanka cannot afford to follow FIFA. The Sri Lankan authorities have to take care of the game for is that not the main reason for the existence of such management and promotional bodies in sports? Alas ! They do not seem to be doing their job in the proper manner according to some concerned veterans.

Veterans are of the opinion that it was the 1960s and '70s when the game was thriving without any political interference, though there were many politicians who were supporting its development at national level. There were clubs that ran their affairs based especially on the game, within their financial means. Even at the school level most urban and suburban based schools played the game at a high standard.

There was the schools team representing the country that played against Malaysia and other Asian school teams. There are of course more schools involved today, but hardly worthy of the efforts put into the cause. This is because many promising soccer stars quit school and do not pursue the game any further.

But, the doom set in with the wrong moves of the Sports Ministry which grabbed authority in the game with a Sports Act which was not there earlier. For reasons best known to them, there may have been the thinking that they were doing the spending for a major portion of the development of sports and had the authority over it more than anyone else. All they did was to get sports too involved in the slow moving huge government machine. This would have caused authorities of clubs, who were short of money for expenses, to deviate from their responsibilities of the sports development aspect obliging to work for crumbs.

Unlike cricket and rugby national bodies in the country that have the backing of sponsors, today many, including soccer, federations are dependent on the ministry to provide them funds. The reason for this is their inadequate financial position which will not attract any sponsor to provide them any backing; although most sponsors back events under these same federations that have the patronage of the sports ministry.

Especially soccer, as seen from above, gets the usual backing of the world body. We saw it when the head of FIFA was in Sri Lanka how money was given to develop the women's game in the country. It is actually the responsibility of the local federation to be accountable for these funds received and spent. If these responsibilities are not being shouldered with a sense of responsibility there is no way that one can expect soccer to rise to a position of due prominence in the country.

Daily News Editorial

The Globe: The year that was

31 December 2016

Globally, the biggest surprise of 2016 was the victory of business mogul Donald Trump at the US Presidential Election. Although opponent Hillary Clinton, who came within a hair’s breadth of becoming the first woman President in US history, won the popular vote, Trump carried the Electoral College vote. With Trump already making many controversial statements on Twitter, 2017 is already off to an unpredictable start.

The other biggest global upheaval was the UK’s decision to leave the European Union (EU) following the result of a referendum on “Brexit”. The terms of the divorce are still mired in controversy, so it will take a few years for this to actually happen. Nevertheless, Brexit has already disrupted the British and even the global economy.

Amidst the misery of war in many parts of the world, there was good news for peace in the form of a peace deal between the FARC Colombian rebels and the Government in August. While the first accord was rejected by voters, a second, slightly changed version was approved by the country’s congress.

While 2016 was a bad year for women aspiring for power, it was equally bad for women already in power, as Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and South Korean President Park Geun-hye found out. Rousseff was impeached and to add insult to injury, her successor formed an all-male Cabinet. Park faced the same fate, but South Korea’s Constitutional Court is still reviewing the National Assembly’s decision to oust her. Brazil and South Korea, the ninth and eleventh largest economies in the world, cannot afford political instability. This is especially applicable to South Korea, whose northern neighbour has been conducting regular nuclear and missile tests.

Turkey was in turmoil following an Army-led coup attempt aimed at ousting President Recept Tayyip Ergodan on July 15. Turks responded to an appeal by Ergodan to rally in his support and the coup fizzled out, making him stronger. A subsequent purge saw action against nearly 100,000 officials in both military and civil agencies of the Government.

Elections were held in many countries around the world, but the Philippine Presidential Election was the second most interesting one after that of the US. Rodrigo Duterte won the Presidency in May and has immediately changed the way Manila does business. His vigilante campaign against drug pushers and addicts has drawn mixed reactions, but many Filipinos are more worried about his announced threat of “separation” from the US. After all, the two countries have been allies for a long time.

There was bad news all around from the world’s war zones, including Syria and Afghanistan. Syria, a battleground for Syrian Forces, local militias, ISIS and foreign forces saw the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in several decades as refugees scrambled to reach European shores and died in their hundreds. The pictures of shell-shocked, injured children have moved hearts around the world, but even after the fall of Aleppo the conflict, which has already claimed half a million lives, shows no sign of abating.

ISIS led or inspired terrorism continued to be a serious threat to world peace. The year saw major terror attacks in Nice, Berlin, Pakistan, Belgium, USA and Bangladesh. The world must come together to wipe out ISIS terror and according to the latest reports, thousands of their cadres have perished in the fighting in Syria.

The passing away of Fidel Castro in Cuba marked the end of an era. His brother Raul, who has promised not to embrace capitalism, has taken many steps to liberalize sectors that were “closed” during Fidel’s era. Significantly, US-based airlines began direct scheduled flights to Havana and other Cuban cities following the restoration of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Even as Cuba-US ties are growing, the US is increasingly at odds with Israel, one of its strongest allies. The ties reached a new low following the US abstention on a UNSC vote on Israeli settlements and Secretary of State John Kerry’s firm “no alternative” call for a two-state solution on Wednesday. Israel is hoping for better times under strongly pro-Israel Trump. The release of Panama Papers, which revealed how the wealthy, including corrupt politicians, hide their money in offshore accounts caused a stir worldwide and led to demands for any ill-gotten gains to be repatriated.

It was a bad year for the movie, literature, sports and music worlds, with several legends passing away. The year came to a close with the loss of singer George Michael and actress Carrie Fisher of Star Wars fame. Her mother and actress Debbie Reynolds (of “Singing in the Rain” fame) also passed away. David Bowie, Prince, Alan Rickman, Harper Lee, Nancy Reagan, Muhammed Ali, Michael Cimino, Gene Wilder, Arnold Palmer, Leonard Cohen, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Richard Adams were among the others who bid farewell. But it was not all about sadness – the inimitable Bob Dylan was left speechless after winning the Nobel Prize for Literature. As Dylan says, “the times they are a changin” and what will be the surprises in store for 2017?

The Island Editorial

If wishes were Tigers ...

31 December 2016

 

UNP MP Vijayakala Maheswaran has stirred up a hornets’ nest by saying at a recent public meeting that if LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran had been alive he would have been fit to be the Prime Minister. If wishes were Tigers some politicians like Vijayakala would ride them!

