Ceylon Today Editorial

TALL STORIES AND HALLUCINATIONS

01 February 2017

Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne is on record as having said that the probe into the MIG deal during the tenure of the previous government will reveal many truths. But before we come to that, can we at least have some truths about what's happening about the dozens of yet unsolved cases before the FCID, CIABOC and Courts?

If the Minister expects us to tremulously hold our breaths until then, he's on another planet. The reality on planet Earth is that the FCID and CIABOC have proved themselves as incompetent as a scout cub on a game hunt in the wilds of Africa. In this case however, the analogy is used not too accurately because at least the Boy Scout can stake a rightful claim to not being bribed by the men in the Wild Life Department to let the animals escape which is more or less the story down here in Colombo.

A weekend paper said recently that it's been seven long years, since Lasantha Wickrematunga was done to death by elements in the former regime, that MPs and other journalists were killed, maimed or euphemistically said to have disappeared." Billions of rupees have been spirited out of the country by top men of the former regime but these two bribery and fraud agencies now say those embezzled monies cannot be traced – FULL STOP!

Drug Lords have comfy rooms in Welikada, continuing their drug peddling by mobile phones.

Former rogues of the then regime hold high ministry secretarial positions with pending fraud cases still on file in Courts against them. So much for Yahapalanaya! Last week the Chairman of a State Corporation was kicked out because he dared to make his voice heard about fraud and irregularities in a coal tender bid in which the lowest tenders were thrown out.

Maithri Gunaratne, former Chairman of the Lanka Coal (Pvt.) Ltd told this paper last week that "Just a week ago Lanka Coal (PVT) Ltd (LCL) floated the tender to purchase 2.2 million tons of coal for 2017. It was obvious that keeping me in the position would cause a serious effect on their income. So I was sacked.There were serious allegations in connection with the purchase of coal during the Mahinda Rajapaksa Regime. The election manifesto of President Maithripala Sirisena pledged to streamline the purchasing mechanism of the government, especially of coal, to make it more transparent than it had hitherto been. For some reason or the other the President chose me as the Chairman and Minister Champika Ranawaka appointed me to the post. He said it was the President who insisted that he should stay on as the Chairman of LCL. "From the time I started my work, I had to clean the stables. There were no proper regulations or procedures in place for purchasing coal. I adopted a 360° approach in my duties. I had discussions with my staff as well as suppliers. I considered all their comments and feedback to set the procedures right to achieve our organizational objectives. I suggested that we should go for 'pre-bid' meetings, so that it would give an opportunity for suppliers to raise all their concerns before they furnish the bid documents. The recent tender too was processed in the same manner. Eight parties were competing in the tender, out of which four suppliers were rejected by the Technical Evaluation Committee.

Note this now: I wrote a letter to the Treasury to draw attention to the fact that this should be an inclusive tender. I got approval to include two more contenders and increased the number of bidders to six. Tenders should always be open to many. Under normal circumstances the competition tends to bring tender price quotations down.

However, I have observed that there were manipulations to limit the number of bidders. The process needed overhauling. I took drastic action to rectify it".

He was then shown the door!!

Must we ask why Minister Senaratne's statement raises laugh in the real world of dirty politics in this country? What of the murders and disappearances ? What of the illegal land alienation? The villagers of Keppapilavu are being kicked around instead of being given back their own homesteads which have come down to them from earlier generations. This is despite the SLAS sending a report to President Sirisena proposing relocation of the Mullaitive Army Headquarters to an adjoining village!
Can the people have an official list issued by the government, of all the cases of fraud and corruption filed with them and successfully prosecuted in Court, to date? It's a long litany of woes, of injustice and the law being reduced to a plaything of the government, as well as of the former government's insiders lurking within its domain.

Daily News Editorial

PM’s clarion call

01 February 2017

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has once again emphasized on the need for the continuation of the UNP-SLFP unity government, if the economy is to move forward. Speaking at a public function in Bandaragama, the Premier said it is essential for the UNP and SLFP to stay together so that there will be a powerful government to see the economy through.

A united front, no doubt, can overcome any obstacles, and what is more, is a sign of stability so important to inspire investor confidence. It is political acrimony down the years that has stifled development and undermined progress. It has been Sri Lanka's experience that the Opposition had always opposed ambitious government's programmes merely for the sake of opposing. Had J.R Jayewardene not had the steamroller majority he commanded it is doubtful if development programmes such as the Mahaweli would have got off the ground. Now, with the Unity Government enjoying a two thirds majority in parliament it is hoped that development projects in the pipeline would be pursued with unhindered. It is because both the UNP and SLFP collectively stood its ground that the Hambantota port project was flagged off despite opposition. Hence, the Premier's emphasis for a continuation of the present arrangement between the two parties.

In the past there were a few occasions where the two major parties could have coalesced for the well being of the country. But these opportunities were squandered due to partisan politics. One recalls Opposition Leader J.R. Jayewardene during the 1970-77 unity government extending his support to the Sirimavo Bandaranaike administration. But the Left leaders in that alliance, due to their prejudice against JR, would have none of it. More recently, there was the ideal opportunity presented by the Tsunami catastrophe for both parties to unite during a national tragedy. But, like before, those who should have known better let slip this golden opportunity too for selfish political reasons. Even the three decades long terrorist war failed to bring the parties together due to the failure of political party leaders to act as statesmen. As a result the country had to suffer dire consequences by way of retarded growth and economic decline.

Hence, the Premier's view that both parties should join forces to lift the country from its present morass should be heeded by all. It is time for all political leaders, at least now, to act with maturity and foresight setting aside all selfish motives and parochial considerations. Hitherto, it was the practise that with every change of government the incoming regime dispensed with all the development programmes undertaken by its predecessor. The vicious cycle continued, with the end result that the country was bogged down without moving ahead. The contentious and divisive nature of the politics, practiced, was the sole reason for this.

The status quo is bound to continue far into the future if at some point this retrograde politics is not called to a halt. The country can no longer afford the luxury of divisive party politics, with the economy burdened as it is by a mountainous debt. There should be a collective effort to resurrect the country from the depths it had fallen into socially, culturally and economically. The country's future cannot be surrendered at the altar of vituperative, contentious party politics. This is the long and short of the Premier's appeal, which is more or less a clarion call for unity.

The SLFP need not have any misgivings in working with the UNP. It has today many things in common with the Greens. The differences between the parties on economic policy no longer exist. The SLFP has already shed its inward looking, indigenous economic concepts and embraced the UNP's market economy. Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga of course should be credited for this transformation in the SLFP thinking. Both parties are also on the same wavelength even on the ethnic issue, another laurel that should go to CBK.

Investors, hitherto, had misgivings, coming to Sri Lanka, due to policy changes with the change of governments. Investors fear that their ventures would be nationalised with the arrival of socialist governments. Many had this bitter experience during the 70-77 period which saw the flight of foreign investments from the country. On the other hand, an inclusive government would not create such doubts in the minds of investors.

President Sirisena, like the Premier, does not lose an opportunity to emphasize the need for the continuation of the present arrangement for the benefit of all. Although the UNP is in the driving seat, by virtue of its majority in parliament, the SLFP need not feel inferior or have misgivings in cooperating with the Grand Old Party. In fact some vociferous SLFPers in government have shown their independence by expressing their views openly at what they see as infringements by their senior coalition partner. However they should desist in creating fissures in the alliance that would be exploited by the MR faction of the SLFP, giving it an opportunity to undermine the cohabitation arrangement.

Daily News Editorial

Ranjan steals the show?

31 January 2017

The Yahapalanaya government has this penchant for walking from one crisis to another, scoring own goals and providing ammunition to its critics to haul it over the coals. Recently it was the Director Agriculture who recommended croton and Jak leaves to the people as an alternative diet to overcome the crop failure due to the drought. The Joint Opposition lost no time in seizing on the opportunity to ridicule the government. Prior to that it was the UNP’s muscle bound Palitha Thevarapperuma who, most said, had taken over the mantle from Mervyn Silva, clowning himself in front of the TV cameras. When it appeared that the Deputy Minister had been duly chastised and was at last behaving himself without causing further embarrassment to the government we have another macho man from the same party flexing his muscles being violently uncivil to a lady Divisional Secretary serving in his own constituency.

Film star turned politician and Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake by no stretch of the imagination would fall into the category of a Mervyn Silva or a Thevarapperuma. The flamboyant actor, though often in the news for his unorthodox ways in dealing with issues confronting the public, nevertheless, is a temperate individual not given to flying off the handle. But what the public witnessed on television the other day would have shocked even the ardent film fans of Ramanayake, not to mention his party supporters.

True, the ebullient politician is well known for his no nonsense attitude in dealing with matters that impinge on the interest of the public. He is commended in many quarters for his crusade against the hardships confronting the Lankan housemaids in the Middle East. He has also won laurels for his hard line stance against corruption even in government and openly expressed his views on the alleged Central Bank bond scam.

