Ceylon Today Editorial

That water hike

16 November 2016

 

With State-owned National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWS & DB) suspending the alleged 30% hike in water bills which was to have been effective from next month ('Ceylon Today' of 13 November, 2016) due to Presidential intervention yesterday, public relief in this connection may be but short lived. There are at least two reasons why public relief may be short lived: Primarily, donor pressure and secondly, the appointment of a ministerial committee to seemingly go into the 'nitty gritty of such a hike.' This means that a hike per se hasn't been entirely ruled out.

Therefore, it may be a mere postponement of the hike, though, there may be a possibility that when the price increase finally does take place, it may not be that 'exact' percentage, by some of the exempt being also netted in and the so-called 'rich' being made to pay a higher rate, thereby seeing a spurious reduction in the ultimate average rate, when it actually does take place. Nonetheless, 'Ceylon FT,' more than five months ago, predicted of such a hike in the lead story of its edition of 6 June, 2016. That article was based on a press release issued by the IMF on 3 June, 2016 with reference to granting the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) an extended fund facility of US$ 1.5 billion.

Relevant excerpts of that article which had a top strap-line: 'Water rates to rise', the heading: 'Market to determine 'spot'' and a bottom strap-line, 'To satisfy some IMF conditions,' said, '...mediumterm growth prospects also need to be supported through a greater role for market forces and a decisive shift toward an outward orientation.'.... '...And, making State-owned enterprises viable may well mean that the administered price regime may well be history. In this score, Water Supply Minister Rauff Hakeem fired the first salvo. The State controlled 'Daily News' quoting Hakeem on its Saturday (4 June, 2016)'s edition said, 'It's hoped to revise water rates in the near future since no revision has been made for the last four years....'

'So, consumers brace yourself to at least a water rate hike, so that GoSL would at least be able to satisfy IMF of one of their conditionalities! Well did President J.R. Jayewardene, describe the Washington twins, the IMF and the World Bank by quoting Dante, 'Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.'' And, the IMF is expected to release its second tranche of US$ 168.1 million, previously withheld, tomorrow. ('Ceylon Today' of 5 November, 2016).

But, it may not be only the Washington twins that tie a millstone round the neck of Sri Lanka. The other seeming 'horror' may be the third and the last multilateral donor, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which has committed itself to water supply projects here. And such aid, like the IMF's and the World Bank's, do come with strings.

To quote the relevant excerpts of 'Ceylon Today's' editorial of 4 November, 2016 which carried the heading '2.4B from ADB', it said, '...Planned projects for 2019 include a $ 150 million solar electricity project, $ 193 million transportation project covering the Northern, Eastern and Uva Provinces and $ 180 million Greater Colombo Waste Water Treatment Project."

With respect to the financial state of the NWS & DB, Central Bank of Sri Lanka's 2015 Annual Report said, '...Financial position of the NWS & DB deteriorated during the year 2015. As per unaudited provisional financial statements, it recorded a marginal operational loss of Rs 100 million compared to a Rs 2.5 billion operational profit in 2014. Its total revenue increased by 5.4% to Rs 2.3 billion, while operational and maintenance cost increased by 21% to Rs 21.4 billion. Capital expenditure by the NWS & DB decreased by 22.8% to Rs 27.5 billion during the year....' While the Board made a Rs 100 million operational loss last year, it also has to service loans taken, the most recent of which will be the aforesaid $ 180 million ADB loan.

Loans from multilateral donor agencies are cheap. For example, those from the ADB range from an interest cost of 2% with payment spread over 25 years with a five-year grace period, while the other is priced at London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus 60 basis points. The payback period for these types of loans is 20 years. ('Ceylon Today's' editorial of 4 November, 2016)

According to bankrate.com, the current six months' LIBOR rate is 1.25%. Nonetheless, if the alleged water tariff hike is merely to satisfy donors, it may not be justifiable, when two thirds of the country's 25 districts are mired in poverty. ('Ceylon Today' of 9 October, 2016)

Considering that Sri Lanka's population is 21 million; that means that 14 million of the island's population may be living in poverty, simplistically put. ('Ceylon Today' of 28 October 2016)

Will they also be liable to pay the increased water tariff along with the so-called well to do households in the country if and when this hike ultimately materializes?

Daily News Editorial

Timely decision

16 November 2016

The government’s decision to set up a high profile division at the centre of government to monitor the progress of public servants including ministers is indeed a timely one. The rank inefficiency and lethargy in some of our state institutions are only too well known to need elaboration. Suffice it to say that most of our loss making state bodies would have not fallen into their present plight had there been such a monitoring mechanism, at the very outset to, account for their performances.

According to our lead story yesterday titled “Govt. Delivery Unit to increase public sector efficiency”, quoting Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, the government will implement Key Performance Index (KPI) on ministers from January 1 next year and a “Delivery Unit” composed of highly skilled persons working at the centre of the government will be entrusted with the task of assisting line ministries achieve outcomes that are considered “mission critical” .

In short, what this Unit will do is maintain constant pressure on senior public officers to improve delivery. The Minister said KPI’s would be implemented on 10-12 key persons across all public institutions - including ministers, from January 1. “This is a top down process. We are all public servants”, the Minister went on to explain.

The extension of this monitoring process to cover ministers is indeed most welcome. It is time our erstwhile people’s representatives give an account of their performances considering how they sponge on the public. Some ministries are notorious for their inefficiency and lethargy, their output left much to be desired, so much so, they are confined only to name boards.

