Ceylon Today Editorial

Glimpse of PM’s plantation reforms

08 September 2016

Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe speaking at the Ceylon Planters' Society (CPS) AGM on Monday said that the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) will come up with a plan to revive the country's ailing plantation economy before the year end. (See also Ceylon Today Tuesday's (6) edition). He further said that as long as oil prices remain low, the plantation economy will never recover, in the sense that sector led by tea and rubber will also find their prices, also virtually at 'floor' levels.

He attributed the decline in oil prices to the rise in the shale oil industry led by the USA, with China, the world's second largest economy, also now joining in the 'shale' bandwagon. According to Wickremesinghe, there is a nexus between oil prices and other commodity prices such as tea and rubber. According to the Premier, if oil prices are low, then other commodity prices too will be low and vice versa. And, the 'kidney punch' that he delivered to the plantation community was that low oil prices are not going to disappear in a hurry. Therefore, it may not be wrong to presume that this community in particular will be waiting with bated breath until such time Wickremesinghe unveils his plans to revive the plantation economy before the year end, which is hardly four months away.

Nonetheless, the sector is still dependent on GoSL to solve micro issues such as the age of retirement. CPS Chairman Lt. Col. Ajanta Moonemalle speaking on the occasion asked the Premier to intervene with their private sector management to get the age of retirement increased from 55 to 60 years. Moonemalle recalled that during the days of nationalization, Wickremesinghe's uncle President J.R. Jayewardene, who was also the Plantations Minister, heard an appeal from the JEDB and SLSPC planters to lift the age of retirement from 55 to 60 years. Jayewardene responded positively to this appeal. Wickremesinghe made no comment on this request. But it may be assured, that Wickremesinghe being market sector oriented, will not force the private sector's hands to act on such issues.

Meanwhile, if one reads between the lines of Wickremesinghe's speech, there may be seven factors that are already in his mind vis-à-vis plantation reforms. Wickremesinghe, however, was quick to say that he also wanted CPS' inputs before formulating those reforms. Nonetheless, what may be in the Premier's mind vis-à-vis plantation reforms are: 

 

1. Primarily national development preceding plantation development. This came out when he told planters that 10,000 acres of plantation land will be 'lost' in the Western, Wayamba and Southern Provinces as well as from the Kegalle District because of such development work. This may be similar to the tens of thousands of acres, mainly virginal, which were lost, when his uncle Jayewardene launched the Accelerated Mahaweli Development project in 1977, telescoping this original programme from 30 years to seven years. However, Wickremesinghe was quick to say that alternative land would be found elsewhere in the country to replenish this lost plantation land. Whether this statement was political or not, remains to be seen.

2. The high cost of production (COP) besetting the plantation sector which is pulling it down. Wickremesinghe however stopped short of saying that this high COP was due to high wages, a lament made by the plantation sector. The Premier however cited the example of 1½ million of the island's workforce sweating overseas for a monthly salary of between US$ 300 and $400 because they cannot find that type of money here. It remains to be seen whether that statement of the Premier too was political or not.

3. The importance of technology inputs to drive the plantation sector. In this instance he cited the example of the Netherlands and North America.

4. Diversification of markets, for tea in particular, the island's largest plantation export, without concentrating only on the Middle East and East Europe, but venturing out to other areas of Europe and the USA in the marketing of tea.

5. Diversification of the product range, for tea in particular, based on a study by Tetley of London, which said that by 2025 the market for tea would be for its medicinal value.

6. Public-Private Partnerships to take State-run research institutes such as the TRI and CRI forward, with a focus on market wants and needs.

7. And that this sector will have to adjust itself to live with low prices at least for some time. However, what Wickremesinghe didn't give a glimpse of was with regard to the fate of the golden share, which for all intents and purposes gives GoSL control over the island's 21 regional plantation companies and also that of the loss making State-run JEDB and SLSPC.

Daily News Editorial

Gammanpila in cuckoo land

08 September 2016

Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader Udaya Gammanpila can be questioned over many things, notably his financial propriety. But there can be no question of his loyalty towards the Rajapaksas. Gammanpila it appears is sticking limpet like to the Rajapaksas, if his current efforts to defend the former first family of any or all allegations is anything to go by.

While arrogating to himself the task of being the media spokesman for former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Gammanpila has now let out an Ureka in making an earth shattering discovery claiming to have found a novel method to install Mahinda Rajapaksa in the seat of the Presidency once again. Issuing a media release, the Colombo District MP contends that Rajapaksa indeed is eligible to hold Presidential Office again. The reason: Rajapaksa is only barred from being elected President by the people under the 19th Amendment. There is nothing to stop him being elected President by Parliament in the event of the incumbent Presidency falling vacant.

Such is his focus to enthrone Rajapaksa in the Presidency for a third time, it appears that he has divined that some time soon the incumbent Presidency is going to fall vacant paving the way for Rajapaksa to fill in the breach. Speculation that President Sirisena would not go for a second term would also have emboldened the MP. But Gammanpila has overlooked an important fact. That is in the event of the Presidency becoming vacant, for whatever reason, during the current Parliament, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be the automatic President, in terms of the Constitution. Where will that take Mahinda Rajapaksa?

Gammanpila no doubt has a very urgent need for getting Rajapaksa back into the seats of power. The long arm of the law is closing in on him. Two cases of cheating against the Colombo District MP are coming up for inquiry in January. How Rajapaksa got people who had fallen foul of the law, but were his close buddies, may still be fresh in his mind of Gammanpila. Hence he has pinned his hopes on a return of Rajapaksa. There will also have to be a Rajapaksa at the helm, come the next general election, to ensure his nomination as a SLFP/UPFA candidate or guarantee a place on the national list.

