Ceylon Today Editorial

SLC needs to renew thinking

22 October 2016

Once again it is contract renewal time at Sri Lanka Cricket and they have not been able to surprise the cricket enthusiasts of the country with offers made to their heroes yet. The only surprise is how their offer is going to stimulate the Sri Lankan cricketers to better their performances without adequate mojo.

While the race for salaries of the top three Asian cricket playing nations is led by India with the richest cricket board, with Pakistan running a close second, Sri Lanka has taken number three position. The payments are higher for those others like Australia, England and South Africa who have been in the cricketing arena before those Asian countries.

If you take countries that are more cricket-oriented you might get a proper cross section of how the game has grown. The heavier they lean on the game monetarily, the more they view the potential it has to uplift the public's interest to suit the growth of the game. It all began with that now famous series in the early 1960s between Australia and West Indies.

With the then situation of the game growing in proportion with the fast pace brought into it by the Windies the game turned around 180 degrees. By the 1970s South Africans soon took over the mantle of the game and the stage was set for cricket's new adventure to begin. With these changes saw more with potential to be involved in its pioneering. With this new outlook Australian entrepreneurs were seen looking for an opening to introduce this new brand to the world.

This took them to make the game soon outgrow the old fashioned ways to seek a newer brand of cricket that had the potential to be taken through the new, more popular live network to TV viewers. The answer was the short version that was first brought in with sixty overs per side. By the year 1975 and going through much debate and even legal work that justified its ownership the ICC began the first World Cup sponsored by the Prudential Insurance Company.

This was seen in the country with the biggest cricket fan populace, India, where they had the biggest advantage to sow the seeds of the IPL successfully. This not only did benefit their cricket, it also gave their cricketers the potential to become some of the richest cricketers in the world. The changes, that took place between the 1970s when the first World Cricket Cup was introduced and modern times much has taken place. From five day cricket, today, within the next four decades it has got reduced to almost a game that ends within three hours.

Although Sri Lanka had the fortune to be involved in these modern episodes that have been rolling since, and more importantly being able to become holders of that famous cup in 1996 they have failed to be in the forefront although having the potential to do so. From being occasional players to change into become professional cricketers seems to be the spoke in the wheel.

Winning the 1996 ICC World Cup not only changed cricket's future and even turning the player attitudes to be more professional, it also brought in a new breed of administrators to run cricket in the country. They began with trying to run cricket as a business upholding the more important part of the game played by the cricketer. The whole thing was woven around the importance of the institute that ran the game and its people.

The player interest was thought of as only secondly important in the list of matters at hand. They were more interested in the infrastructure than the cricketers to drive the game on. Today there is enormous spending that has gone into the building of infrastructure without a look into its profitability. The fact is that it has become the white elephant preventing the rightful salary structure important to the growth of cricket, as we saw earlier with India's case. The administrators have failed to walk the correct path to take the game to its rightful position.

The two instances the country has been able to gain World Cups are not achievements due to correct administration. They have come with the determination of players who performed to make it happen. Whether they have been appreciated enough is seen from the way SLC struggles to negotiate their contracts favourable to not the players but the administrators running the business.

The cricketers still have to earn their keep by performance, but a fielder getting five catches or two or three run outs or two batters putting on a 100 run stand, get nothing, although they go to become match winning feats.

Daily News Editorial

A victory for the economy

22 October 2016

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s official visit to Brussels, Belgium, where the European Union is headquartered, has resulted in plenty of gains for the country. The most beneficial outcome of his visit is the planned restoration of the GSP Plus facility for Sri Lanka, which was withdrawn in 2010, during the tenure of the last regime due to concerns over human rights.

EU officials have assured Prime Minister Wickremesinghe that the facility would probably be restored as soon as March 2017 once certain technical issues are ironed out. This is a moral victory for the Yahapalanaya Government which has managed to overcome the country’s international isolation in a short period and comes hot on the heels of the removal of the ban on fishing exports to the EU.

Sri Lanka has lost millions of dollars in revenue from garment exports alone as a result of the withdrawal of the GSP Plus facility whereas countries such as Bangladesh which continued to enjoy the facility uninterrupted have made vast strides in the interim period. Sri Lanka has to compete with a host of countries in the region and beyond in this trade and the loss of a trade concession can have a devastating effect. In fact, several garment factories had to be closed down due to a lack of orders following the loss of GSP Plus. The resultant loss of jobs has affected hundreds of families and the society in general.

With the facility back in place, Sri Lanka will be able to recoup at least some of the losses incurred. Garments are one of the country’s top export items and any losses on that front affect the economy adversely. The GSP restoration will once again enable Sri Lanka to compete on a level playing field with many other countries that already enjoy this facility. Moreover, as the Prime Minister has pointed out to the media in Brussels, it will also resolve many other economic problems faced by the country. With Budget 2017 only weeks away, the GSP announcement will certainly be a shot in the arm for the economy.