On this occasion too, the Deputy Minister was fighting on the side of the public against the large scale destruction to the environment as a result of indiscriminate and illegal sand mining carried out under political patronage in his Divulapitiya constituency. Television showed the Deputy Minister, surrounded by his supporters, arriving at the scene to view the scale of destruction and to ascertain the facts. In the melee a call was taken to the lady Divisional Secretary, who, obviously was the villain of the piece, for allegedly aiding and abetting the illegal operation, in the opinion of Ramanayake. Hot words were exchanged by both parties with the Deputy Minister going slightly overboard in a threatening vein.

The whole issue was obviously painted as a David and Goliath affair with a cornered and highly vulnerable lady state official at the receiving end of a bullying government minister. The bulging pectorals of the Deputy Minister did not help matters either. It is not clear if the lady Divisional Secretary had indeed been in cahoots with the culprits. But a bit of circumspection on the part of Ramanayake would have been in order given the fact that he was addressing a lady, known to be the weaker sex, though this assumption would be contested in this day and age.

All public servants in the Gampaha district, in solidarity with the lady DS, staged a walk out yesterday demanding an apology from the Deputy Minister. Ramanayake for his part is unrepentant insisting that no apology would be forthcoming from him unless steps are taken to halt the ongoing destruction. Whether such an incident would have a fall out on his political fortunes is too early yet to say. But Ramanayake, it is certain, would carry on his crusade against injustice, corruption and environmental destruction, come what may.

To begin with, the Deputy Minister need not have to depend on a political career for his financial stability, being in the film industry now for over three decades. He is also the first MP who declined the Rs. 100,000 special allowance granted to all parliamentarians. Some would even venture out to say that Ramanayake would be the ideal person to even keep the present government on its toes as regards corrupt deals. He has never held back on revelations against his fellow Ministers in the UNP and has taken to task a minister in the east for forest destruction, publicly.

Be that as it may, Ramanayake, a committed member of the UNP, should learn restraint without giving into precipitate action. Being a marked man of the Opposition, from the very inception, he would do well not to give ammunition to his opponents to cast himself as a bully, muscling his way through things. There are of course different schools of thought as regards the action taken by politicians of the kind Ramanayake took the other day. Some would say it is such action, unhampered officialdom, that would get work expedited and serve the well being of the people or as in the Divulapitiya case effectively prevent harm and destruction to the environment that would take a heavy toll on the people.

Ceylon Today Editorial

Mixing Entertainment with Business

31 January 2017

For Sri Lanka, when it comes to politics and public entertainment, lines blur quiet a lot.

Several politicians – most of them, rather – excel at entertaining the masses instead what they should be doing: being public representatives. These public comedians tend to create news every now and then with their misadventures and when it does, it's nothing but entertainment.

Deputy Minister of Social Empowerment and Welfare Ranjan Ramanayake pulled off such one slapstick stunts recently where he scolded a government worker, accusing her for incompetent behaviour in her jurisdiction.

The Deputy Minister who made himself present at a public protest at Ihala Madampella in the Divulapitiya Divisional Secretariat Division against soil excavation had then visited the area where sand excavation was allegedly taking place. During that inspection, the Deputy Minister who had been told that the Divulapitiya Divisional Secretary had allegedly been involved in the illegal excavation had called her to confront him on the matter.

The ensuing telephone conversation had been a rather gruesome one, where the Deputy Minister had used harsh and obscene language to prosecute her of apparently allegedly misplaced accusations. The telephone conversation that took place on the Deputy Minister's personal phone's loud speaker was broadcasted on all news programmes that night, which led to an obvious public outcry.

As a protest against Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake's verbally abusing the Divulapitiya Divisional Secretary in public recently, the Gampaha District Administrative Services Association (GDASA) decided to boycott their official duties on Monday.

They demanded the withdrawal of the malicious statement allegedly made by the Deputy Minister. The Association's Vice President and Secretary has written to the President, Prime Minister, Speaker and Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister with copies to the Ministry Secretaries, District Secretaries and heads of all public institutions in the Gampaha District.

The Association has said the Deputy Minister had undermined the entire public service and demanded that he publicly apologizes to the Secretary and would keep away from duty on Monday in case he does not do so.

MP Indika Anuruddha, who was allegedly also accused by the Deputy Minister for the soil scandal, filed a Rs 500 million defamation lawsuit. In the turmoil, Ramanayake standing his ground, refused to apologize for his actions. Addressing the media he has said that, even if he is to die or relinquish his ministerial portfolio, he will not apologize to the Divulapitiya District Secretary for anything in connection with the telephone argument with him yesterday while at the Madiwela Housing Complex.

Ramanayaka has said his distressful concern at the clandestine Akaragama, Divulapitiya illicit earth-fill led to the stoppage of that illicit operation and he would continue with his campaign in the future too.

The minister has noted that President Maithripala Sirisena also spoke to him about it and told him that there was no need for him to apologize to anyone as he had done no wrong.

He has argued that there has been a serious financial fraud pertaining to the Central Bank Bond issues and also Minister Rishad Bathiudeen has encroached into the Wilpattu Forest, the minister added. He has stressed that he would in no way hesitate to criticize those wrongdoings, and if that would mean that he would have to quit the Party, he can always seek re-election as an independent.

Leaving aside his melodrama, if taken the entire situation as a whole, one could two opinions. One is that, the Deputy Minister Ramanayake should not have used obscenities in this endeavour but should have gone about it in a gentlemanly manner. He should have shown some humility where it is due, harshness where it is due and some, most of all, sense when it's most necessary. None of this happened, but his ultimate goal was achieved – stopping the illegal excavation – and none can argue with that.

Secondly, it should be noted that the Deputy Minister took what seemed like desperate measures in order to obtain his goals and indirectly, do what public representatives are responsible for. Many public representatives are hindered by incompetent and corrupt government sector State employees, who follow their own agenda instead of working for the benefit of the country. When that happens, a duly elected public representative has the responsibility, let alone the authority, to change the course and put it back in the right path.

This is what Deputy Minister Ramanayake intended to do, we believe. Even though he went about it in an absolutely horrendous manner, he had grounds for his actions. We also believe that this might have been a result of his acting career getting mixed up with his politics. But nevertheless, we are led to believe that his cause was good and that the only thing bad about it was the way he went about it.

Ceylon Today Editorial

Fraudulent school admissions

30 January 2017

The first time the Government has nabbed prestigious schools in the act as it were while fraudulently admitting children to Year One, including Royal College Colombo.

According to Ministry of Education sources on the directive of Minister of Education, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, investigations have even been launched over complaints against fifteen National schools including Colombo's Royal College with regard to admission of students to Year One at the beginning of this year.

Following the directive of the Minister of Education, it has been found that students have been admitted to several National schools through fraudulent means. Education Department officials probing complaints had taken to task principals of some high profile National schools.

Educational institutions in the country have played a great role in moulding exemplary citizens in the country, in the past.

The free education system in the country has given citizens of all walks of life to enhance their knowledge with even free text books and uniforms being given without restriction.

Sri Lanka has been rated as a highly literate country in South Asia and Lankans have proved themselves exceptional in various fields internationally.

However, the trend in school admissions remains shocking with fraudulent activities such as bribes and political interference taking centre stage, ridiculing the country's educational system.

Sri Lanka has a long tradition of having an exceptional educational system with the schools established throughout the country in the past two hundred years.

Several schools have even reached the bicentennial year proving themselves in creating civilized citizens in the Island.

Principals and teachers of a bygone era sacrificed themselves in bringing out the best from their students.

Several of the prime sectors in the country have been politicized and marred by nepotism. But the educational system in the country remained unpolluted with merit taking due place.

The recent developments in the field of education are disheartening with the reputation of several National schools being tarnished over allegations against them regarding admissions of students and the administration.

Already the free education system has been ridiculed by private tuition centres mushrooming in every nook and corner in the country. Private educational institutions are emerging at an alarming rate with students agitating against setting up of private medical schools.

The complaints which have come up with the beginning of the New Year over admissions to Year One are agonizing in terms of the future of the country's educational system.

School heads and officials dealing with admissions of students to Year One have been accused of malpractice, and action has already been taken against some officials in the backdrop of the Minister of Education making the directive to investigate into the issue.

Despite free education in the country, a large number of students in their tender age remain with no access to good schools or to a proper environment for education.

Therefore, in this backdrop the fraudulent elements taking the upper hand in the education sector will lead to a state of grooming an uncivilized generation in the country.

Unlike in the past, the appetite for education is enormous among present generation of students. Unscrupulous elements cannot be tolerated and stringent measures should be put in place to eliminate the 'black sheep' in the education sector.

Investigations against malpractices over school admissions should be intensified and expedited without giving room for any political manipulations.

Proper legal measures should be taken against those found guilty of playing with the lives of innocent students who take their first step to education.

Daily News Editorial

MR's “rest” from politics

30 January 2017

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa made an interesting comment on Friday at Nugegoda. Addressing the “pohottuwa” party's maiden rally as the chief speaker Rajapaksa said, but for President Sirisena he would be today earning for himself a well deserved rest from politics. It was the President who pushed him into the political arena once again by his own doings and that of the government under him. “I never wanted to come back to politics. All I wanted was some rest and peace after the presidential election. But the actions of this government are dragging the country towards disaster. They are trying to divide the country. I could not sit and watch that happening.”