For good measure, Gammanpila also says that Rajapaksa even can be made Prime Minister by Parliament. The MP who threatened to blow up a fictitious Hanuma bridge has also warned that he would bring the people to the streets if attempts were made to postpone the Presidential Election, due three years hence.

Be that as it may, any attempts to install Rajapaksa as President for a third term on Gammanpila’s terms has to be made under the current Parliament. But given the state of play, Gammanpila’s project is doomed before it can even get started. To begin with, the UNP- SLFP tie up in Parliament has been extended for a full five years, from the original two. The lifespan of the current Parliament overlaps the Presidency so the present Parliament will still be intact when the next Presidential Election is called. Besides, the current arithmetic in Parliament does not allow for a sudden surge of support for Rajapaksa, with the Joint Opposition hardly commanding 50 MPs (seven of them are to switch sides, it is reported). The unprecedented gathering at the SLFP Anniversary celebrations in Kurunegala is also a clear sign that President Sirisena wields the whip hand in the party and a firm guarantee that there won’t be any realignment of forces in favour of Rajapaksa before the next Presidential election ie is assuming if the Presidency falls vacant. The President also said at the convention that he would take up the responsibility of steering the party towards forming an SLFP led government the next time around. The main grouse of the likes of Dullas Alahapperuma and Kumara Welgama had been that they cannot join a government where the SLFP was an appendage of the UNP. Now, with the assurance by the President of giving leadership to the formation of an SLFP led government the raison d’é tat of the Joint Opposition had been neutralized. Hence there cannot be any logic in enthroning Mahinda Rajapaksa once against in the Presidency in the manner described by Gammanpila. In addition most of the fire at the Anniversary celebrations were directed at Gammanpila and Weerawansa. Minister and senior SLFPer Anura Priyadharshana Yapa said that Gammanpila has no moral or ethical right to talk or comment about the SLFP. “He does not have any connection with the SLFP. Frankly I feel sorry for him”, the Minister added. Going one better Special Projects Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama said the Gammanpila-Weerawansa duo had passed their expiry date.

Hence it is clear that Gammanpila stands isolated in the general scheme of things of the SLFP and his “Bring back Mahinda (part 11)” project is a non starter. Therefore Gammanpila who has this pathological desire to hog the limelight would do well to think of other options and present them for public entertainment next time around.

The Island Editorial

Thus spake Ban

08 September 2016


UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has come and gone, but brouhaha one of his controversial remarks triggered has not yet died down. The government was over the moon about Ban’s visit, but now it has been left with egg on its face. How sad!

The UNSG, delivering a lecture, Sustainable Peace and Achieving Sustainable Development Goals, at Colombo Hilton last week, went out of his way to bracket Sri Lanka with Rwanda and Bosnia while speaking of the Vanni war. His comparison was not unintentional, at all. It was calculated to have the impact he had in mind. It looks as if he had come all the way here to say just that!

The government seems to think the UNSG came here in appreciation of its style of governance. He only wanted to dictate the tempo of the process of initiating the proposed war crimes probe, justify the UNHRC action and remind the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration of its commitment to the Geneva resolution. He apparently wanted to come out with something to shock the conscience of the global community while international media attention was on this country so as to give the UNHRC war crimes probe project a turbo boost. He succeeded in his endeavour.

A diplomat is said to be capable of telling someone to go to hell in such a way that the latter looks forward to the trip. The UNSG has done just that and the government worthies are getting ready for the journey. Having naively expected the UNSG’s visit to bring about some positive results the government leaders have gone into damage control mode. As if the problem of setting up a war crimes probe were not enough now they have an obliquely made genocide allegation to contend with!

Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, addressing the media on Tuesday, cut a very pathetic figure, trying hard as he did to defend the indefensible. He, in his wisdom, vehemently denied that the UNSG had ever sought to compare the civilian deaths during the Vanni war with genocidal killings in Rwanda and Bosnia. Why he undertook to speak for the UNSG defies comprehension. Not even the UN Spokesman Farhan Haq has cared to clear the air; he has only told this newspaper the UNSG’s words speak for themselves whatever that means. If Ban had made a mistake in Colombo his office would certainly have corrected it unambiguously. Nothing of the sort has happened.

Minister Samarasinghe’s argument that the UNSG’s remark in question was not part of the text of his speech and, therefore, it should not be taken seriously, does not hold water. Copies of all written speeches made available to the media always carry the tag, ‘check against delivery’. What prevails is what someone says in public and not what finds itself in the text of his or her speech. There have been instances where Sri Lankan leaders have announced government decisions while speaking without script. The late President Ranasinghe Premadasa’s call for the Indian Peace Keeping force (IPKF) to go whence it had come from is a case in point. He said so while speaking at a Colombo temple, of all places. The IPKF left in the end, didn’t it?

There are no asides in diplomacy, especially where top officials such as the UNSG are concerned. It is inevitable that Ban’s words will become official and accepted worldwide if they are allowed to go unchallenged. His attitude presages more turns of the screw in Geneva. The government ought to realise that the architects of the Geneva resolution, it naively co-sponsored, are not driven by any love for it in spite of their blandishments. They are only using it as a handmaiden to further their geo-political interests in this part of the world.

The government, without trying to fool itself, should seriously consider registering its protest with the UN against the UNSG’s statement at issue.