Apart from the GSP, the Premier’s visit has boosted EU-Sri Lanka ties which were constrained by the previous regime’s belligerent attitude towards human rights. The EU has already offered its expertise for the country’s ongoing constitutional reform process. Although the new Constitution will essentially be a home-grown initiative, lawmakers should look beyond our shores for any features that can be adapted to the Sri Lankan context. The EU is a rich example of multi-culturism at work - 28 countries and languages, 508 million people, 300 parties, and 751 representatives united for the cause of European unity. There are many lessons that we can draw from the EU in this regard.

Even with the proposed exit of the UK from the EU following its “Brexit” vote, the EU will still be a formidable force on the world stage and an example to other regional bodies such as South Asia’s SAARC, which is still struggling to achieve its core objectives more than 30 years after inception.

The EU is also important to Sri Lanka in many other ways. It is one of Sri Lanka’s key markets for tourism, although our neighbouring countries have surpassed it recent years in terms of the number of arrivals. KLM’s re-launch of Amsterdam Schiphol-Colombo flights from next month will be a major boost for tourism and once the Bandaranaike International Airport runway repair is completed by April next year, more European airlines are likely to fly to Colombo. The Government and aviation authorities should actively encourage more European airlines to call at Colombo.

Efforts should also be made to increase exports other than garments to the EU. Gemstones are a case in point. Belgium is the diamond and gemstone capital of Europe and the Prime Minister’s visit to the world famous Antwerp Diamond Pavilion has proved to be very fruitful for the local gem and jewellery industry. The Premier was told by the Pavillion officials that they hope to increase gem imports from Sri Lanka, which is renowned for its exquisite gemstones. This is good news for the local gem industry which is keen to explore new markets and increase exports to existing markets.

Both President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe have been meeting foreign Heads of State on a regular basis which has enhanced the country’s international image and profile. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera too has been conveying the message in many world capitals that Sri Lanka is open and ready to constructively engage with the international community. This is the correct approach since the brand of pseudo-patriotic international isolationism practised by the previous regime took the country nowhere. We live in a gloablised environment and it would be naive to think that we can live without the cooperation of all friendly countries. It is only by becoming an active member of the International Community that Sri Lanka can aspire to become a top ranking nation in Asia.

The Island Editorial

Sale of vehicle permits

22 October 2016

 

A lot has been written and spoken recently about parliamentarians selling their duty free vehicles and pocketing enormous profits. The culprits belong to both the government and the Opposition. Interestingly, the MPs fight many political battles until they are red in tooth and claw. There are no rules of engagement as such when they joust for power. But, they are as thick as thieves—both literally and figuratively—where their perks and privileges are concerned.

UPFA MP and prominent member of the Joint Opposition (JO), Bandula Gunawardena, has sought to defend the MPs who have sold their duty free permits for as much as Rs. 25 million each. His line of thinking is that MPs have to spend colossal amounts of money on their election campaigns and, therefore, they have to raise funds through such means. He has apparently laid the blame for that at the grave of JRJ, who introduced the proportional representation system, under which candidates have to campaign throughout an electoral district. So, JRJ is the culprit! Politically speaking, the Old Fox sinned, but no other Sri Lankan leader has been more sinned against than he.

Huge campaign expenditure is indeed a problem that needs to be solved through constitutional reforms. But, on no grounds can it be cited in extenuation of raising funds through illegal and unethical means. There are some politicians who win elections under the PR system without throwing money around.

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, asked at a media briefing on Thursday, to comment on the sale of MPs car permits, took a swipe at journalists. The media which made an issue of MPs’ vehicles permits was mum on motorcycles and cars to journalists, he said. He said a mouthful! One has to put his own house in order before faulting others for wrongdoing.

Successive governments have pampered journalists by giving them houses, soft loans, dosh, opportunity to moonlight in the state sector, vehicles, laptops, mobile phones etc. They have done so not out of any love for the Fourth Estate; they have sought to pollute the media and deprive it of its integrity and credibility. They have succeeded in their endeavour to a considerable extent.

Incumbent Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, when he was in the Opposition, lambasted a group of journalists who had stooped so low as to receive laptop computers from the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees. He accused journalists of attacking his ‘top (meaning pate) from Mahinda’s ‘lap’. (Scribes loyal to Wickremesinghe were also among the ‘beneficiaries’.) Ironically, his UNP-led government continues with what may be dubbed goodies-for-journos programme; it has recently gifted dozens of tablet PCs to journalists, we are told.

Minister Karunanayake, however, needs to be told that two wrongs do not make a right. The government claims to be cash-strapped when the public demands relief. MPs sell their vehicle permits at the expense of the state coffers; those who buy them pay less duty on super luxury vehicles, as is obvious. So, let him be urged to make use of Budget 2017 to put an end to the practice of MPs and public officials selling their duty free vehicle permits.

The Finance Minister will do the media a big favour if he could ensure that the incumbent government discontinues the practice of bribing journalists. He ought to take up this issue at the Cabinet for the sake of the media. Will he also publish the names of MPs who have sold their vehicle permits and the journalists who have received bribes both in cash and kind from governments?

As for the media personnel the moral of the story is: ‘A journo who sells his or her soul to a politico has no escape.’