Daily Mirror Editorial

THE SYSTEM STRIKES BACK

16 January 2017

 

In November 8, 2016, Donald Trump won the US presidential elections. The unthinkable had happened and the effect is somewhat like the Boxing Day tsunami which hit the Asia region in December 2004. 

If he sticks to his campaign pledges, many of which were shocking, the victory of the president elect will see a complete overhaul of decades-old US practices and policies. The run-up to the election itself saw a seismic rupture with past presidential elections, with candidates attacking each other on a personal level and Mr. Trump even threatening to jail his chief political opponent Hillary Rodham Clinton.

In addition he (Trump) also promised to eliminate regulations on US businesses. The President-elect’s chief campaign slogan however was to ‘drain the swamp’ - to become an agent of change, booting from power the elites who got rich while ordinary Americans struggled. And so it was, when the ballots were finally counted Trump had won 304 electoral collegial votes compared to 227 for Hillary Clinton. It was a comprehensive victory with a major section of US society voting for Trump. 

Yet with days to go before his being inaugurated president, the US intelligence forwarded a dossier to current President Obama, the president-elect and leaked it to the media. The dossier contains allegations of a sexual dalliance between the president-elect and Russian prostitutes, which intelligence sources claim could leave the incoming president open to future Russian blackmail. 

The media is awash with lurid details of the incident. The document is unsubstantiated and BBC has reported the research was initially funded by anti-Trump Republicans! Despite the media brouhaha, the president elect retains his popularity with electors.

A question which comes to mind is why was this document released/leaked to the media so late in the day? Despite intelligence services having the document in their possession during the election campaign. After all did not the selfsame intelligence services leak stories and even reopen investigations into allegations of presidential nominee Hillary Clinton while the election campaign was in progress. 

Why? That is the million dollar question… Are the forces which brought Trump to the helm of power in the US feeling threatened? Is he being seen as a threat to big business, mega profits and the powers that be? A multi-billion dollar businessman himself, Trump appeared to be the best bet to US big business especially in light of his promise to eliminate regulations on U.S. businesses.

After the election however, Trump changed his tune, in an interview with ‘Time’ magazine he promised to drive down the cost of medicines, defying investors who saw a boon in his election. “ I’m going to bring down drug prices,” Trump said, according to a transcript of an interview posted on Time magazine’s website as it named him its Man of the Year. “I don’t like what’s happened with drug prices.” 

He also singled out Carrier Corp. and Ford Motor Co. in efforts to keep jobs in the U.S., and called out Boeing Co. for the cost of replacing the Air Force One presidential aircraft. Trump has also said that he intends improving relations with Russia. The US intelligence community meanwhile charged Russia with attempting to interfere in the US elections by hacking into the Democratic Party emails and giving the contents to anti-secrecy websites to publish.

Trump rejected the intelligence community’s assessment that Russia had meddled in the election, and ridiculed the assessment. He pointed out to the faulty US intelligence services reports claiming the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Syria. 

Improved US-Russia relations could see a drop in tensions world-wide, but will of course be a blow to the arms lobby as improved relations between the world’s super powers would see a drop in conflicts the world over. Peace does not bring mega profits to the arms lobby. The US president has since his election antagonized powerful lobbies within the US system. Is the system striking back? 

The bigger question however, is whether US democracy as we presently know it can survive and exist in the aftermath of a Trump presidency? 

Time will tell.

Ceylon Today Editorial

Devastating drought

16 January 2017

The present drought conditions throughout the country have threatened agriculture, the drinking water supply as well as the generation of hydropower.

President Maithripala Sirisena has issued a directive to create a special task force to deal with the consequences of the prevailing drought conditions in the country.

The latest reports indicate that catchment areas as well as the agricultural areas have been severely affected in more than thirteen districts in the country.

With Minister of Disaster Management Anura Priyadarshana Yapa holding a press briefing last week elaborating on the action plan to deal with the drought situation, President Sirisena has focused on helping the people, particularly the farmers, directly affected by the drought.

A collective effort by all ministries and departments along with the private sector is the need of the hour to overcome the drought related problems.

According to the Meteorological Department the present drought condition prevails in various parts of South Asia threatening the livelihood of millions of farmers as well as the drinking water supply and hydropower.

The reports from South India are agonizing with several farmers committing suicide as a result of prevailing drought conditions.

President Sirisena who was the Chief Guest at a passing out parade of the Sri Lanka Air Force at the China Bay in Trincomalee a few days ago has even mentioned about the drought condition in the country and pointed out the need of deploying the Armed Forces to help in the drought relief activities.