It was the former President's firm assertion that he reentered the political arena after January 8 due to the government's attempt to divide the country through a new constitution. This claim is funny if not bizarre. It is difficult to fathom how Rajapaksa divined that a new constitution would be promulgated by the government a full two years in advance on January 8. Equally difficult to gauge is how the former president knew the exact contents of the constitution two years ahead to know well in advance that the country is going to be divided by the proposed constitution. There was no mention of a new constitution during the presidential election campaign of the Common Candidate or about the shape it is going to take. Besides, the creation of the new constitution is a collective effort where the MPs of the Joint Opposition too are partners, being members of the various committees appointed to draft the document.

Be that as it may, Rajapaksa's claim that President Sirisena forced his reentry into politics due to the latter's actions, if not for which he would today be earning a well deserved rest, needs to be examined closely. There was heightened speculation that Rajapaksa, on election night, when results were trickling in showing imminent defeat for the former president, was planning a coup of sorts to remain in power despite the verdict of the people. Giving credence to these rumours were the presence of the Army Commander, Chief Justice the IGP, a Senior DIG, very close to Rajapaksa, and a host of close confidants at Temple Trees in the company of the Rajapaksas. This was the scene when Ranil Wickremesinghe arrived at Temple Trees on election night. Later it transpired that military tanks were stationed at specific locations in the city and that the Election Commissioner's office was to be surrounded to force the cancellation of the results.

This certainly cannot be the conduct of an individual who planned to retire and earn a well deserved rest from politics after the presidential election. On the contrary it a devious machination to remain entrenched in politics, going against the verdict of the people. The thought of a new constitution, or what it would do to the country, would have been furthest from the mind of the former president whose sole aim was to remain in power through foul means.

It was clearly plain to anyone that Rajapaksa, no sooner was he ousted from power, was set on a comeback journey to reclaim, if not his lost crown, at least a position of power from where he could wield authority. He lost no time in trying to mobilize the masses. The former President started doing the temple circuit where supporters greeted him with enthusiasm. He also frequently met the Mahnayakas to obtain their blessings with media in tow to get the maxim mileage out of these occasions. Well attended political rallies were held in major cities, titled Mahinda samaga negitimu (let us rise with Mahinda) or Mahinda sulanga (the Mahinda wind) - a far cry from the actions of a man who now claims he had no intentions to reenter politics after the presidential election.

The icing on the cake was when the former president presented himself as a candidate at the general election, a full eight months after the presidential election, portraying himself as the Prime Ministerial candidate, at a time when no mention of a new constitution had been made nor even an inkling given as to its contents. How can Rajapaksa now claim that he decided to quit politics after January 8 but that the President's action to divide the country through the new constitution, forced his hand to reconsider his decision?

Assuming that Rajapaksa's decision was guided by altruistic motives what power or authority could he wield to change the status quo? His Presidential hopes are over and the premiership is a dashed long shot. Rajapaksa can only aspire to be Prime Minister by contesting a general election and winning from a third party, since it is difficult to fathom President Sirisena offering him nominations from the SLFP, let alone making him the Prime Ministerial nominee. Hence MR would do himself a world of good, if he, at least now, seriously consider taking that long overdue rest which he had deprived himself in order put things right in this paradise isle which the Yahapalaya government had fouled up.

The Island Editorial

Contradictions galore!

30 January 2017

 

The government tries to promote itself as a good governance coalition. But, it is, in fact, a coalition of contradictions in that its constituents and leaders keep contradicting one another ad nauseam. What we hear from its top guns on crucial national issues has all the trappings of a babble of voices in a toddy bar; nay, it is more incomprehensible than shebeen gabble.

Cabinet Spokesman Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, last Wednesday, tried to defend Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who attended a recent ceremony where a factory was launched by a frontman of the Rajapaksa family, had come to know about the background of that investor only a few hours before the event. But, Minister Malik Samarawickrama contradicted Senaratne immediately afterwards; he said both the PM and President Maithripala Srisena had been quite au fait with the background of the entrepreneur concerned. Now, it is clear that the government is honeymooning with the persons it once condemned as crooked cronies of the former ruling clan!

In the run-up to the last presidential election the UNP and the Maithripala faction of the SLFP promised to abolish the executive presidency, which, they insisted, was the mother of all evils in Sri Lankan politics. President Sirisena declared, upon being inaugurated, that he would never seek a second term. But, now the SLFP has suddenly woken up to the need for retaining the executive presidency and is preparing the ground for fielding President Sirisena as the SLFP’s next presidential candidate much to the consternation of the UNP.

The UNP insists that former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran has not been on the wrong side of the law as regards the bond scams which have caused the state coffers and the Employee’s Provident Fund to haemorrhage colossal amounts of money. But, President Sirisena has faulted Mahendran, denied him a second term as the Central Bank Governor and ordered a presidential probe into the bond scams.

Government pundits have maintained during the last two years that LTTE threat is a thing of the past. Anyone who warns of a possible LTTE comeback is promptly branded a racist. LTTE cadres are being released and high security zones dismantled at a rate. When a former Tiger was arrested in March last year with a suicide jacket, claymore mines and ammunition, some government ministers claimed there was no threat to national security and the media were blowing the issue out of proportion. But, The Hindu newspaper has recently reported that the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government has warned TNA MP M. A. Sumanthiran of a serious threat to his life. The MP is quoted as saying that the government has shared some specific information about the threat and four persons have been arrested in that connection. So much for the government’s claim that the LTTE threat has long ceased to exist!

President Sirisena keeps saying there has been no agreement to hand over land in Hambantota to foreigners. But, UNP members of his Cabinet say 15,000 acres in areas adjacent to the Hambantota Port will be leased out to some Chinese investors for 99 years. Who is telling us the truth?

President Sirisena has gone on record as saying that his predecessor opted for a snap presidential election because the latter had been at its wits’ end, unable to figure out how to face an impending economic crisis. He has given the impression that Mahinda Rajapaksa ran away, not knowing how to steer the ship of the state to safety. But, the incumbent government claims Rajapaksa was planning a coup to stay in power despite his defeat at the Jan. 2015 presidential election! If he had sought to run away from trouble on the economic front, he could have refrained from seeking a third term or he would not have tried to retain power forcibly!

The UNP pretends to be on a mission to restore the supremacy of Parliament. But, last week, its heavyweights argued in the House in favour of a judicial intervention as regards the COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises) report on the bond scams. They took on JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake, who pointed out the absurdity of MPs being summoned by a court for carrying out their duties and functions as members of a parliamentary watchdog committee. The Constitution does not provide for post enactment judicial review. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe tore into the judiciary some moons ago for allegedly trying to usurp the powers of the legislature anent the Singarasa case. The UNP has also taken pride in the late Speaker Anura Bandaranaike’s historic ruling (2001), which rejected a Supreme Court interim order seeking to prevent him from dealing with a parliamentary resolution to probe the then Chief Justice until the apex court had heard and determined a fundamental rights application before it. As they say in this country a water monitor becomes a land monitor when one feels like eating it.

It is not only the members of the yahapalana coalition who keep contradicting themselves; their foreign allies also do. The present dispensation has received plaudits from the US and the EU for ‘meaningful steps’ it is said to have taken to battle corruption. But, Sri Lanka has, under the yahapalana watch, slipped 12 points on the 2016 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released by the Transparency International, which ranks countries according to the perceived level of public sector corruption. Sri Lanka was ranked 85th on the CPI in 2014 under the previous government. How would the defenders of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration explain this mismatch between its claim to have contained corruption and the CPI rankings?

Sunday Observer Editorial

Now, YOU can officially demand to know …

29 January 2017

Outraged, are you, by the stubborn refusal of your local government to replace that century-old, dilapidated culvert with a bridge for modern traffic? Despair, do you, that the news media is too busy to take up your neighbourhood’s cause?

From this Friday, February 3rd on, you, the citizen, can take action on this and other issues of public needs unfulfilled by the responsible authority. Under the Right to Information Act that comes into effect, at long last, this Friday, every citizen will have her/his own authority to officially inquire from those responsible as to what exactly happened to their responsibility to provide or maintain whatever facility in question. Of course, dear irate Citizen, the questioning cannot be a shrill “What the … ? Why in … ? How soon, for …. sake? “

The new Right to Information Act (RTI) No. 12 of 2016 provides you, the citizen, with the services needed to ask those above questions in more sober language but, more importantly, in incisive detail that will ensure answers are provided on every aspect of that public need. And, most importantly, those responsible authorities are compelled, under the RTI Act, to provide the demanded information and answer to a deadline or face punishment by fine, or worse, under the law.

Crucially, all that is required is some physical effort and time to access the relevant ‘Information Officer’ who will service your inquiries, even guide you on the sharpest questions to ask, such as: what happened to the funds allocated? Who used it? Was there a deadline overlooked? The whole inquiry process is implemented at state cost, followed-up at state cost and, enforced – even with punishment – at state cost.

The above example of the use of the RTI Act may seem one of the more negative examples of this new and revolutionary empowerment of the citizen.

It is ‘revolutionary’ because the RTI law is a very modern institutional mechanism that addresses the enormous scale of complexity of modern human society and its management – a scale that never existed before in human society. RTI is a mechanism created for this new age.