Robert Knox famously said the Sinhala farmer was fit enough to be the king after mud was washed off him. Opinion is divided on what Knox really meant. This saying is popularly thought to be a glowing tribute he paid to the ancient farming community, but some historians argue that it was a snide remark Knox cleverly used to deride the king by contemptuously claiming that anyone, even a farmer, could replace the monarch. We don’t know whether UNP MP Maheswaran also sought to scorn the incumbent PM cum her party leader by claiming that even a school dropout turned terrorist could have done his job!

It may be recalled that the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa, when he was the Prime Minister in the JRJ government, sought to ridicule the then Finance Minister Ronnie de Mel, on whom he used to heap scorn at every turn by claiming that even a taxi driver could present a budget in Parliament. Some people, especially politicians, cast put-downs and ridicule their colleagues and superiors as if to the manner born. So, the UNP had better ask its MP Maheswaran whether she has sought to lionize the dead Tiger chief or to ridicule her political boss or to do both.

Vijayakala has come in for severe flak for crying up the dead terrorist leader. But, time was when Prabhakaran was treated like a Prime Minister to all intents and purposes. At a media briefing in the Vanni, the late LTTE spokesman Anton Balasingham, in answer to a query, declared that Prabhakaran was both President and Prime Minister in the areas under LTTE control at that time. The then UNP-led UNF government also treated Prabhakaran as if he had been the leader of a parallel government and many a western diplomat used to tug his forelock to the Tiger leader at their clandestine meetings in the Vanni jungles. The Norwegians audaciously addressed LTTE leaders respectfully as ‘your excellencies’ in public.

It is being claimed in some quarters that Prabhakaran, because of his heinous crimes, would never have been able to come out of the jungle even if he had succeeded in carving out a separate state. But, in reality, he had no such problem. President Chandrika Kumaratunga offered him the entire Northern Province for a period of ten years without elections! He never lacked international recognition either in spite of bans on his outfit in some countries. India used its military muscle to save him in 1987 while the Sri Lanka army was zeroing in on him. Western diplomats were falling over themselves to press the flesh with him in the Vanni. Former Indian Foreign Secretary, Shivshankar Menon, tells us in his book, Choices: Inside the Making of India’s Foreign Policy, that the US was planning to rescue Prabhakaran towards the final stages of the Vanni offensive. The UK and France rushed their foreign ministers David Miliband and Bernard Kouchner respectively all the way here in a bid to save him but in vain. Sweden also sought to send its foreign minister, but he was denied a visa.

Had Prabhakaran succeeded in establishing Eelam and handed over the Trincomalee harbour to a western power, he would have been not only recognised but also protected by the western bloc, which unflinchingly pampered homicidal maniacs such as Idi Amin, Bokassa and Papa Doc until those savages became too embarrassing for it to defend.

The TNA, whose leaders are now championing human rights, had no qualms about declaring Prabhakaran, who did not have representation even in a local government institution, the sole representative of the Tamils. Had the Norwegian crafted ceasefire (backed by the US, the UK and other EU states) between the UNP-led UNF government and the LTTE lasted a few more years it would have led to the division of this country the way the Machakos Protocol (with the US, the UK and Norway as observer states) facilitated the secession of South Sudan.

Anyone who commemorates dead terrorists and/or wishes Prabhakaran were alive as the Prime Minister has no moral right to protest against human rights violations such as violent suppression of dissent, political killings, high-profile assassinations, massacres, child abductions, extortion and forced labour.

Ceylon Today Editorial

Investment roadblocks

30 December 2016

The Development (Special Provisions) Bill seeks to address the impotence caused to the Board of Investment (BoI) by the Thirteenth Amendment (13A) to the Constitution which has vested powers over land and other key areas such as approvals, especially in relation to investment work, to the Provincial Councils (PCs).

Another institution that has disabled the BoI to a 'great' extent is the Central Environment Authority (CEA) set-up by an Act of Parliament in 1981. Whereas the Centre may be able to control the CEA, PCs may be a little more difficult to tame due to politics.

Local Government institutions, whether they be Municipal Councils (MCs), Urban Councils (UCs) or Pradeshiya Sabhas (PSs) are all subordinate to the PCs, the establishment of the latter, which, as one recent editorial said, 'was forced down the throat of the old man (J.R. Jayewardene) by the Indians.'

Prior to the establishment of PCs, the BoI's predecessor, the Greater Colombo Economic Commission (GCEC) instituted in 1978 by an Act of Parliament, virtually had powers to cut through all red tape that hindered development work, investments and job creation.

But, with the institution of the PCs, these powers of the BoI were seemingly nullified. The genesis of the erosion of the BoI's 'development powers', however, may not have had taken place in November 1987, the period where the 13A to the Constitution, wherewith the establishment of PCs, as a measure to devolve power to the provinces, was passed.

Therefore, the curtailment of BoI's powers, vis-à-vis the implementation of investment approvals, may have had taken place much earlier, i.e. seven months previously, with the passing of the Pradeshiya Sabha Act (PSA) in April 1987. PSs, under the PSA was vested with alleged land powers and laws concerning the utilization of lands, which, not even its predecessor, the Village Councils, nor the MCs nor the UCs were empowered with, other than that which pertained to public property.

Approval of projects by the BoI is only one part of the investment story. The next chapter, which is its implementation, and which is the most important chapter, is where the bottlenecks surface, where the likely culprit, more often than not is the PSs and/or the PCs in question.

'Investment approval, without approval to invest,' sounds contradictory, but that is what the introduction of the PCs, sometimes, does. Therefore, the sum total of 'Investment approval', 'without approval to invest,' adds up to zero. Nonetheless, with the enactment of 13A, all Local Government institutions, whether they be MCs, UCs or PSs, were made subordinate to the PCs. And this is where the alleged bottlenecks, vis-à-vis the implementation of investment proposals by investors, come into play by these provincial/local authorities.

It's this red tape that the Development (Special Provisions) Bill, expected to be tabled in Parliament soon, seeks to address. The Provincial Councils were set up in 1987 at the instigation of India. They were set up to give a measure of autonomy to the Tamils in the North and East (NE), virtually at gunpoint by New Delhi. And, as a result, the PCs came into being under the 13A to the Constitution.
The institution of PCs under the 13A passed in November 1987, however, was not confined to the NE only, but also embraced the rest of the island's seven provinces.

