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.