The RTI mechanism, citizens will soon find, is new in human history in two ways: on the one hand, it enables a more accountable and, ultimately more efficient, management of society and world; on the other, it brings wholly new dimensions to the practise of democracy at the grassroots and in ways that are immediate and, directly of concern to individual citizens.

Of course, it all depends on how quickly and elaborately the mechanism is set up to enable citizens to exercise this newfound power. Encouragingly, any delay, can be questioned through the RTI mechanism itself! The RTI empowers the citizens to inquire officially from the Director-General of Government Information, the Secretary to the Minister of Parliamentary Reform & Mass Media and, the Minister and Deputy Minister (who are the responsible implementing officers) about any delay in implementation or lapse.

In short, the bureaucrats as well as the politicians are put on notice, from now on, that the Citizen will raise questions directly and expressly. Once questions are addressed via the RTI mechanism, those questioned cannot dodge the questions as is done with the news media!

From this week, you can access much information about what those, whom you voted in to power (at every level) and who are using your taxed funds, are up to since they took office.

The space of democracy widens with RTI this week not only in terms of governance and public service fulfilment.

The new service will ultimately be fleshed out with facilities to obtain all kinds of information important for the conduct of everyday life – information that resides in public sector institutions.

For example, a businessperson can ask for concrete information about future plans of the government pertaining to his areas of business. The RTI mechanism will provide free facilities to ask the relevant Ministry or Department for detailed development plans. The RTI administration will not only track the inquiry on behalf of the businessperson but will compel the relevant officials to provide the answers. All government institutions are required to bring their public information facilities up to the standard designated by the RTI administration.

Students, young people, senior citizens, social minorities and socially disempowered sectors all have equal right – and free facility - to address government and all public authorities on many aspects concerning their everyday issues and personal projects.

RTI is one fulfilled promise of this government that opens doors to the citizens in a manner that will enable citizens to appreciate the creativity of the National Unity regime. Thus, it is up to the Government and, especially, the implementing Ministry, to ensure that the RTI Act is fully implemented and enforced.

Last week also reverberated with the bombast of that group of parliamentarians and politicians calling themselves the ‘Joint Opposition’ at a political rally near Colombo, on Friday. There is a new stridency in the rhetoric of this politically indistinct group, many of whom actually cannot be “opposition” because they are members (some of them senior) of a major coalition partner in Government.

The stridency is in the clever highlighting of a dimension of governance that the current Government has been relatively untainted with – corruption. It is crucial the Government takes note of the speed with which this politically amorphous group of politicians has picked up on the few instances of reported irregularities in ministerial action and allegations of financial corruption.

The grossly intimidatory regime of the previous Rajapaksa government did not allow for the exposure of much of its huge corruption and nepotism, until the end of that government in early 2015. The liberal regime of the current government enables a transparency that is, then, used by those who wish to score points. It is sad and ironic that these ‘points’ are being scored by the very forces which are, seemingly, the biggest wrongdoers, by far.

The Government faces the challenge of living up, not just to its promises but also, to the ideals of citizens who are inspired by the bold creativity and corrective actions of this regime to expect more, and yet more. The RTI Act, properly implemented, will show more of this Government’s promise.

Much more needs to be done, however, in all other spheres, to expose the sheer hypocrisy and falsity of those now making accusations of ‘corruption’ and ‘treachery’.

Ceylon Today Editorial

A LITMUS TEST FOR GOVT

29 January 2017 

The eulogies began tapering off early last year after speculation about an alleged Central Bank Bond scam made its way into mainline media and went viral on websites leading to President Maithripala Sirisena insisting on a new man to head the Central Bank and letting COPE take its course. That ended with the COPE report to Parliament and the Auditor General's following suit.

Everyone expected some action on either one or both of the reports.

The President bided his time waiting for the law and Parliament to take their courses. Patience can run out with the best of men placed in the embarrassing predicament that the President has been finding himself these past 15 months or more.

Since the end of the war and Rajapaksa's defeat at the presidential poll, nothing has dominated the news more than the CB BOND scandal...nothing except the stream of former government MPs and minions being arrested and marched to prison almost as fast as our wickets kept falling in the test series against South Africa. We got as damning a verdict there. The jury is still out on the Bond scandal while Wimal and men of his ilk and the likes of Wele Suda enjoy a paid holiday at government expense in a now rather comfy Welikada prison. Meanwhile, outside on the streets and in the halls of power the circus goes on. The weekend of course belonged to the Joint Opposition's hurrah in Nugegoda what with ex-Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa telling us that had it not been for President Sirisena's actions (quaint word that!) he would not have remained trapped in politics. Shame on Sirisena!, considering Rajapaksa had the time of his life (in a manner of speaking) winning the war against Amirthalingam's "boys" the poor man needed a break from politics, preferably for life, but Sirisena spoilt it all with "actions" which held Rajapaksa a prisoner in politics. Poor man! So inconsiderate of Sirisena! A colleague argues that its funny that Rajapaksa did not lambast the Premier for the CB Bond scandal as the new raison d'etre for his reluctant persistence in politics. This is all very unfair really and we must tell the President and Ranil to let that poor man retire from politics in peace. Surely, he won't have to live a hand-to-mouth existence with plenty of well wishers to shower him with plenty to keep him in comfort. Problem is that if he quits politics and does not return to power there's the little matter of what Sirisena and Ranil will do to his family members and hangers-on all of whom are in or barely keeping away from the bribery net and murder charges.

Then along comes the gift from the gods. Perhaps all that coconut smashing is paying off after all. How else could the government have got its knickers all twisted up in the CB Bond scandal...all on its own making without any help whatsoever from anyone in the JO? Hoist with its own petard can be a mighty uncomfortable experience for both parties in the government. And the innocent President is left holding someone else's baby. Sow the wind and you reap the whirlwind can be a dominant thought in very many minds at least among ranks in the Government.

The Government has gifted the Opposition with a weapon so damning that it has the potential to slice through the unity government if allegations are proved accurate. But then what? The prognosis, at least for the President, cannot be easy to handle as anyone diagnosed with end-stage heart failure or cancer will tell you. The cancer drowning the Opposition has apparently eaten into government ranks judging by prima facie evidence in the COPE report and supporting action proposed by the Auditor General. It's now passed into the hands of the Judiciary with yells in Parliament alleging that the President's action gives Court the right to subpoena MPs who, they alleged in the House last Friday, are above the law and hence cannot be summoned by Court.

Some say the reaction was surprising. COPE members should be only too glad to go before Court in any capacity and see an end to this farce that's dragged on for so long. To be summoned by a Court is not necessarily an action meant to denigrate the dignity of Parliament by any stretch of imagination because in the ultimate essay should it not be the ideal in a democracy that all arms of government work together where possible and indicated as being in the best interest of the nation in an effort to deliver justice speedily?

WE presumed THAT PARLIAMENT WANTS JUSTICE DONE!

Weekend Nation Editorial

Why indecent hurry over LGBT rights

29 January 2017

There has been much brouhaha over an attempt to give legal recognition to those with different sexual orientations. Critics have accused some sections of the government of making surreptitious attempts to legalise homosexuality and lesbianism and so on.

These matters fall into the wide area usually referred to as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights. The accusation is that moves to recognise these rights have come as a part of the so-called conditions imposed by the European Union for re-granting of the once withdrawn GSP Plus facilities for our exports.

It is not surprising that western countries often attempt to impose their cultural values upon the countries in the third world. The culture of any country is subject to change and as cultures change over decades what is not acceptable to the people at one point of time may become acceptable at some stage later. However, the western world has no right to impose their values on any other country particularly those in the third world when the people are not ready to accept them.

The other point is that so-called gay rights were officially accepted even in the liberal west not long ago. In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to permit same-sex marriages. Since then it has spread into many countries in the Americas and Western Europe.

In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed its first resolution recognizing LGBT rights which was followed up with a report from the UN Human Rights Commission documenting violations of the rights of LGBT people.

Following up on the report, the UNHRC urged all countries which had not yet done so to enact laws protecting basic LGBT rights.

On the other hand, in most parts of Asia and Africa gay rights have not been accepted while some thirty countries have passed expressed constitutional amendments banning a variety of same sex unions.

Societal attitudes towards homosexuality vary greatly in different cultures and different historical periods. All cultures have their own values regarding appropriate and inappropriate sexuality; some sanction same-sex love and sexuality while others may disapprove of such activities in part.

There seems to be broad acceptance of homosexuality in North America, the European Union, and much of Latin America, but equally widespread rejection in predominantly Muslim nations in Africa, as well as in parts of Asia and in Russia.

The acceptance of homosexuality is particularly widespread in countries where religion is less central in people’s lives. These are also among the richest countries in the world. In contrast, in poorer countries with high levels of religiosity, few believe homosexuality should be accepted by society.

Research has found that age is also a factor in several countries, with younger respondents offering far more tolerant views than older ones.

In any country some ideas are not discussed openly because of cultural inhibitions, however as the number of people supporting that particular view increases the matter becomes a subject of public discussion. That is how ideas should progress in the democratic world and this theory should apply to acceptance of LBGT rights as well.