Nonetheless, it was the minority Tamil problem or Tamil question that resulted in the birth of the PCs. But by a strange quirk of fate or law, the PCs, and their establishment, encompassed the whole of the island's nine provinces, originally comprising eight PCs, but subsequent to the demerger of the NE, to nine.

Perhaps, by hindsight, Jayewardene who instituted the PCs at the behest of the Indians, should have had placed a clause, saying that the establishment of a PC is applicable only to the troubled NE of the country. He could have had easily got the two-thirds majority in Parliament if required, to make this Bill, applicable, only to the NE, if needed by law, passed. Jayewardene at that time had a five-sixths majority in Parliament.

But the problem may have had been if the Court had ordered for a referendum to make such a Bill valid. At the time the 13A to the Constitution was passed in Parliament, the country was literally burning. The Indian troops were in the NE of the country ostensibly to keep the peace, much to the chagrin of Sri Lanka's armed forces who had virtually bearded the Tamil terrorists in their own den previously, before India's military threat to Colombo, if the attacks continued, were therefore forced to put a stop to Colombo's military operation.

On top of the consternation that befell the armed forces due to the premature end of the terrorist war caused by the Indian intervention, it also struck a wrong chord among the majority Sinhala population of the country, angered by this a forced settlement on Colombo, of the Tamil terrorist question, due to India's arm twisting. This, with the JVP fishing in troubled waters, led to bloodshed in the South of the country as well.

The PCs are also not self-sustaining. They require funds from the centre for its operations. This creates further burdens on the already beleaguered exchequer. Then, who's right....?

Daily News Editorial

Ratnasiri Wickramanayake

30 December 2016

The death of Ratnasiri Wickramanayake (83) leaves a great void in the Sri Lankan political scene, for men of his calibre are becoming increasingly rare in politics and elsewhere in life. Wickramanayake had the rare opportunity of becoming Prime Minister twice (2000-2001 and 2005-2010), an achievement that only a few others could match.

An old boy of Ananda College, Colombo, he qualified in law in London. But his true calling was politics. The foundation for this career was perhaps laid by his election as the president of the Ceylon Students Association of the UK in 1955. He entered politics in 1960, contesting the General Election from the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) from the Horana electorate, which he would represent for the next few decades.

After joining the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in 1962, he was elected twice to Parliament in 1965 and 1970. His first ministerial appointment came in 1970, as Deputy Minister of Justice in the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Government. He was promoted as a minister (Plantation Industries) in 1975 and became Justice Minister the next year. He lost his seat in the 1977 General Election, in which the SLFP won only eight seats, and became SLFP General Secretary in 1978.

He returned to Parliament in 1994 and became the Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs and Plantation Industries in the Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga Government. His first tenure as Premier was from August 2000 to December 2001. After the SLFP victory in 2004, Wickramanayake was appointed Minister of Buddhist Affairs, Public Security, and Law and Order. He was sworn in for a second time as Prime Minister on November 21, 2005. Later, D.M. Jayaratne succeeded him as Premier. He did not contest the 2015 General Election.

Wickramanayake, who had a reputation for calling a spade a spade, made an effort to develop all the sectors to which he was assigned. He was known for his fiery speeches in and out of Parliament and was one of the few who openly dared to criticize the leaders of the former administration on various issues while still being in the Government. He was a staunch nationalist, but advocated amity among all communities and religious groups. He always had a special place in his heart for Horana, where he lived and initially schooled. His son Vidura has followed in his political footsteps. He leaves a rich legacy of work and memories. May he attain the Supreme Bliss of Nibbana.

Economic transformation in 2017

The economy is very much in the news these days, thanks mainly to the debate surrounding the proposed Development (Special Provisions) Bill. The fact that the authorities have forwarded such a concept shows the importance of expediting the process of development. It is left to Parliament and the Government to fine tune this piece of legislation taking in both supporting and opposing views, but the crux of the matter should remain a priority – it is essential to speed up development.

Finance State Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena revealed on Wednesday that the Government has indeed focused on the goal of rapid development and will take radical measures to boost the economy next year. According to the State Minister, the government will take several radical measures to strengthen the economy. A programme for an economic transformation is scheduled to be implemented towards this aim. It is not only Sri Lanka’s economy that has suffered setbacks – many other countries have had a worse spell.

This is due to the very global nature of the world economy. This is indeed why the previous Government’s isolationist policies would not have worked. This Government has mended our relationship with the Western world, which anyway buys most of our exports. The country has already been able to get the EU fish exports ban lifted and the GSP Plus concession is likely to be restored soon. More countries have also granted aid and loans to Sri Lanka.

It may sometimes be necessary to veer away from populism for the sake of development. “We will not privatise or re-structure” is a popular slogan, but it is not always practical. There is a dire need for reform at loss-making Government institutions to make them profitable again. Although there are differing views on privatization within the Unity Government, both the UNP and the SLFP agree in principle that loss making institutions have to be reformed. The Government took the correct decision to secure Chinese investments with regard to the port and airport at Hambantota, which were barely existing. Now the Government is planning a nine-fold economic programme in line with the National Unity Government’s second anniversary on January 8.

We hope this will usher in a revolutionary new era for the country, which is aspiring to become an economic powerhouse strategically located between Singapore and Dubai. The Western Province Megapolis initiative has already laid the groundwork for an economic transformation and the new plans will no doubt build on that foundation to herald in a brighter future.

The Island Editorial

‘Rice’ and fall of politicians

30 December 2016

 

Ever increasing prices of essential commodities such as rice have dealt a solar plexus punch to Citizen Perera. The SLFP, many years ago, out of sheer desperation to win a general election, declared that it was ready to bring rice for the masses even from the moon—handen haal. Instead, after being ensconced in power, it caused severe economic hardships to the public and got kicked out at the election that followed. Given the exorbitant prices of all varieties of rice at present one may wonder whether the incumbent UNP-SLFP government actually brings rice from the moon. The situation is bound to take a turn for the worse in the coming weeks, we are told.