More than 200,000 people have been affected by the drought throughout the country. The Northern and Eastern Provinces and several regions in down South have been identified as worst hit areas.

Some of the politicians in the Northern and Eastern Provinces have cautioned the government not to allow for a situation like in South India where a large number of farmers have committed suicide as a result of setbacks they suffered in their harvest and their inability to repay their loans borrowed for cultivation.

The reports also indicate that thousands of people in the drought hit areas are walking several miles to fetch water from reservoirs and rivers even which are increasingly becoming narrower due to drought.

Hydropower supply has also been affected as the water level in the hydro power reservoirs in the central hills have gone down drastically. As the water level has decreased to 38% in the hydro power reservoirs alternative measures have now been explored to deal with the situation by the Ministry of Power and Energy.

So, considering the severe drought situation in four decades it is the responsibility of each and every citizen in the country to act in a responsible manner using water and electricity sparingly.

According to Minister of Disaster Management, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, the international agencies such as the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) and United Nations Food Programme (UNFP) have also been contacted by the government over the prevailing drought condition in the country.

With the devastating drought paddy and vegetables are expected to go up in price with their production dropping drastically in the near future.

Apart from dealing with the immediate effects of drought by forming a drought mitigation task force, it is high time for the government to have created a task force with the combination of Security Forces, Meteorological Department, Ministries of Environment, Disaster Management, Power and Energy and the Ministries for Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Resources Management, to work in coordination to deal with all sorts of natural disasters.

Instead of praying for weather gods after experiencing natural disasters, Sri Lanka being a small country, all plans and strategies should be put in right place with right coordination to overcome all sorts of devastating effects of nature.

Daily News Editorial

A novel solution

16 January 2017

Sri Lanka is in for an energy crunch according to experts in the power and energy sector. Just last week, there were two dire warnings - that the country could be headed for a water shortage as well as an energy shortage due to the prevailing drought in many parts of the country. The fact that we are facing an energy crisis has been known for some time. The coal power plant that was built amidst much fanfare by the previous government was more non-operational than operational.

No other big power plants can be constructed immediately which adds to the urgency of finding a solution to the energy crisis. However, there is a proposal which is akin to killing two birds with one stone. If implemented, this proposal would take care of two of the most pressing problems facing the country in one ‘go'. One is the garbage problem and the other concerns energy.

Garbage disposal has become one of the most pressing issues especially in Colombo, not to mention other major cities such as Kandy and Galle. Several tonnes of garbage, especially solid waste, are collected every day in Colombo. Disposing of this waste has become a huge issue. They cannot be buried or burned and the local bodies have resorted to the practice of dumping the waste on an empty land. These landfills have become an eyesore, apart from the unbearable stench. Stray cats and dogs have become another menace at these landfills. They tend to get soggy on rainy days, which adds to the woes of nearby residents. In a strictly environmental sense, landfills are also unhealthy for the planet as they mostly contain non-biodegradable objects such as plastics.

It has long been known that garbage can be used to generate energy. Such projects are common in many countries. However, the technology is somewhat expensive for most developing countries. Hence the importance of two private entities coming forward to build power plants that would use garbage as the source material. This will be a breakthrough for power generation and garbage disposal. By burning up to 900 MT of garbage per day in Colombo and Gampaha districts, they will generate a fair amount of power that can be channeled to the national grid operated by the Ceylon Electricity Board.

Depending on the success of this venture, this system of power generation can be introduced island wide. Solving the garbage problem alone will be a big achievement - power generation will be a bonus. The Government should seek more proposals from the private sector on energy generation and garbage disposal. Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are ideal for these ventures since public bodies usually do not have the funds or the efficiency needed for this type of operation.

In a way, garbage can be called a renewable sort of energy because there is no sign of it running out. Yes, we should minimise food and other waste, but things do not always go according to plan. But there are types of renewable energy that do not depend on any kind of waste material at all. Wind power and solar power are two classic examples. Sri Lanka is blessed with a geographical position and climate patterns that make these energy options viable and vital. Several wind and solar projects are currently under construction in various part of the country. At first they will contribute only a fraction of the energy requirements but in the coming years they will play a bigger role in the energy generation mix. The Government has already started a “solar power battle” aimed especially at rural areas. Supplying mains electricity to these remote villages is often not cost-effective due to physical infrastructure constraints. It is far easier to install solar net metering systems which can also supply excess power to the national grid.