When such rights were recognized in the west they did not do so under the influence of any other external power. Therefore the democratic west should understand that these developments should take place in a similar manner in the poorer democracies as well.
No external power has a right to impose any value system upon a country when its people are not in a mood to accept it. Neither should our politicians be in an indecent hurry to implement such ideas when there is opposition from the majority of the people. There is no point in creating a new controversy when there are enough issues that truly deserve their attention.

Sunday Times Editorial

Freedom tarnished by corrupt politicians

29 January 2017

Next weekend, Sri Lanka marks its 69th anniversary of Independence. There is, no doubt, much to celebrate, none more significant than the fact that the citizenry are a free people, and masters of their own destiny.

Many still say that Sri Lanka’s freedom was achieved without a struggle; that it was a by-product of India’s freedom struggle and World War II that weakened the British Empire which was grateful to its subjects (now the Commonwealth) who fought shoulder-to-shoulder with them to defeat Nazi Germany – and that such an easy path to Independence is never fully appreciated by the people. That is not entirely so. Sri Lanka had its own struggles in 400 years of colonial domination.

ecently, the President re-gazetted the names of several Kandyan ‘heroes’ who were termed ‘traitors’ by the British rulers. 1915 saw race riots triggered by the ‘Divide and Rule’ policy that is still perpetrated by Western powers in relatively newly independent nation-states. This is part and parcel of neo-colonialism.

Many advances have taken place since Independence in 1948, especially in the health and education fields. The political leaders of the newly sovereign Sri Lanka felt the long oppressed people deserved these benefits, but the growing welfare state, with free rice also given to the people, ran up big bills that had to be paid for these giveaways.

Exports did not bring in sufficient funds and today Sri Lanka, like many other economically developing countries, has the dubious distinction of balancing most of its budget with the remittances of exported labour. Funds for infrastructure development have had to be obtained through foreign loans, riddled with corruption allegations that have now reached epic proportions building up to a debt trap that is going to implode in 2019 when the loans have to be paid back. This week’s Parliamentary debate on the Central Bank scandal of 2015 and 2016 is a compelling story of our times. The debate itself was a cacophony of accusations across the floor of the House, but the overall theme that political leaders are corrupt, was crystal clear.

The Opposition Leader arguably made the best contribution of the day saying that all Governments, past and present, defend corruption. If only he can speak out more on national affairs other than confining himself to regional matters. His simple message was that both the SLFP and the UNP that have ruled this country alternatively since 1948 – and are now ruling together — accuse each other but protect rogues, and that the people were getting sick of them. More so, he said, democracy was at stake with this kind of behaviour by both mainstream parties.

Corruption is endemic in Sri Lanka, trickling down from the Cabinet of Ministers to the traffic cop. Bloomberg, the world renowned economic data company, this week ranked Sri Lanka as one of the highest risk countries for foreign investors based on economic, financial and political risks. This, when the country is desperately trying to attract foreign investment.
As Sri Lanka celebrates its 69th year of Freedom, it is time the political leaders re-evaluate and re-calibrate their roles and ensures their tattered credibility is restored, both locally and overseas and that this is not a country where politics and political patronage is the last refuge of the scoundrel.

Lanka’s ‘tryst with its (RTI) destiny’

It may be a forgivable overreach in dramatic flair, but to paraphrase independent India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s stirring words to the Indian Constituent Assembly on the eve of shaking off colonial fetters in 1947, Sri Lanka’s ‘tryst with its (RTI) destiny’ will occur on Friday. This is when the Right to Information Act, No 12 of 2016 becomes operative to all Public Authorities on February 3, 2017, the day before we celebrate the 69th year of our own Independence.

In this case, the long established fetters that Sri Lanka hopes to shake off will be the decades of stubborn bureaucracy in denying information to our citizens. Typically, these denials range from plundered monies in the construction of village roads to multi-millions squandered in sophisticated high finance deals, from embarrassing Government mistakes being hidden as ‘official secrets’ to a complainant in a local police station and much more.

As Sri Lanka sinks to a morass of ‘politics as usual’, the RTI Act is unquestionably a signal exception to that cheerless record — though late, at least it is one election promise that the National Unity Government has fulfilled.

This was a law that was relatively easy to draft because much of the groundwork had already been done with the draft Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill of 2004 under the then – and present Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s watch. If that Bill had not been callously brushed aside by Presidents Chandrika Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa as it posed an obstacle for politicians to rob public money, we would have had an RTI Act at the same time as others in the region.

Though the media spearheaded Sri Lanka’s RTI Act, this is a law for all citizens, not only journalists. Ranked high on the index of RTI legislation internationally, it ensures an independent RTI Commission tasked with monitoring RTI compliance and adjudicating on disputes. There has been a pitiful lack of time to prepare Rules and fine-tune Regulations to give effect to the Act as the Commission became functional just over a month ago though we are made to understand that these duties have been complied with. The ball is now in the court of the implementing agency, the Ministry of Mass Media, which has to gazette these Rules and Regulations.

The country will be closely watching as to how the RTI Commission is enabled by the Government to function properly. We must not forget Sri Lanka’s first National Police Commission supposed to be unique in the region. Functioning with integrity, it was gradually undermined by politicians even before the 18th Amendment put paid to all independent commissions. Even though the 19th Amendment restored the status quo to some extent, the Police Commission remains a shadow of its original self. This is not encouraging. The Government cannot set up commissions, boast to the world about this and then starve such bodies of adequate resources, refuse to financially support the commissioners or deprive them of the capacity to function independently. That will be a farce and worse, a betrayal of all the peoples’ struggles. Lanka’s ‘RTI destiny’ will finally be measured only by the people’s wise and strong use of their right to know. Public servants, the media and the citizenry remain to be properly educated about the force of RTI which, in other countries, has brought corrupt politicians to account. We witness the agonising wait to bring these corrupt politicians to book partly due to the secrecy associated with the workings of the government which permitted Presidents, PMs and Ministers – and bureaucrats to escape with impunity the basic public responsibilities they owe to the people they represent.

Hopefully, the RTI Act — a great and long overdue gift to the people — will show us the way,

Sunday Island Editorial

Bond scam – doubts that will not down

29 January 2017

 

While nobody would have been surprised by the Nugegoda turnout on Friday, very large numbers of ordinary people were inconvenienced by the rally’s disruptive effects on traffic movement and the deafening sound of firecrackers. Those who owe allegiance to the former president and the Joint Opposition would no doubt exult at the crowd their organizers were able to attract/bus-in to the rally. Equally certainly there would have been at least a few butterflies in the tummies of those who draw patronage and sustenance from the current administration and its leaders. Rallies such as Friday’s provide entertainment and nourish the thinking (apart from the egos of the organizers) of those suffering the travails of making ends meet in the face of an ever increasing cost of living. Most people tend to lay their grievances at the door of the government, whoever is in power. Whether those gridlocked in traffic or waiting interminably for a bus would nonetheless cheer the performance of the rally organizers must necessarily be an open question.

That said, thinking people must heave a sigh of relief that the cost of this rally did not come out of their pockets. Reports of the various ongoing investigations, whether cast iron proof necessary in a court of law for conviction is found or not, indicate that state resources were freely used to secure former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s re-election. Those responsible for that, cocksure that their candidate would romp home comfortably, did not dream that they would be called to account. Hopefully they will be made to pay for their sins but it’ll be months and years before we learn how that papadam will crumble. It is hard, if not impossible, to refute the Churchillian dictum that "democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried out from time to time." Voters know that they can vote out those they elected when the next election comes around. But that is some years down the road as electors in Sri Lanka are painfully aware. Apart from the long-postponed local elections, we have had the experience of Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike extending her 1970 government by two years (to compensate for time lost by the JVP’s 1971 insurrection, she said) and JRJ’s infamous referendum that enabled him to retain his five sixths majority of 1977 for six more years. How the ‘lamp’ won that referendum signifying the people’s consent for "rolling up the electoral map" (if we may borrow the then president’s language) is another story.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa is making no bones about his intention of toppling the present government sooner than later. This statement of intent drew raucous cheers when it was re-stated on Friday. While a general election is some years away according to the prevailing Constitution, with the president’s hands tied on dissolving parliament until four years pass since the last poll, there are other ways of obtaining desired objectives. Elections are not the only means of toppling governments. Engineering defections is one method, declaring trade union war is another. Let us not forget that Mahinda Rajapaksa got the two thirds parliamentary majority by which he, among other things, abolished the two-term limit on the presidency (and cooked his goose two years earlier than he might have) thanks to defections. While the Constitution has provisions to deprive defectors of their seats, most of them have sat tight due to jilmaats of one kind or another. Whether the present government will have a go at pulling the carpet from under the feet of Ven. Athureliye Ratana who came to this Parliament on the UNP National List courtesy the JHU only time will tell.