The prevailing shortage of rice and the attendant high prices have brought Rural Economic Affairs Minister P. Harrison (UNP) and President Maithripala Sirisena’s younger sibling, Dudley, who is one of the oligarchs controlling the rice market, on a collision course. The latter blames the former for having released paddy from the state-owned Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) to middlemen, who are making massive profits at the expense of the consumer.

Dudley’s crocodile tears for hapless consumers remind us of the climax of one of Saki’s short stories, where a werewolf, having won the confidence of villagers, escorts a child from Sunday school and gobbles him up on the way.

Dudley, blamed for manipulating the rice market, has adopted the same ruse as a pickpocket who outruns his pursuers, shouting, ‘pickpocket, pickpocket’ so as to mislead people into believing that he is also one of the good guys!

The JVP has sought to gain some political mileage by flaying both the SLFP and the UNP for the soaring rice prices. It should be recalled that the Rathu Sahodarayas themselves inflicted irreparable damage on agricultural infrastructure and thereby dealt a heavy blow to rice growers. On March 16, 2009, this newspaper quoted the then Agriculture and Agrarian Services Minister Maithripala Sirisena as having said that the JVP, which had carried out arson attacks on 247 out of 545 agrarian service centres and destroyed large stocks of paddy together with paddy storage facilities during its reign of terror (1987-89), was campaigning for farmers’ welfare. Minister Sirisena was addressing a public gathering after opening the renovated Gothatuwa Agrarian Service Centre, which had also been destroyed by the JVP two decades back.

The Rice Mafia, consisting of big-time millers including Dudley and his kinsman Siripala Gamlath, who is a UPFA MP, is notorious for making unconscionable profits. Unscrupulous rice mudalalis create shortages and jack up prices with impunity. They remain above the law thanks to their political connections and huge slush funds. They conducted their sordid operations freely under the Rajapaksa government as well. People who could not digest the last government’s patriotism have choked on yahapalanaya.

The Dudley-Harrison rice tussle apparently stems from the on-going SLFP-UNP cold war, which has also made the SLFP-controlled Provincial Councils reject the UNP’s Super Ministry bill lock, stock and barrel.

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, delivering the 2017 budget speech with his usual aplomb, declared that the price of a kilo of haalmesso (sprats) would be reduced by a few rupees. Now that the haal (rice) prices have gone through the roof, will he tell the public to eat haal messo if haal is not available?

Rice and Sri Lankan politics are inseparably intertwined as is common knowledge. Governments have fallen over rice prices and shortages. Both the farmer and the consumer are in a paddy at present. For, the rice market is manipulated in such a way that the farmer has to dispose of his paddy for a song to the likes of Dudley, and Citizen Perera has to buy rice at exorbitant prices. Powerful millers connected to the SLFP and the UNP laugh all the way to the bank while people are gnashing their teeth, unable to dull painful pangs of hunger.

Ceylon Today Editorial

CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMISSION
29 December 2016

 

COPE Chairman Sunil Handunnetti's call for a politically independent Criminal Justice Commission to be set up to exclusively hear the Central Bank Bond Scam would on the surface seem to be a desperate cry for transparency in the administration of justice, an issue that has been at the core of this government being voted into power by admirably reformist elements in civil society, an issue that featured high on the reformist agenda of the forces which voted this government into power.

Accountability and transparency have been the dual cry in the revolution that made its mark on 8 January 2015 and with the second anniversary of this government being voted into power just around the corner, Handunnetti's cry can be seen as being simply an echo of the sentiments which moved the masses to vote for Maithripala Sirisena as well as for the UNP at the last General Election.

In that sense, Handunnetti's appeal is an echo of the appeal made by those electors for a very specific mandate, now articulated by him in concise terms, demanding that that mandate be honoured by appointing an independent Criminal Justice Commission that's also seen to be acting independently as laid down by law and without fear or favour.

But what this in reality means is that Handunnetti is in effect telling us that COPE and the Attorney General's Department are de facto public 'eye-wash' institutions whose findings and learned opinions are not worth the paper they are printed on.

What is worrying is that we need to take a serious look at not just COPE but other government institutions as well which could also be as emasculated as COPE and the Attorney General's Department are in furthering the cause of transparency and integrity in the dispensation of justice. Besides Handunnetti, the Attorney General had also had occasion to make at least oblique reference to the fact that all's not well with the dispensation of the law. This issue has been raised in connection with several cases handled by the Police and sundry commissions. What's more is that the President of the country himself lashed out in public about foot-dragging by these probe commissions and agencies including the Police especially in connection with cases of big time fraud, embezzlement, murders, abductions and the like.

If a COPE report is only as deserving as a missive to be treated with disdain and even derision, we must then ask why this committee was ever set up. What then happens, when the course of the dispensation of justice seems to be apprehended en route and detoured in a way that could negate the whole exercise of the machinery of justice? The peculiar...and as far as the government is concerned – peculiar factor here, is that pro-government civil society activists have opted to lapse into silence. But they will not be silent when the Local Government elections come around and the government will then rue the day it opted to try to sweep COPE and Auditor General's reports under the carpet. This is a copy book throw back to the days of State control under the Rajapaksa regime or at least appears to be so.

All of Sri Lanka has been thirsting for a return to morality in life and politics, in business and religion. But those promised streets of Shangri La would now appear to have metamorphosed into a dystopian nightmare.

Investigations by the CIABOC and other State investigative commissions and agencies have come in for censure at the highest levels with President Sirisena himself questioning their efficacy and the inordinate delays in pushing any cases through to successful prosecution. That foot-dragging persists and not a single shark has been netted. Why? What defence do these commissions and the Police have? Murder cases with all the proof at hand are being indefinitely dragged on and on despite adequate evidence for prosecutions, citing flimsy technical matters which can be proved within hours. The sooner the government sets up an independent Criminal Justice Commission to take on every case of fraud and corruption the better.

The ugly in-fighting the nation witnessed between pro-UNP elements in COPE against pro-Truth elements in COPE was proof that there's many a plank shoved between the spokes of the wheels of justice...and not by the Opposition! Handunnetti needs to come clean, and tell the nation, what is it that really ails COPE? He's got to throw in the towel and go public with the truth about why COPE has floundered.