The public are unaware of the role and functions many of our ministers, some of whom appeared in public only to take their oaths. How is the Delivery Unit going to tackle the vast number of ministries, some overlapping each other? There is also the question of ego, and one can expect some ministers not willing to submit to queries by the “Delivery Unit”. This is because certain ministers consider their ministries as personal fiefdoms and are likely to brook no nonsense with outside interference in their ministries. How deep will the Delivery Unit go into unraveling inefficiency and lack of progress in ministries and public institutions?

One cannot also not forget that what we have is a Unity Government composed of the two major political parties who are still rivals in many ways. Since the Delivery Unit which will take on the mantle of a flying squad, it will have to tread cautiously, if it is not to ruffle feathers. Ministers from the SLFP may feel piqued if the Delivery Unit attempts to be nosing into their affairs to the exclusion of those Ministries run by UNP Ministers. Hence the Delivery Unit would have be composed of individuals endorsed by both camps.

Be that as it may, it is time that the output of government ministries and state institutions are measured in order to ascertain their viability. For so long have these institutions functioned as sacred cows. The public ought to know how its money is being spent, and above all, if it is getting value for money. There is a widely held belief that most of the present day ministers merely draw their fat salaries and enjoy their multifarious perks but do little or nothing by way of public service while others go for grandiose schemes merely to boost their egos that bring little benefit to the public. Hopefully, the new oversight mechanism devised by the Finance Minister would put matters right and the ministers and public officials kept on their guard as regards their performance.

Calling the bluff of VIP prisoners

The decision by Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne to appoint a committee to probe the doctors who recommended incarcerated politicians or their associates to be transferred to the prison hospital is to be commended. The practise has today reached scandalous proportions if not comical. Almost all politicians of the last regime were promptly removed to the Merchant Ward no sooner they became guests of the state lodge. We had the spectacle of Basil Rajapaksa, upon his return to the country after taking flight to the US on election night, waving and gesticulating wildly when he was mobbed at the BIA and hey presto the man who was the picture of health and good living was taken to the Merchant Ward no sooner he was remanded, a few days later. What did the prison doctor find wrong with Rajapaksa all of a sudden? Is it just coincidence that only VIPs and politicians invariably get dispatched to the prison hospital no sooner they arrive or is there something sinister surrounding the whole affair, calling to question the sanctity of the Hippocratic oath?

The Island Editorial

Priorities mixed up

16 November 2016

 

All politicians have one thing in common—their remarkable ability to pull the wool over the eyes of the public. They have got it down to a fine art and apparently take turns to deceive the people while living off the fat of the land and throwing Citizen Perera a potato or a sprat through a budget.

It is being argued in some quarters that Sri Lankans are born suckers and gluttons for punishment. We disagree! An election is a case of Hobson’s choice for them. They have to choose between two groups of crooks for want of a better alternative.

The present government came to power, promising good governance and one million jobs among other things. The biggest ever financial scam happened within a few weeks of the formation of the ‘yahapalana’ administration last year. The racketeers are still at large. Adding insult to injury, they are openly investing their ill-gotten wealth while the government is busy trying to trace the stolen funds in the possession of its rivals out of power.

Nothing is being spoken of the promised jobs at present. Instead, the government worthies continue to bash their opponents; local professionals fear that foreigners might take the bread out of their mouths owing to an economic cooperation pact on the cards.

Now, the government is offering tablet PCs to schoolchildren! One is reminded of the gold chains and bracelets the UNP-led UNF promised the youth in 2001. (It also undertook to send rural farmers’ pathola and vetakolu to Tokyo, of all places!)

Before undertaking the tabs-for-schoolchildren project, the Education Minister ought to try to make the students in GCE A/L classes attend school. Most of them opt for private tuition in the morning as they hardly learn anything in school.

The provision of free school uniform material which stood poor students and their parents in good stead has been replaced with a voucher system in spite of protests. The government is hell bent on cutting costs, nay, scrimping and saving to enable political leaders and their cronies to live in clover. It was only a few months ago that a supplementary estimate was presented to Parliament for purchasing a fleet of super luxury vehicles for ministers.

President Maithripala Sirisena has publicly lamented that there are many schools without toilets. A National Water Supply and Drainage Board survey revealed a few years ago that about 1,300 primary and secondary schools did not have proper sanitary facilities. Two civil society outfits have disclosed that there are schools where students are discouraged from drinking water for want of toilets and this practice has rendered those hapless children prone to renal diseases. Absenteeism is common among girls in such schools during menstruation, they have pointed out. This is a damning indictment on the two main parties which have closed ranks to rule the country.

Rural schools are being closed down at a rate and most schools are experiencing a chronic shortage of teachers for vital subjects like science, mathematics and English. Newspapers carry, from time to time, pictures of schoolchildren studying under trees.

The government also pledged to grant university students tablet PCs and this promise remains unfulfilled. They deserve computers more than any other category of students. Why doesn’t the government make good on its promise to university students?

It is not being argued that tablet PCs should not be given to schoolchildren. The point we are trying to make is that the government must get its priorities right and rationalise its expenditure without pursuing a populist agenda and overstretching its resources in the process. Budget 2017 has reduced funds for the Education Ministry, from Rs. 171.4 in 2016, to Rs. 162.4 billion in 2017. This is a massive cut. The question is whether the government is really equal to the task of providing schoolchildren with tabs.