The so-called bond scam debate in parliament last week, the incessant statements pouring in that regard, the president’s statement (or boast?) that it was he and no other who replaced Mr. Arjuna Mahendran as Governor of the Central Bank with Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, the appointment of a three-member Presidential Commission to probe the bond matter and the general certainty in the country that a lot of things are badly wrong in the whole business which hangs like an albatross round the prime minister’s neck. The mere fact that the matter is being investigated, with the COPE report referred to the Attorney General and the CID is also making its own inquires, will not take the subject off the public agenda. Nobody will be able to wish it away. The mega bucks earned by Perpetual, the conflict of interest of the son-in-law of the Governor being a primary dealer and a whole host of other matters including EPF bond purchases from the secondary market have created doubts that will not down. There was no vote at the end of last week’s parliamentary debate. The president has laid down a three-month time frame for the commission to complete its work although one of his ministers has already indicated that a short extension is possible. Hopefully the trained legal minds of two serving Supreme Court judges and the experience of a retired Deputy Auditor General will be able to get to the bottom on that matter. But whether their determination will satisfy the hawks – political, public interest and dirt-seeking – is another matter.

Meanwhile we can expect the Joint Opposition to ratchet up their campaign seeking to topple the government. Whether this will include strategies to win over Sirisena loyalists in the SLFP or even UNPers looking for dividends in the event of a change in the power structure remains to be seen. What the average Lankan with national welfare at heart will wish most is that the jostling for power will not cost the country or its people who are getting increasingly cynical about their rulers of all political complexions. Instability is always expensive.

Ceylon Today Editorial

SLC seems to have problems with selections

28 January 2017

There seems to be a void in the thinking of the members of the Sri Lankan cricket team. Are they all well informed about the rest of the cricketing world and happenings there? For such question to arise one noticeable oddity was the Sri Lankan fear of names of South African cricketers that were given extra space in newspapers. It is easy for scribes supporting South Africa, writing for their newspapers to promote the ingredient disliked by the opponents mostly to get the limelight. It can be very detrimental mostly when it is unknown quantity.

It is an important thing to be aware of the goings on around the sphere where one performs. When visiting overseas to play cricket it is important to get there early and acclimatize to conditions you will be faced with playing there. There will be the weather to think about, the greener pitches to get used to and mostly the men you are about to meet in those games that are to be played on conditions foreign to the visitors.

Think of visiting teams coming down to Sri Lanka and how they feel: They feel unsafe hearing of mystery spinners and the sort in the sub- continent. There was the time when the concept of Test cricket was only known to the Australians and the Englishmen. They both ruled wherever they played the game; it did not matter which foreign soil it was; cricket was home to them.

They knew the intricacies because they were the creators of those and it was easy to bulldoze opponents because they only had the answers. Being so, and being the party who knew what to look for in unknown conditions and whom to speak with to get answers to your questions they were at an advantage. If you look at visiting teams and whom they get close with, that is what is going on, collecting bits and pieces of information.

That is the easy way; others in the history of the game had to learn the hard way. They had to play matches and learn the answers from experience. Each of those countries took time to become champion sides compared to those mentioned above.

That was the situation that prevailed for a long time until the West Indies proved otherwise defeating England in 1950 and getting the better of the Australians in the 1960s. By 1970 the South Africans became the conquerors of the dominating Australians.

The game of cricket, as we all know, has now taken a turn towards another episode that has been rolling out since 1975. Since then the better tuned to Test matches have got a lesser demand promotionally whilst the shorter versions have been given more of a push for their commercial value.

Unlike playing Test cricket the shorter version does not give chances for revival while the game is in progress. So, either you get used to thinking on your feet, or perish not being in awareness. The Lankans who played so much cricket, under all sorts of conditions, starting with pol pithi and kaduru bola, seemed to have had this on their side. They have won both the ICC ODI (1996) and T20 (2011) World cups. Beaten at home by the Aussies, recently, in the shorter version after whitewashing them in the Tests, made the Lankans under rebuilding, to look not likely-winners of their next undertaking, the Tri-nation cup in Zimbabwe.

With the future undertakings with neighbouring South Africa in the horizon it would have given the Sri Lankans the confidence of getting to know conditions to some extent. But, of late the South African cricket which is also going through patches of a troubled cricket environment, and because of it, its complete outlook with the game was unknown. In the recently lost Test series the Sri Lankans were able to come on top with their performances but their lack of experience was showing to a greater extent. The lacking was not limited to the three disciplines and conditions only; there was the lack of being given the proper information. This was even more cause for some rethinking on the selection of players.

Even the South Africans are going through a selection problem both for the Test and shorter versions of the game. They had the lesser experienced side in the Tests, with even the master batsman Amla not looking himself. The century he and Duminy made were given away and the Sri Lankans need to be applauded for that not the South African batters. Sri Lanka was not in full awareness with handling the South African bowling and that caused them collapse. Had the proper selections been made with proper awareness the story would have been different as seen from their performance in the T20s. They have progressed tremendously these last few days with their thinking and performing.

Daily News Editorial

Of fake news and alternative facts

28 January 2017

Unless you were living under a rock for a couple of years, you would have noticed a disturbing worldwide trend called “fake news”. Logic dictates that the two words cannot even be in the same sentence, let alone together because we tend to think that all news is true.

Fake news denotes news items (including video clips and photographs) that have been fabricated skillfully to give the impression that they are true events or statements. This phenomenon came to the fore with the rise of social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, where anyone can post anything, only be to seen and shared instantly by millions more. But social media alone cannot be blamed – today’s 24 hour news cycle on TV, radio and the Net should take part of the blame. Indeed, the truth sometimes becomes a casualty of the race to be the “first” among the various media and fake news can sometimes win in the heat of the moment. The term shot into prominence during the US Presidential Election campaign, where Facebook was accused of allowing fake news to dominate the trending topics.

Lest you think fake news is confined to the West, it is very much alive in countries such as ours, where we recently saw a picture of a soldier getting kicked by a man in the street captioned as having been taken in Jaffna. The picture has actually been taken in Bangladesh. But thousands of people instantly believed that the picture depicted a true incident in Sri Lanka. Governments and Internet Service Providers can rarely, if ever, fight back in such instances because of the porous nature of the Internet, where things are often not what they seem.

However, social media sites themselves can and should take up the challenge. Both Facebook and Google are fighting back - Facebook has announced changes to its ‘Trending’ section, which it claims may help prevent the spread of fake news. The updates may “help prevent hoaxes and fake news from appearing in Trending,” Facebook said. Google no longer allows fake news sites to benefit from Google Ads, which deprives them of revenue. Google has banished 200 fake news sites completely.

Scientists have also chipped in, developing a fake news “vaccine”. Researchers at the Cambridge University suggest “pre-emptively exposing” readers to a small “dose” of the misinformation can help organisations cancel out bogus claims. They said “the idea is to provide a cognitive repertoire that helps build up resistance to misinformation, so the next time people come across it they are less susceptible.”

As if fake news was not enough, we also have to contend with the “post-truth”, the Oxford dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2016. The dictionary said the adjective is defined as ‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’. There is, in fact, an entirely new branch of politics known as “post-truth politics”. Again, this was very much in evidence during the UK’s Brexit referendum campaign and the US Presidential Election campaign. During campaigning for the British EU referendum campaign, Vote Leave made repeated use of the claim that EU membership cost £350 million a week, although it later began to use the figure as a net amount of money sent directly to the EU. Although this was easily debunked officially, both votes and campaigners were emotionally preoccupied to see the truth.

This is not the end. Soon after US President Donald Trump was sworn in, his Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that the crowd “was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period”. This was false and several news organisations pointed that out. He later insisted that “sometimes we can disagree with facts” which is actually true. For example, everyone believes that the Titanic sank after a collision with a massive iceberg to the point where it has become an established fact. But disagreeing with this fact, several researchers recently said the actual cause of the sinking was an onboard fire.

Now an even more intriguing term has come into circulation. Interviewed on Chuck Todd’s Meet the Press show on NBC, Kellyanne Conway, Advisor to President Trump, said Spicer was merely offering “Alternative Facts” about the inauguration crowd. The somewhat Orwellian phrase has since gone on to become a hit, while making George Orwell’s 1984 the best-selling book on Amazon. Interestingly, the only place where “alternative facts” belong is history itself – the ravages of time have obscured many chapters of the past and many alternative theories are available on historic events and people.

The takeaway from all these scenarios is that things cannot always be taken for granted, especially online. It is also up the readers and viewers to think for a moment when they see something that is literally too good to be true. If we are perceptive enough, we can mentally filter fake news and alternative facts. As always, comment is free but facts are sacred.

The Island Editorial

A fox, a tortoise and a president

28 January 2017

 

President Maithripala Sirisena said at Abhayaramaya the other day he had received information that an attempt was being made to file civil action against the bond scam suspects. He had, therefore, decided to appoint a presidential commission to conduct a thorough probe so as to have them dealt with appropriately. The bond thieves have evidently abused public funds by utilizing money belonging to the EPF, state banks etc in an improper manner and making huge profits at the expense of those institutions. Therefore, they must be arraigned on criminal charges and arrested forthwith. We have pointed out in this space many a time that a CID report on the bond scams was referred to the Attorney General (AG) in 2015 and he had recommended civil action.

The UNP would not have promptly referred the COPE report, diluted with footnotes to the Attorney General’s Department, which is an appendage of the government unless it had been confident that an escape route could be opened for the bond thieves via Hulftsdorp. The Joint Opposition (JO) et al finally granted the UNP’s wish at the end of the recent parliamentary debate! The House resolved to refer the COPE report, riddled with holes to the AG, for action.