If he is privy to any pressure being brought to bear on the Attorney General's Department in this, he is then under grave obligation to come clean on exactly what's happening within COPE.
Calling for this and that commission alone will not suffice.

Daily News Editorial

Tackling influenza

29 December 2016

Sri Lanka has been relatively ‘immune’ from some of the dreaded diseases such as Ebola, Zika and Avian Flu which had affected certain other parts of the world recently, thanks mainly to tight screening and the efficiency of our free healthcare system. However, one cannot expect an island such as ours to be perpetually free of these pathogens. In fact, the first death caused by the influenza virus in Sri Lanka in recent times was reported from Polonnaruwa on December 26 afternoon.

The victim has been identified as D.G. Kanchana, 20, a mother of one from Aluthwewa, Polonnaruwa New Town. She had contracted the disease at child birth and was being treated at the hospital’s ICU. Although President Maithripala Sirisena dispatched a team of specialist doctors and equipment by air from the Karapitiya Hospital to Polonnaruwa to help save her life, the patient died at around 1.30 p.m. on December 26 before the special team arrived in Polonnaruwa. Doctors said death had been caused due to a complication resulting from excessive water accumulation in the lungs.

This is a very sad episode, for Kanchana, just 20, had a very bright future ahead of her. Her life was cut short by a dreaded disease that had made inroads into several other parts of the world. It is a variety of sometimes deadly influenza and young adults like Kanchana are said to be particularly vulnerable to the disease. There are several varieties of influenza that has emerged over the years. Influenza A/Swine Flu (H1N1) virus emerged in 2009. It is a new variety that has never before circulated among humans. This virus is not closely related to previous or current human seasonal influenza viruses.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes it as an acute respiratory infection of varying severity, ranging from asymptomatic infection to fatal disease. Respiratory transmission occurs mainly by droplets disseminated by unprotected coughs and sneezes. Short-distance airborne transmission of influenza viruses may occur, particularly in crowded enclosed spaces.

Typical influenza symptoms include fever with abrupt onset, chills, sore throat, non-productive cough and, often accompanied by headache, coryza, myalgia and prostration. Complications of influenza viral infection include: primary influenza viral pneumonitis and bacterial pneumonia. Influenza A (H1N1) is similar to seasonal influenza but has been characterized by higher activity during the northern summer season, higher fatality rates among healthy young adults and higher incidence of viral pneumonia. Influenza occurs all over the world, with an annual global attack rate estimated at 5–10% in adults and 20–30% in children.

There is one factor that makes it almost impossible to stop pathogens from spreading – international travel. The emergence of Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) around the world means that travel has become affordable to many people with mid-level incomes. There is a general trend of airfares going down and once exotic destinations such as South America are now easily accessible from Asia with direct flights. Africa too has opened up in recent years. With nearly two billion people travelling around the world in a given year, it is a miracle that we are not actually seeing more diseases.

The answer, then, is better screening at airports (for example, travellers coming from South America have to report to the health desk at the Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo) and vaccination (where available and feasible) before travelling. Many airports now have thermal scanners which can measure the body temperature of travellers from a distance. These passengers are then referred to the medical facilities at the airports for further tests. This makes it easier to identify and isolate potential disease carrying travellers.

The other option - vaccination, is even more beneficial. There are both inactivated and live attenuated influenza vaccines available for many varieties of influenza including H1N1. Travellers heading to a known influenza regions can get this shot. However, the vaccine may not be 100 percent effective in all cases because the viruses keep changing and evolving. The general rate of effectiveness is around 60 percent, which is better than having no protection at all. But travellers in particular have to make sure that they receive the vaccine weeks before the intended date of travel because it can take up to 12 weeks for the body to produce enough antibodies to give maximum protection.

Prevention, they say, is better than cure and H1N1 influenza is no exception, though it can be very difficult to avoid from airborne respiratory diseases. The WHO advises the public to “whenever possible, avoid crowded enclosed spaces and close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections. Frequent hand-washing, especially after direct contact with ill persons or their environment, may reduce the risk of acquiring illness. Ill persons should be encouraged to practice cough etiquette (maintain distance, cover coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues or clothing, wash hands)”. It is better to seek medical advice if you experience any of the symptoms mentioned above for a couple of days or more. Any delay could prove to be fatal. We must not give these diseases a chance to take over our lives.

The Island Editorial

Saffron bombshell

29 December 2016

JHU Spokesman Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe has dropped a bombshell. He has gone on record as saying that some government politicians received as much as USD 100 mn in kickbacks from the Hambantota Port deal. He says his party will make a formal complaint to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).

The JHU, weeks before the last general election, broke ranks with the Rajapaksa government, which it condemned as a corrupt regime, and joined forces with the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe coalition, promising to usher in good governance. Now, the Saffron party tells us that the self-proclaimed messiahs are also corrupt to the core! It has, however, made no revelation as such. That the current administration is not a collective of paragons of virtue is only too well known.

JHU leaders contested the last general election on the UNP ticket; some of them were elected to Parliament and appointed Cabinet of ministers. So, technically, the serious allegation the JHU has levelled against the UNP-led government is tantamount to self-criticism.

The JHU emerged as a political force by eating into the support bases of the UNP and the SLFP mostly in the urban areas. It is faced with the daunting challenge of shoring up its crumbling image and retaining its identity and vote bank, on which political marriages of convenience have had a deleterious effect. It, therefore, has to offer itself as an alternative to both main parties by being critical of them.

However, now that the JHU has realised its yahapalana gods have feet of clay and begun to flay them in public it ought to tell the public what it intends to do next? Will it continue to shack up with the corrupt or vote with its feet the way it did towards the tail end of the UPFA government? It is no use going about telling the public what is already known to one and all. What is needed is action and not rhetoric.

The JHU has to name the bribe takers if it has irrefutable evidence that the Chinese have greased the palms of some government politicians to secure the control of the Hambantota port and acquire a vast extent of land adjacent thereto. It did not baulk at naming names when it took on the Rajapaksa government, did it?

The case against the former regime was heard in the People’s Court, whose ruling went against the Rajapaksas. The same court has been moved against the current administration and its ruling will be known at the next election. Hence, the incumbent leaders’ polls phobia! However, they cannot go on postponing elections till the cows come home as public resentment is welling up rapidly. The longer people’s franchise is suppressed the higher the political risk a government runs. The devastating electoral knuckle sandwich suffered by United Front government in 1977, having postponed elections by two years arbitrarily, may serve as an example.

