Ceylon Today Editorial

Sri Lanka to tackle illegal drug trade

15 November 2016

It seems as if the Sri Lanka Government is finally paying some overdue attention to the illegal drug trade in the country, alongside the cigarette problem that has been a burning problem since God knows when. It's not as if we have other dire problems we could be solving, spending more money on (i.e. allocating funds to provide children free laptops and tablets when their education quality can be improved and developed by training more teachers and developing our examination system), but this issue is remains one of the largest issues according to our President.

Accordingly, the Sri Lanka Police has decided to take into custody over 50 shipping containers from Brazil at the Colombo Port on the suspicion that they contain cocaine. The Police Narcotics Bureau's suspicions have secured a formidable ground as it was only a few months ago that another Brazilian shipping container was found in Pethiyagoda, carrying a cache of cocaine worth over Rs 450 million.

Thus, the section holding the shipping containers have been restricted and access will only be available to the authorities. In 1998, the last time the United Nations held a special gathering to discuss drug policy (and later this year), the stated goal was "eliminating or significantly reducing the illicit cultivation of the coca bush (the leaf which is the raw material used to manufacture cocaine), the cannabis plant and the opium poppy by the year 2008." This was when just a handful of Andean nations – Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia – were responsible for virtually the entire global supply of cocaine.

Funded in large part by the US – the world's largest cocaine consumer – Colombia and Peru have spent decades and many dollars spraying poison on the fields of impoverished farmers, or campesinos, who turned to coca because it is significantly more valuable than other crops. Coca has also fuelled conflict in both countries.

While official estimates summarily put Peru ahead of Colombia in overall cocaine production, the homeland of Pablo Escobar regained the top spot after its output of the white powder spiked by 44 per cent last year. A variety of factors are behind the surge, including a peace deal between the Colombia Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia; and, oddly enough, the price of gold.

According to the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) 2015 report on the drug trade, more than 420 million shipping containers move around the globe by sea every year, transporting 90 per cent of the world's cargo. Most carry legitimate goods – but authorities cannot inspect every container, and some are used to smuggle drugs. It will be practical to say that out of those 420 million + shipping containers a certain percentage that leaves South America and arrives in Sri Lanka is bound to contain cocaine. Why does it come here? Does Sri Lanka have a market for cocaine?

Cocaine is by and large an elitist drug with prices ranging above average limits, meaning that the small man could not afford it. Unless of course, it is sneaked out using other means such as small amounts of cocaine going missing from Police evidence or small quantities being misplaced from Customs or even Port Authorities. Thus, the Sri Lankan cocaine market is small and most likely that only one per cent of the society is using.

This means one thing alone; Sri Lanka is a transit hub for the international illegal drug trade. This is an obvious conclusion even the local authorities might have caught up on. Given Sri Lanka's historical significance of being a natural transit point for maritime/air routes that lie from West to East. Sri Lanka might just be the gateway to drugs that enter East and South Asia and beyond.

Thus, what authorities could do is, not just sit around and wait until something happens, but inquire as to where these containers were being transported to; their final destination of arrival. What deserves to be commended should be commended; the move to hold and inspect the 50 containers, in this situation was a good move.

Yet, this is a war, if the government is taking it that seriously that is, is not a one-man-war (or rather one-country-war) that can be waged. The final consequences of that scenario are devastating. However, we are not alone in this fight; we have allies. And it is about time their assistance was sought.

Daily News Editorial

A ‘fine’ measure

15 November 2016

The increase of the minimum traffic fine to Rs.2,500 is one of the most progressive measures announced in Budget 2017. As expected, a heated debate has followed the announcement with the Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) vowing to go on strike to get it amended. However, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, who must necessarily have concurred with highways and traffic authorities on this matter, has stressed that the Rs. 2,500 minimum fine is here to stay.

We feel that this measure was long overdue, judging by the increasing number of road accidents. In fact, there are many who question whether the fine could be raised further. At least seven people are killed on average every day on our roads. Last year, more than 2,700 people including pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents. In the last 10 years alone, 23,000 people have been killed and more than 50,000 have been seriously injured on our roads. This has a huge impact on the economy and society because most accident victims are in the economically productive age range of 15-50.

Not surprisingly, the biggest culprits on the roads are operators of private buses, three wheelers and motorcycles. It does not take much imagination to fathom why the LPBOA opposes the higher fines – on the other hand, if their drivers are disciplined, there is no cause for worry. Everyone knows how private bus drivers behave on the roads, flouting every road rule, “racing” each other and driving recklessly from start to finish. If the LPBOA and other bus unions cannot impose some form of self-control and discipline on their charges, the authorities have to intervene at some point. Hence the proposal for higher fines. There is no reason why the Government should waver from this position, as the LPBOA suggests.

The somewhat loosely regulated three wheeler industry has responded more positively to the announcement, saying it was a step in the right direction. This industry is in the midst of a critical introspection after a spate of fatal accidents mainly involving three wheelers driven by young drivers aged 18-25. There is a demand from within the three wheeler community that no one under 35 or even 40 should be allowed to carry fare paying passengers in three wheelers. This is an idea that the authorities should take action on. In the meantime, the authorities should be commended for taking steps to encourage electric cars as an alternative to three wheelers through the latest Budget, although the exact methodology is not clear yet. Three wheelers will die a natural death in any case if small-capacity cars, electric or not, can be sold at lower prices.