What parliament has decided by way of bringing the bond thieves to justice reminds us of a children’s story where a wily tortoise escapes a fox, which struggles to break its hard shell, which, it says, can be softened only by being soaked in water. The fox puts the tortoise in a stream and keeps a leg on it to prevent it from fleeing. In the end the victim groans in anguish, claiming that the entire shell, except the area covered by the predator’s leg is weighing down, was soft. The fox lifts its leg and the tortoise makes good its escape. The cantankerous Opposition MPs demanding action against bond thieves have acted like the silly fox and facilitated the UNP’s escape.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared, at Abhayaramaya on Thursday, that a future government under him would have the bond thieves arrested. We bet our bottom dollar that nothing of the sort would happen even if the JO were to capture state power tonight. It is deliberately going slow on the bond scams which alone can be flogged effectively to mobilise people against the government. It does not want to go the whole hog to do so apparently because such action will weaken the UNP and help, albeit unwittingly, strengthen its bête noire, President Sirisena’s position in the government. Had anyone connected to Sirisena been involved in the bond thefts, the Rajapaksas would have held mass rallies one after the other demanding his arrest and the ouster of the President. The JO remains maniacally focused on engineering President Sirisena’s downfall and is ready to forge an alliance even with the devil to achieve that end.

The JVP deprived the country of having one of the best former public officials in Parliament. It appointed as a National List MP respected former Auditor General Sarath Chandrasiri Mayadunne, but he resigned immediately after being sworn in as a lawmaker in 2015 so that Sunil Handunetti, a defeated candidate, could secure the vacant slot. Handunnetti was appointed the Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE). Had Mayadune remained in Parliament and been entrusted with that job, there would have been no need for a presidential commission on the bond scams; he would have done a thorough job and nobody would have been in a position to question his integrity or professionalism or the content of the COPE report.

As for the bond scams, President Sirisena has wrong-footed the JO, which has sought to play politics with the issue. The promised presidential inquiry, if properly conducted, will help him kill not just two but three birds with one stone. He will be able to expose the JO’s hypocrisy, tame the UNP, which is trying to undermine his authority and endear himself to the public. All he has to do is to put his executive foot down. He has already impressed the public with progressive moves such as the denial of a second term to former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran despite pressure from the UNP and settling the lottery agents’ dispute.

However, President Sirisena will have to ensure that the money stolen from the workers’ fund and state banks by the bond thieves are recovered with interest and the culprits brought to justice. With people on his side, he will be able to overcome the gnawing sense of insecurity which always troubles incumbent presidents.

Ceylon Today Editorial

Quo vadis tea?

27 January 2017

Sri Lanka's tea exports marginally increased by Rs 2.65 billion (1.46%) to Rs 184.7 billion, year on year (YoY) last year, Forbes & Walker (F&W) on its latest weekly tea report, said.

But in US dollar terms export earnings have had retreated. Whereas, tea exports fetched US$ 1.26 billion in 2015, but, on a YoY basis it has had depreciated by $ 0.03 billion (2.38%) to $ 1.23 billion by last year end.

Tea export volumes in the review period declined by 18.2 million kilos (5.93%) to 288.7 million kg. The decline in volumes may at least in part be due to the prolonged drought that gripped the country for the greater part of last year.

Sri Lanka tea production totalled 292.36M/kg, showing a decrease of 35.81M/kg (10.91%) vi-a-vis 328.17M/kg in 2015, data showed.

'This records the lowest production since 2009 when the total production declined to 288.8M/kg,' F&W said. The decline in tea in 2009 was due to a strike by plantation workers.

Complementing these developments, 'Sri Lanka tea exports last year totalled 288.7M/kg vis-à-vis 306.9M/kg in 2015, showing a decrease of 18.2M/kg (5.93%). This records the lowest export volume since 2002 where total exports declined to 287.2M/kg,' F&W said.

It may therefore be seen that the increase in the rupee export value of tea is not due to a price increase in tea in the global market or due to increased volumes, but due to the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar.

Data showed that the market rate of the dollar in interbank trading fell steeply by Rs 6.03 (4.18%) on a YoY basis, last year.

Over 40% of Sri Lanka's tea exports comprise the low, value added, tea in bulk form as opposed to the higher, value added teas such as 'tea in packets.' YoY, bulk tea exports on a percentage basis, volume wise, as a total percentage of exports, increased from 43.25% (132.75 kg) to 43.36% (125.2 million kg) last year.

On the positive side, exports of 'tea in packets,' increased from 43.25% (132.75 million kg) of total exports to 46.52% (134.32 million kg) last year. The average price difference between tea in bulk and tea in packets, in favour of the latter is Rs 41.74 (7.58%), with 'bulk' fetching a price of Rs 550.75 a kg, as opposed to 'packets' (Rs 592.49 a kg) last year.

'Tea in bulk' and 'tea in packets' comprised between 85% and 90% of total tea exports in the reference years, with this number in 2015 being 86.40% and last year (89.88%), respectively.

The balance 10% to 15% of teas is exported in a much higher value added form. For instance, the average price of a kg. of 'tea in bags' last year was Rs 1,191.55, 'instant tea' (Rs 1,215.98) and 'green tea' (Rs 1,508.73) respectively.

These prices are higher by 116.35% vis-à-vis 'tea in bags' versus 'bulk', 120.79% ('instant tea' vs. 'bulk') and 173.94% ('green tea' vs. 'bulk') respectively.

And, in relation to 'tea in packets', those prices were higher by 101.11% over 'tea in bags', 105.23% over 'instant tea' and 154.65% over green tea, respectively.

Sri Lanka's main export markets last year were Russia, Iran, Iraq and Turkey, in that order, respectively. Among the other major buyers of 'Ceylon' tea were UAE, Libya and Syria, F&W said. These have been Sri Lanka's major markets for a number of years. All of these markets are black tea drinkers. Those are also oil export economies, though the UAE, assisted by Dubai is also a large export services market. Further, with the exception of the UAE, Iran and Russia, the other importers are riddled by internal conflicts. It was only last year that Iran got over its sanctions problems, though Russia continues to be dogged by western sanctions following its annexation of the Crimea from Ukraine.

These are not markets that 'Ceylon Tea' can be 'happy' with, say, compared to, garments, which major markets are the 'rich' west. Meanwhile, 'green tea', the premium tea product, is essentially led by the Far East. But such tea exports, volume wise, comprised a mere 1.46% of total tea exports last year.

These are among some of the matters that may need to be taken to consideration if 'tea export' is not to suffer the same fate as coffee.

Tea was Sri Lanka's number one foreign exchange (FX) earner at least till 1977. But, with the opening up of the economy and the diversification of the country's export basket, it has since been relegated to the fourth position.

Rupee conversions are based on the more popular, market determined FX instrument in interbank trading which was the 'spot', as at the last day of trading in 2015, whereas, as at end last year, it was the 'one week's forward price of the US dollar.

The 'spot' price closed in 2015 at Rs 144.22 to the dollar, while 'one week's forwards' closed last year at Rs 150.25 to the dollar, a Rs 6.03 (4.18%) YoY depreciation. 'Spot' trades are settled after two market days from the date of transaction. Normal markets, divorced of exchange controls, operate on 'spot.'

Daily News Editorial

Empowering the estate community

27 January 2017

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that the government was planning to provide a seven perch land plot to each estate family. This is with a view to settling this community in the same estate environment they have been living for generations, performing their labour. The estate workers, sad to say, are still confined to their hovel like line rooms from the times of their colonial masters. More often than not, large families live in cramped conditions, confined to a few square feet, with nothing to call as garden space. Hence this indeed is a welcome move that would give these toiling workers some breathing space.

The Premier also said, steps are also underway to improve the education standards of the plantation youth and science teaching facilities would be upgraded to the students in the estate schools since they don't have access to science subjects. Addressing the fourth Ministerial Consultation of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue in Colombo the Premier said the government wants to motivate youth in the estate sector to move out from the estates and look for other jobs.

Premier Wickremesinghe is perhaps the first Lankan leader who spoke on the need for upward mobility of the estate youth by breaking out of their cloistered and drab existence. He may perhaps not have won many friends among the plantation sector politicians for his forthright views. These politicians have been able to hoodwink the estate community all these years primarily due to the ignorance and backwardness of their community. The estate community has long been taken for granted by these politicians who know very well that their humble brethren could be fooled easily with empty rhetoric. Any moves to enlighten them by imparting an education, no doubt would be frowned by these politicians. What they desire is to keep their minions in unenlightened darkness, lest they get wise to their crafty machinations.

The estate workers down the years have been an exploited lot, both by the British colonialists and the brown sahibs that took their place. They took good care to ensure that these pathetic souls remain tied to the estates and thus remain in perennial bondage. They feared any type of exposure to the outside world, lest this gave them “ideas”.

This was the same modus operandi pursued by plantation sector politicians of the post Independence era. Exploiting their ignorance and poverty, these politicians portrayed themselves as Messiahs who had come to deliver their community out of their predicament. In this way they were able to hold the estate community to ransom and what is more, as bargaining chips during national elections. The community was sold to the highest bidder, so to speak. These wretched souls were virtually kept in thrall of their political masters and what is interesting is they were ready to be the willing tools of the machinations of these politicians - all because they were uninitiated and kept in the dark.