Somebody had to pay for bribery, corruption and abuse of power which characterised the last government; it was President Rajapaksa who did so. He lost his presidency and the SLFP-led UPFA administration crashed immediately afterwards. Rajapaksa took the credit for the country’s successful war against terrorism because he had provided unwavering political leadership to the armed forces, the police and the Civil Defence Force. Similarly, he was expected to take the blame for his government’s wrongdoings, which were legion.

Likewise, it is inevitable that President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be held responsible for the malpractices of their joint administration including alleged corruption involving the Hambantota Port deal. They cannot afford to ignore a damning allegation one of their partners in governance has made. They are left with no alternative but to order a through probe into the Hambantota kickback scam. Let the CIABOC, the CID and the FCID be ordered to conduct probes into the JHU’s allegation.

Ceylon Today Editorial

Hard times

28 December 2016

The New Year is just four days away. And, if the VAT hike and Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL)'s Treasury (T) Bond scandal took centre stage in the old year, the new year is likely to be dominated by a falling rupee and what conclusions the UN would arrive at, when they are alleged to discuss the Sri Lanka question once more at their human rights sessions in Geneva in March. Therefore, the New Year may be a tougher year than the old year.

The negative performance of the rupee, a hackneyed reason for this, which, nevertheless, paradoxically, may be worth repeating, is all due to the USA. Since October, when the market sniffed at the possibility of the Federal Reserve System raising its key policy rate, the Fed Fund Rate (FFR), at the end of its open market committee (OMC) meeting this month, that led to an exit of foreign funds from the government securities market (GSM), to US based assets.

This demand for US dollars caused depreciative pressure on the rupee. As expected, the Fed, after the conclusion of its OMC meeting on 14 December, after a year's hiatus, raised the FFR by 25 basis points (bps), for it to be currently in the range of 50 to 75 bps. The reason for this hike is the continued recovery of the world's largest economy after the global financial crisis of 2007.

The Fed, after the end of its December OMC meeting, also announced the possibility of three further hikes in the new year. As such, those foreign exits continue from the GSM even to date, giving no rest to the beleaguered rupee, with those outflows being re-parked in US based assets, ostensibly to give 'better' returns to investors.

Its fall however may have had been somewhat blunted due to a rise in remittances, a phenomenon which takes at this time of the year (once more repeated during the 'Avurudu' season in April), coupled with exporter conversions to meet commitments to employees such as bonus payments.

But, with the foreign exchange (FX) market expected to be virtually in a desert for at least another three months till the 'Avurudu' inflows once more start rolling in, that, hopefully, may lead to the strengthening of the rupee. However, until such time, the rupee will continue to be under siege. Nonetheless, the remittances magic didn't work to uplift the rupee this Christmas season. In fact the local currency continued to collapse, pushed down by exiting foreign investors, followed by panicky importers.

As such there is no guarantee that just because of the forthcoming 'avurudu' season, the rupee will not escape the fate that befell it this Christmas season, due to continued foreign exits, being repeated once more. One way of overcoming this situation, to use another oft repeated statement, is for the regulator, the CBSL, to raise its key policy lending rate. Such a hike causes a chain reaction, affecting real interest rates as well.

When real interest rates rise, it will be a disincentive for importers to borrow rupees in order to buy dollars, as their borrowing costs will become expensive. Such an action will lessen the demand for dollars and would bring some sort of sanity to the rupee. And to use another hackneyed statement, rising rates may also induce foreign funds to once more invest in the GSM, thereby further boosting the rupee. Considering the fact that Sri Lanka is an import dependent economy, a stable rupee may be sine qua non to assure political, 'economic' and social stability in the country.

On the other hand, with the money market enjoying a sudden surge of excess liquidity in the past few days, it may not make sense for CBSL to raise its key policy rate.The choice then before CBSL may be to allow the rupee to continue to fall and be prepared to face the consequences. CBSL, on Friday (30 December), after markets close, will make known its monetary policy stance for the current month, then.

Whatever policy measures CBSL may take, the future looks bleak for Sri Lanka. The other Achilles' heel is Geneva in March. Sri Lanka, more than a year ago, gave a commitment to the international community that it will allow foreign jurists to investigate alleged war crimes committed by the Government of Sri Lanka and its agents, especially during the closing stages of its war against the LTTE.

Foreign interference on this score may irk the ire of the island's 70% Sinhala Buddhist majority who consider such personages who may be investigated as war heroes. With the possibility of an ever rising cost of living, made worse by an enhanced VAT charge in November and now, helped by a falling rupee, such a scenario may just be what the likes of Mahinda Rajapaksa would allegedly want to see in order to create social instability in the island and thereby attempt to wrest control of the government. Sri Lankans may have to brace themselves to hard times in the coming year.

Daily News Editorial

A step against corruption

28 December 2016

Office-bearers of political parties who fail to hand over their assets and liabilities declarations are to be reported to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption, Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya has said. According to the Declarations of Assets and Liabilities Law, it is the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption which has the power to initiate action against any violators of the law.

This is a commendable move, considering that out of 64 political parties in the country, around two thirds of office-bearers have not submitted their assets and liabilities declarations for the previous year. Some Parliamentarians are reportedly among the party office-bearers who have not submitted their assets and liabilities declarations.

Accordingly, the Elections Commission is to report the office-bearers of all political parties who have not furnished their assets and liabilities declarations, subject to verification whether some have submitted their asset declarations to Parliament. However, the Commission is yet to hear from Parliament about any officials handing over their declarations. According to the regulations, MPs are supposed to submit their asset declarations to the Speaker. The ministers should submit theirs to the President. The officials of political parties are supposed to provide their declarations to the Elections Commissioner. However, if the secretary to a certain political party is an MP as well, that person may submit his or her declarations to the Speaker.

Civil society organisations including the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) have praised the Election Commissioner’s move to report officials who have abstained from submitting documents of assets declarations to the Bribery Commission. As the PAFFREL clearly points out, “the purpose of submitting such a declaration is to identify and inspect, if these public representatives have abused official powers to accumulate personal wealth financially or otherwise”. No one can find fault with this reasoning, because the core aim to stamp out corruption. All public representatives are required to submit their annual assets declarations by March 31.