It may sound farfetched but wave energy is another type of renewable energy that we must look at in the future. Sri Lanka is surrounded by the ocean which in itself is a huge source of energy. Some countries already harness wave energy to generate power. Sri Lanka will be able to look closely at this technology as economies of scale kick in and the costs are reduced.

Still, the best way to conserve energy and to cut costs is to take a few simple steps at home. Turning off unwanted appliances and bulbs, walking to the junction instead of taking the car and using energy efficient appliances are just a few such steps. Big things begin with a few simple steps and energy consumption reduction is no exception.

The Island Editorial

Curry leaves, crowbars and Maithri

16 January 2017

 

The SLFP (Maithri faction), which is toying with the idea of fielding President Maithripala Sirisena at the next presidential election, has been testing the water for the last few days. Some of its prominent members have, at media briefings, said the party wants him to contest again.

Interestingly, not even former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who, together with others, helped Sirisena secure the presidency, seems enamoured of the idea. She has recalled, at a recent media conference, President Sirisena’s solemn pledge at his induction ceremony that he would not seek a second term. Sirisena loyalists claim he said so as the common Opposition candidate and now that he is the SLFP leader he can contest another presidential election.

Some people in this country seek to protect themselves against lightning by throwing crowbars out during thunderstorms. Politically speaking, the UNP made a crowbar of Sirisena at the last presidential election. UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, troubled by an intra-party power struggle with some prominent members all out to knock him off his perch, did not want another defeat at a presidential election to contend with. So, he joined others including civil society groups in looking for someone to take the huge gamble and was more than happy to field Sirisena as the common Opposition candidate.

True, Sirisena would not have been able to win without the UNP block vote. However, the UNP alone cannot claim the credit for that feat; the TNA, too, made a tremendous contribution to Sirisena’s victory. The same goes for the SLMC etc. It is equally true that the UNP would not have been able to ensure anyone else’s victory. Else, it would have fielded Wickremesinghe as its presidential candidate. Therefore, what we see between the UNP and Sirisena is a symbiotic relationship like the famous one between the sea anemone and the hermit crab. Both have gained from their cohabitation.

The UNP and its civil society cronies have faulted Sirisena for taking over the reins of the SLFP. They never expected that adroit political move which wrong-footed not only them but also Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was still reeling from a crushing defeat. They wanted to give President the so-called karapincha (curry leaves) treatment or, in other words, use and discard him. But, they underestimated his political acumen; their plan went awry.

What would have happened if President Sirisena had not taken over SLFP leadership? Perhaps, the UNP would not have been able to form a government in August 2015. He, as the SLFP leader, queered the pitch for former President Rajapaksa in the parliamentary fray hoping to be the Prime Minister and, thereby, ruined the party’s chances of winning; he then prevented the Rajapaksa loyalists from entering Parliament via the National List by appointing his lackeys as SLFP and UPFA General Secretaries and preempted the Joint Opposition’s attempt to secure the post of the Opposition Leader. But for the President’s control over the SLFP there would have been no ‘unity government’. If the SLFP had been helmed by Rajapaksa, it would perhaps have been able to win the 2015 parliamentary polls, thus landing President Sirisena in the same predicament as President Chandrika Kumaratunga during the 2001-2004 period; she had to put up with a hostile UNP-controlled parliament.

If President Sirisena had remained politically independent and the UNP had won the last general election with a comfortable majority by any chance he would have become the UNP’s prisoner. For, an executive president without any power in Parliament is like ‘a banana without the skin’ as a local saying goes; he would not have been able to voice his opinion, let alone act, as regards vital issues and the Prime Minister would have been able to act as the de facto President.

It is said that victory has many fathers and defeat is an orphan. Everybody now claims the credit for the 2015 regime change. But, if Rajapaksa had won, Sirisena alone would have faced the consequences; he would perhaps have been arraigned on trumped up charges and even thrown behind bars; others would have been sipping coffee with Rajapaksa at Temple Trees!

An NGO has reportedly threatened to defeat Sirisena if he seeks a second term! Some NGO chiefs are full of themselves. They think they are kingmakers and can run parallel governments with the help of a section of the media. Their contribution to the 2015 regime change can best be described as political midwifery. President Rajapaksa, ably assisted by his siblings, cronies and other hangers-on, snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, so to speak. It was his political hara-kiri that paved the way for the birth of the yahapalana baby.

Why President Sirisena has incurred the wrath of his strange bedfellows is clear. They wanted him to be their slave and do their bidding with no questions asked, but he has asserted himself and come to be considered an obstacle in their path.