The Messiahs of the Thottams of course thrived on the ignorance of this segment of our community who worked their hands raw day in day out to keep the wheels of the economy running. They exploited the workers to acquire ministerial office, under all regimes, always justifying their treacherous actions to ensuring the welfare of their community whereas in actual fact the power of office was used for self advancement and other indulgences, all at the expense of the ignorance of their charges.

It is time that the estate community were delivered out of their bondage and redeemed from their present status as supplicants. All the opportunities should be made available for their emancipation from the state of a backward and exploited community. They should be allowed to live with dignity and self respect, banishing altogether the public image of them as serfs and vassals. It is a fact that the estate community had all along lived in isolation, cut off from the mainstream activity. They have been living largely shunned and unsung quite in contrast to their contribution to the country's economy.

Only during an election that the estate community comes into the equation for their bloc vote sought by the main political parties. This fact is exploited by the estate politicians for personnel gain. Little or no efforts have been made to uplift their lives by these politicians who dish out the votes for lucrative returns. Hence the estate workers have been condemned to live like pawns of the politicians.

The Government's plans to uplift the lives of this community who are inextricably linked to the country's economy should therefore be appreciated. The estate workers, particularly the youth, should be made to think out of the box. There certainly are talented, industrious material in the estates who have fallen by the wayside due to lack of opportunity. We hardly hear of doctors or engineers being produced by the estates, unlike their counterparts in the North. The government's measures to provide the necessary wherewithal to the estate community to stand up on their feet, it is hoped, would come to fruition, undoing the shackles that has placed them in bondage all these years.

The Island Editorial

Kos kola kolam* of thoththa baba govt.

27 January 2017

 

Co-Cabinet Spokesman, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne addressing the media on Wednesday, tore into a high-up in the Agricultural Department for suggesting that the public eat croton and kos kola (jak leaves) as food substitutes; he said if he had been the Minister of Agriculture he would have got that official to consume kos kola without recommending it to others. We believe that before shoving kos kola down anyone else’s throat, the government ministers, Senaratne included, should partake of it in sufficient quantities if they think they can ‘fool all the people all the time’.

Senaratne had the audacity to claim that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had attended a recent tyre factory launching ceremony in Horana without any knowledge of the background of its owner! And, in the same breath, he added, on being questioned by a journalist, that the PM had got to know the businessman for what he really was—a frontman for the Rajapaksas—only on the morning of the day of the ceremony and a no-show at the event would have amounted to an act of discourtesy! He blamed some ministers for having misled the PM, but refused to name them. He seems to have taken people for suckers.

One is intrigued. Even if the PM had been informed of the track record of the entrepreneur concerned only one hour before the event at issue, he should have decided against attending it and told the public the reason for his decision.

It is hard to believe that the PM had been in the dark about the background of the Horana investor, who had been accused by his own government of having purchased shares of foreign hotels for the former ruling clan. President Maithripala Sirisena, also, claims from time to time, that he is not aware of certain issues. Are we to gather from the Cabinet Spokesman’s tall stories about the Horana factory that we are being ruled by a bunch of thoththa babas or babes in arms?

The dental surgeon turned Health Minister, pretending that what he was telling the media was the ‘tooth’, the whole ‘tooth’ and nothing but the ‘tooth’, went on to claim the Horana entrepreneur was investing the Rajapaksas’ money in his factory. If so, it is a blatant act of money laundering. Why hasn’t the FCID arrested him? Who is shielding him? The ministers who ‘misled the PM’ on behalf of Rajapaksas’ ‘frontman’ must also be arrested for aiding and abetting the crime!

Asked by a journalist why Arjun Aloysius of Perpetual Treasuries fame had not been arrested for the Central Bank bond scams, Senaratne gave a yanne-koheda-malle-pol (totally irrelevant) answer. Aloysius had been a friend of Namal Rajapaksa, Senaratne claimed. If so, then that is all the more reason why the incumbent regime antipathetic towards the Rajapaksas should have him arrested forthwith. Does the government think the masses are as stupid as kos kola-eating goats to buy into its cock-and-bull stories?

If there are corrupt elements in the garb of ministers as Senaratne has told the media then the entire Cabinet must be made to pay for that. Sprint legend, Usain Bolt, will lose one of his Olympic gold medals because a team mate in Jamaica’s gold winning quartet has tested positive for a banned substance. That is what collective responsibility is all about.

How can the government call itself a yahapalana administration while having corrupt ministers within its ranks?

If the thoththa baba regime has no answers to media queries and/or lacks ministers to defend it in a convincing manner, it had better cancel the weekly post-Cabinet briefings without letting its spokesmen make facetious remarks and cut pathetic figures in the process besides wasting journalists’ valuable time.

Even the rib-ticklingly hilarious Charlie Chaplin shows have more gravitas and send across more meaningful messages than kos kola kolam aka the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government’s media briefings.

* Kolam is a form of non-ritualistic folk theatre in Sri Lanka.

Ceylon Today Editorial

Joblessness increases

26 January 2017

Sri Lanka's labour force participation rate (LFPR) in the third quarter (3Q) of the current year declined over its 1Q figures, while unemployment increased, latest Census and Statistics Department (CSD) data showed.

Whereas the LFPR in the review period decreased from 54.1% to 53.8%, a 0.3 percentage point or a 0.55% fall, the unemployment rate in review period increased from 4.2% to 4.5%, a 0.3 percentage point or a steep, 7.14% incline.

In numerical terms, the LFPR in 1Q 2016 numbered 8,318,667; whereas by end 3Q, this figure had had jumped to, 8,376,002; a massive increase of 57,335 (0.69%).LFPR or the economically active population is defined as those who are 15 years and above who are employed, coupled with those who are of the same age category who are unemployed, but who are actively looking for employment.

However, from a percentage perspective, LFPR has declined from 54.1% to 53.8% in the review period. Such an indicator may be pointer to people giving up hope of looking for employment, as reflected by the lower LFPR, or, otherwise, due to ageing, which may increase their inability to search for work (thereby pushing, or else due to sickness, which too would make them unable to look for work.) On the assumption that the majority of those who are sickly are the aged and are therefore unable to search for work, based on that hypothesis,then, ageing comes first, ipso facto followed by sickness, therefore, another reason for the low LFPR may be due to ageing.

Based on that premise of thinking, it, then, logically follows, that the two reasons behind the lower LFPR may be due to ageing and/or simply people giving up looking for work, either because they have no hope of securing a job, or, the third reason, because they have got rich! If they have become wealthy, then too there is no necessity for them to look for work.

But, considering the fact that poverty in the island has stagnated last year, therefore, it's unlikely that the decline in the LFPR in the review period is due to poverty having had declined and those being rich have had increased, but, rather, the decline in the LFPR may be attributed to ageing and/or people, having had given up looking for a job, and not due to any other reason.

In fact Sri Lanka has been bogged down in poverty for the whole of last year, CSD data showed. Of Sri Lanka's 25 districts, 14 of those, or 56% of the island's total districts were mired in poverty at the beginning of last year, with no change in the status quo by the year end. (Ceylon Today of 20 January 2017).

In tandem with these unsavoury developments, it, naturally followed that the country's unemployment rate in the review period increased from 4.2% to 4.5%, a 0.3 percentage point or a steep, 7.14% incline. The ranks of the unemployed jumped from 349,686 to
376,180; an increase of 26,494 (7.58%) in the review period.

But, also from a numerical perspective, the number of employed in the review period increased by 30,891 (0.39%) to 7,999,821; whereas, those who were economically active increased much faster, by a speed of 57,385 (0.69%) to 8,376,002; but, not as fast as those who were considered as being of an eligible age for employment, which number increased by a massive 186,576 (1.21%) to 15,568,777 in the review period, hence the reason behind the decrease in the LFPR between the two review periods, because, not everyone who's eligible for work, according to the criterion adopted by CSD, was looking for a job, whereas among those looking for a job, their numbers have increased, as reflected by the unemployment statistics.

The increase in unemployment may be due to the drought, in the context that nearly 30% of Sri Lanka's labour force is employed in the Agriculture Sector. For instance the numbers of those employed in this Sector in the review period declined from 2,274,722 (28.5% of total employment) to 2,168,982 (27.1%); a fall of a massive 105,740 (4.65%) in the review period.

In comparison, the Industry Sector grew from 2,068,453 (26%) to 2,144,808 (26.8%); an increase of 76,355 (3.69%) and the Services Sector from 3,625,756 (45.5%) to 3,686,092 (46.1%); a hike of 60,336 (1.66%) in the review period. Those show that on a net basis a total of 30,951 new jobs were created in all three sectors, whereas the LFPR in the review period increased much more rapidly, i.e. by a number of 57,385 (0.69%) to 8,376,002; but not as fast as those eligible for employment which grew by 186,576 (1.21%) to 15,568,777 in the review period. The number 15,568,777 is derived by computation of the LFPR and the economically active population, as CSD hasn't given that number.

Therefore, it may be construed that the failure of the Agriculture Sector is the cause for increased unemployment in Sri Lanka.

The need therefore is to hone new skills to those in the Agriculture Sector to find alternate employment in the other sectors of the economy.