The only reason that we can surmise for not wanting to submit the assets and declarations is that certain MPs and party officials are apparently unable to legally account for their wealth. There are plenty of instances of politicians who did not even have a push bicycle travelling about in luxury limousines after a few years in office. There is only one word that can explain this phenomenon – corruption. These persons have certainly accumulated wealth through unethical, if not entirely illegal, methods.

Take the controversial Duty Free car permit, for example. There are no laws that expressly prohibit an MP from selling his or her duty free permit or the luxury vehicle itself and earning millions of rupees, but it is a question of ethics especially in the context of the common man having to pay exorbitant duties and taxes even for an average car. Thus it is not illegal to sell one’s duty free car or permit, but it does not look all that good from the point of view of the public.

Another factor that has received little attention is spending on elections campaigns. In many other countries, candidates are supposed to reveal their funding sources and there is also a donation and/or spending ceiling. One of the major faults of the current Proportional Representation (PR) system is that candidates have to campaign throughout an entire district to canvass votes as opposed to the former First Past the Post system where one only had to concentrate on a particular electorate. This means that candidates have to spend a vast amount of money for propaganda activities and some candidates have been known to spend over Rs.100 million.

This creates a vicious circle where candidates are compelled to seek funds from various donors and if and when they are elected to Parliament (or other political office), they are indebted to the donors. These donors and funding sources naturally get first preference for tenders and contracts. The nexus between big business and politics is well known in any case. Thus there should be clear laws and guidelines on how much candidates can spend and how much each donor can provide to a particular candidate. Hopefully, the proposed new electoral system, apparently containing a mixture of the best features from both PR and First Past the Post systems, will address this issue for good.

If stern action against corrupt elements in politics and other sectors is delayed, it might send a wrong signal to the society that one can get away with corruption. There has been some discontent in society over the very slow rate of progress of investigations into acts of corruption during the previous regime. While we understand the authorities’ concern that there should be 100 proof and evidence, these probes should be expedited and the wrongdoers punished to send a strong signal that corruption cannot and will not be tolerated now and in the future. The Yahapalanaya Government must not renege on that premise - and promise.

The Island Editorial

Stale toddy in a new pot

28 December 2016

 

Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga was cock-a-hoop the other day about the completion of his artificial Christmas tree on the Galle Face Green. He fought quite a battle to neutralise his critics. The record-breaking project, however, does not seem to have found favour with some prelates; Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, delivering his sermon on Christmas Day, looked askance at the waste of resources on decorations and ‘trees’ in the name of celebrating the birth of Jesus.

The giant Christmas tree, however, will figure in Minister Ranatunga’s election posters in the Gampaha District, which has a sizeable Christian community. It is hoped that neither Ranatunga nor any other minister will undertake to put up the tallest Vesak thorana or pandal next May.

Many Sri Lankans hit the sack on empty stomachs and children die in their thousands a month for want of life-saving medical and surgical care. The country is in dire financial straits. Therefore, the government ought to set an example to others by curtailing its wasteful expenditure and pressuring its big guns to desist from extravagance, profligacy and dissipation.

Minister Ranatunga has apparently missed the port for the Tree, so to speak. A terminal of the Colombo Port will be handed over to a neighbouring country, we are told. There is no reason why the veracity of this claim made by a proponent of yahapalanaya and ardent supporter of the present regime should be doubted. The stage is now set to hand over the Hambantota Port to the Chinese. The deal was struck without Ranatunga’s knowledge.

Vast extents of land are being leased out to foreigners for 99 years. At the rate state ventures under the purview of various ministries are being sold or leased out to foreigners the day may not be far off when there are many ministers without portfolios; Ranatunga is very likely to be among them.

Roman rulers, unable to live up to public expectations, with their empire disintegrating, used bread and circuses (panem et circenses) to prevent popular uprisings against them. The present-day Sri Lankan rulers are using circuses sans bread for that purpose. Marie Antoinette got into trouble by asking the protesting masses to eat cake if bread was not available. The present-day Sri Lankan leaders are lucky that they are not troubled by popular uprisings though their economic mismanagement has caused the bread and rice prices to go into the stratosphere. A wag says those who converge on the Galle Face Green and keep looking up have to check for the safety of their wallets. For, the nearby Finance Ministry is full of nimble-fingered politicians and mandarins!

Meanwhile, the grand opening of the Galle Face Christmas tree was marred by the presence of an erstwhile pet of the Rajapaksas. He and others of his ilk who went places by licking the then rulers’ sandals were also responsible for their masters’ pratfall. This politician was a law unto himself in the Galle District during the previous regime. Regrettably, he continues to enjoy legal immunity having switched his allegiance to the present government. The mere sight of him made one’s gorge rise. There were many others like him including the notorious thug who crowned himself as the king of Kelaniya and flouted the law with impunity because he was close to the Rajapaksas. The previous government also shielded a sex maniac in the garb of a local government politician who, according to the late Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera, used to throw parties after raping women. He was one of the organisers of the SLFP’s May Day rally in Galle this year! Their association with the current administration makes one wonder whether yahapalanaya is the Rajapaksas’ stale toddy in Sirisena’s new pot.

Ceylon Today Editorial

From Phonegate to Media Ban

27 December 2016

Last week, we wrote about public servants who become malignant personalities after being intoxicated by the noxious fumes of power and authority. We wrote about the importance of individuals who do not take power to their head, when he or she has a responsibility to use that granted power responsibly. We also told you how public servants who do not adhere to this common discipline, and stray seeking thrills most definitely ends up being ridiculed by many.

This is what the Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara has become.
Following his last week's debacle of suspending the Police news sent out to daily to private media institutions through emails, Inspector General of Police Jayasundara has found himself being vilified and being cast aspersions at.

According to several media reports that came out last week, Inspector General of Police Jayasundara had ordered to immediately stop the release of daily updates to private media organizations due to the recent uproar in the country with regard to his allegedly controversial telephone conversation in Ratnapura. Dubbed fondly by the media as the Phonegate incident, the Inspector General of Police having a phone call with an individual only addressed as 'Sir' reached scandalous heights in both mainstream media and social media. The news was telecast on a private media channel. The matter even reached the political arena where ministers and other politicians, where they made various comments on the matter-adding hay to the burning fire. Inquiries were called, meetings were held and that was only the beginning it seems.