The Motorcyclists Association has called on its members to wear black arm bands to protest the higher fines, but again the problem can easily be solved if they obey road rules. Both three wheeler drivers and motorcyclists are known for deadly manoeuvres on the road which are not necessary at all.

There is a counter argument that increasing the traffic fines will result only in motorists trying to bribe traffic police personnel. The only way to stop this is to reward the traffic policemen handsomely through the Police Department itself from the funds earned from the fines. Moreover, the traffic police must cease playing “hide and seek” where they hide behind trees to nab oncoming motorists. The job of the Police is not collecting fines per se – it is also about educating the motorists and maintaining a visible presence on the roads, which can deter offending motorists.

There are many factors that cause accidents – reckless driving, speeding, lack of training and experience, bad roads, bad weather, mechanically unsound vehicles, drunk or impaired driving, texting/phoning while driving, non-use of safety features including seat belts and child seats, failing to wear helmets or not securing them properly and distracted driving. The authorities can only do so much – such as revamping the way licenses are issued and improving road infrastructure – but most other factors apart from the weather are well within the control of motorists. Pedestrians and push cyclists too must take extra precautions at all times. They are also “road users” in the broad sense of the term and are subjected to much the same rules.

Next Sunday, the world will mark the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims under the theme “Vital Post-Crash Actions: Medical Care, Investigations and Justice”. In 2013, the last year for which statistics are available, more than 1.25 million people died worldwide in vehicle crashes. Governments spend billions of dollars every year on injured victims. It is also vital to investigate each and every serious accident – this is indeed how traffic authorities and vehicle manufacturers have added enhanced safety features over the years. Ensuring justice to victims is perhaps the most important aspect – in many cases the victims and their families suffer immensely while the perpetrator(s) go scot-free. But no legal measure can match the power of discipline, which is essential to ensure to safer roads for all.

The Island Editorial

For the love of people

15 November 2016

 

All government leaders are overflowing with the milk of human kindness. After all, they are the champions of ‘compassionate governance’ whatever that means. They are living for the people and spending long days and sleepless nights to improve our lot. The same is true of their Joint Opposition counterparts who are even ready to lay down their lives for the masses. They are generously spending part of their wealth painstakingly amassed through various deals while they were in power, on thousands of coconuts they smash in a bid to come back to power and serve the public again. When the present-day rulers lose power it will be their turn to spend some of the funds they have raised through treasury bond purchases etc on coconut dashing projects.

Our Rathu Sahodarayas, too, not to be outdone, have taken up the cudgels for the people who are struggling to make ends meet. They were instrumental in facilitating last year’s regime change and the installation of the incumbent government; they were even represented on the National Executive Council set up early last year to prepare the blueprint for what they described as revolutionary changes to usher in good governance. They are also seeking a popular mandate to serve the people.

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, one of the government grandees with altruism oozing from every pore, has come up with a strategy to ensure the safety of road users. Deeply moved by the alarmingly high rate of serious accidents which snuff out about 2,400 lives a year and leave tens of thousands of others injured, he has, through the budget for the next year, proposed a remedy. He wants the minimum fine for traffic offences increased to Rs. 2,500!

Successive governments have sought to tackle the problem of traffic accidents through measures such as road development, increased police presence on roads, better training for drivers, action against corrupt officials of the Department of Motor Traffic, etc. But, the present government does not seem to believe in such remedies. Instead, it thinks if the budget proposal for increasing fines is implemented, hey presto, the number of road accidents will drop overnight!

The Finance Minister’s detractors may say the IMF has made the release of its loans conditional to the draconian measures the government is under pressure to adopt, including enhanced fines, to boost its revenue. What the politicians out of power say is not to be taken seriously. When the present-day rulers were in the political wilderness they asked for a mandate to take into custody a ‘golden horse’ belonging to their opponents in power at that time and recover as much as USD 18 bn which had been stashed away in offshore accounts. But, they have not yet been able to seize those ill-gotten assets, have they?

Lanka Private Bus Operators’ Association (LPBOA) has threatened to launch a strike against the hike in fines for traffic offences. LPBOA President Gemunu Wijeratne, who helped engineer the 2015 regime change and sang hosannas for the leaders of the present government, has got an overdose of ‘yahapalanaya’. But, he should not rock the boat, should he?

Meanwhile, Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne has been in the forefront of a campaign to reduce the extremely high national sugar consumption linked to the Non Communicable Diseases on the rise, especially diabetes. He has made a very bold proposal that the sugar price be kept high so as to discourage people from consuming the ‘sweet poison’ in large quantities. But, the Finance Minister Karunanayake is convinced otherwise; he has reduced the sugar price. Isn’t he, unwittingly, helping increase the incidence of diabetes by promoting sugar consumption though a price reduction?

The government says it has once again amply demonstrated its love for the masses through Budget 2017. If so, its fear of the much-delayed local government elections is unfounded. It does not have to hide behind the delimitation review committee and keep postponing the mini polls any longer.

People are waiting to express their gratitude.