This was the incendiary moment that has led to the latest emotional breakup between the private media organizations and the Inspector General of Police. The hassle is incidentally most similar to a bad blood break up between lovers after one gets to know the significant other has been wanton and promiscuous which has led to the parting. Now the 'victim' of the breakup has decided to take melodramatic revenge on the former lover. It is up to the reader to decide who is who.

Jest aside, the Inspector General's emotional decision-making has led us to have some rather unsavoury thoughts. If he's this emotional when it comes to handling media reacting to his actions, we are left to wonder what he does when it comes to handling crimes and corruption. If he's this easy and cheap, we can only but imagine to which 'Sir' he has allowed to pull his strings.

As per the instructions of Inspector General of Police Jayasundara, the Police Media Unit, which has lost all its glory days now, will not invite private media representative to any functions held at the Police Headquarters in future. Accordingly, this means that the private media institutions will not be invited to important (or otherwise) press conferences nor will they be given any information to be reported.

The Inspector General of Police was quick to deny the order of suspension (or rather, alienation of private media) to politicians during his many meetings. Even the Police Media Unit, which was contacted when this editorial was being written claimed that they will be sending regular emails and notices from evening onwards. The last notification this newspaper – a private media institution, if you didn't know – received from the Sri Lanka Police was on 17 December. As of yet, we have not received any email updates from them, regardless of their dodgy explanations. When inquired about the Inspector General's orders to ban private media, the Police Media Unit only gave an unsatisfactory answer of: "Ehema monawath nae ithing" (There's no such thing).

Currently, Sri Lanka has a majority of private owned media institutions when compared to the number of State owned media outlets. The Inspector General's decision of alienating the private media organizations – if such a thing has happened or not or is going to happen in the near future – is a bad idea for one particular reason. That is intentionally ignoring a particular part of the media would only result in bad publicity. The Police Chief's image is already at risk and we simply cannot but highlight the fact that this decision will only make it worse. Hopefully, he sees the light, understands the severity of this situation and promptly retracts his decision. That is the wise thing to do.

Daily News Editorial

Boost for public transport

27 December 2016

Everyone in Sri Lanka wants to buy a vehicle, at least a scooter or motorcycle. It is certainly an aspirational desire, but even more than that, there is one other compelling reason for wanting to buy a car. Our public transport system is so pathetically inefficient, crowded and inadequate that most people seek “liberation” by buying a vehicle. It is not surpassing that the country’s vehicle population has climbed exponentially from just three million vehicles in 2008 to over six million today.

This has resulted in gridlock and chaos on our main roads in all cities. The average vehicle speed within Colombo was between 40 to 60 kilometres per hour in 1980 but it has been reduced to 8 kilometres per hour. It is predicted that this speed limit will be reduced to six kilometres per hour by 2020.

The solution to this problem is not restricting the import of vehicles or widening the roads, though these could have a temporary beneficial effect. The best solution is developing the public transport system to the level where everyone will be keen to keep the car at home. Almost no one uses the car to go to work in London, Tokyo or Singapore, because the public transport system is so good. We should aspire to achieve the same goal.

The Government has realized the need to have a world-class transport infrastructure system and given priority to building a Light Rail Transit (LRT) system covering Colombo and the suburbs. The plan is to identify entry points to the city and start a light railway system from each point. This new LRT will cover main suburbs including Borella, Kottawa, Battaramulla, Kaduwela, Maradana, Mattakkuliya, Peliyagoda, Dematagoda, Kadawatha, Bambalapitiya and Kirulapone.

The LRT will be the best solution for Sri Lanka, since a subway (underground) Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) will be enormously expensive and complicated to build. A good LRT system, with trains running only a few minutes apart, will help attract car owners and tourists as well. The authorities can even have a Gold/First Class in the front carriages for those who want a bit more luxury at a higher cost. They can also implement a cashless smartcard payment solution for the trains with automatic gates.

The Government also plans to electrify the main suburban rail lines, which will enable faster travel at 100 Km/h. This was a long overdue measure. The Kelani Valley Railway line will be extended up to Ratnapura and an additional line will be constructed between Polgahawela and Kurunegala. A Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is also in the works, with separate lanes for buses. Such systems are already operational in several countries, with launches due in India, Bangladesh, Tanzania and Vietnam. Transport experts are already talking about autonomous buses whisking passengers along BRT corridors – the technology for this exists, but the regulatory framework does not.

Although it is very difficult to widen existing roads, it is easier to build all-new elevated roadways. A flyover is already being built at Rajagiriya, one of the busiest towns in the country. Plans are already afoot to launch the construction of two new roads, one between New Kelani Bridge and Athurugiriya and, the second road between Kelani Bridge and the Colombo Port next year. Considering that nearly 350,000 vehicles enter Colombo daily, this is a praiseworthy move. The Western Provincial Council plans to cut down the number of vehicles entering Colombo daily by 50,000, but this will succeed only if an alternative, more comfortable mass transport system is introduced within the next few years.

Earlier, there was also a proposal to levy a London-style congestion charge to enter Colombo from vehicles occupied only by the driver (i.e. 90 per cent of vehicles entering Colombo), but this seems to have fallen by the wayside perhaps to practical and logistical problems. The authorities should encourage carpooling or Uber/Lyft style ride sharing to cut down on traffic congestion. Most countries have exempted electric vehicles from these charges to encourage their use.

Sri Lanka can do a lot more to improve public transport. The recent strike by private bus crew showed how dependent we are on the private bus network. The Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) with its 6,000 buses cannot match the private bus fleet. The Government should take urgent steps to strengthen the SLTB, which actually has a workforce far in excess of the number of buses. These workers can be put to better use if additional resources are made available to the SLTB whose buses are the only option available in certain remote areas and after about 8 p.m., in all other areas. These core strengths of the SLTB should be reinforced.

All public transport systems must be integrated to give the best possible deal to the commuter. A good LRT system will be of no use if there are no “last mile” buses to take the commuters to their homes. The LRT planners must take such factors into account to make it a success in the real world.