Ceylon Today Editorial

Ford’s hopes could be realized

20 May 2017

Sri Lankans have the habit of 'putting the cart before the horse' especially supporting their favourite cricket team. If you take a good look at the TV channels at the beginning of any international cricket event that Sri Lanka is getting ready for, months before they would begin the countdown and promoting the team, shouting hoarse slogans that depict the team as unbeatable and the only ones capable of winning the trophy on offer.

When you think of what was stated by their cricket coach Graham Ford that although the Sri Lankans are a talented lot let us not forget the fact they are still underdogs: It is not something that was said intentionally to instill the fact in the players but rather emphasize what has been described above, praising the players and team unnecessarily for months on end that could undermine them by upsetting the mindfulness achieved after long sessions of team discussions with the coach and the captain on plans for the forthcoming tournament.

There is much more than the cheering that would make a team win games, it is a constant study, especially in foreign conditions, getting to know the unknown quantities that could jeopardize any team's plans and strategies. Luckily Ford has coached Surrey, whose grounds are the Oval, where Sri Lanka would begin their hunt for the elusive championship trophy. They would be playing Ford's former team South Africa, and also fast bowling Coach Donald's.

Coach Ford is hoping for the wickets to be flat and is certain the Sri Lankans would make full use of those sorts of wickets to make big scores. The most important factor would be their capability to stay at the wicket, to get the scoreboard ticking. Very often this has not been happening with Sri Lanka's batting, which makes them too dependent on the bottom order to prop up the scoring rate. The lower order is not the best of batters unless someone has already decided to take things to hand. Unless the top order is in the best of shape in their mindset to put their heads down and get working on the bowling, it will not make things move the way described by Ford who has said that his batters are some of best stroke makers in the world.

Ford argues his case based on the strengths of his batters: Most of these players may have come under scrutiny of the coach and captain. The only hope would be that the coach has made certain that his players are good to be playing such important international tournaments. This type of stage is not the place for learning; it's rather the place to gain experience. The selectors' job is to make certain the selection of youngsters is based on their knowledge of the game to be good enough and to gain selection to represent the national side, while also making certain they have the minds tough enough to gain all the necessary experience on field.

According to the coach Sri Lanka does not want turning wickets, as we have seen during the last series in South Africa when it took Thahir just one over to unsettle the well set batters on more than one occasion. His batters who are good players capable of upsetting the best of sides have been studied good enough to be unsettled by spin as well as pace. Anyway South Africa is at the moment riding on the crest of the wave but are vulnerable if their top order undergoes the effect of two or three good spells. Sri Lanka to do well seriously depends on their ability to get sides out the way done during the Muralitharan days.

One thing the Sri Lankans have got on their side is the capabilities of rising to the occasion when they are down. They are known to have outshone the England side on home turf during the time that Mahela had just taken over as captain and made his first appearance as leader on English soil. He had quite a young side and no Murali. But the end result was all in favour of Sri Lanka. There is no reason why this young side could not repeat that performance all over again. Coach Ford would have expressed his views on young Sri Lankans to be full of talent and capabilities based on his findings of earlier English tours and he did very well with his views. Let us hope that the Sri Lanka team lives up to the expectations of their coach.

Daily News Editorial

Construction safety

20 May 2017

The collapse of the under-construction Excellency Reception Hall in Wellawatte should be an eye-opener to the construction industry, local bodies and lawmakers. One person was found dead by rescue teams and 27 construction workers were injured in the collapse. Several workers are reported missing, believed to be trapped under the rubble. Rescue efforts by the Armed Forces are underway as we write.

According to the Police, four floors of the building located behind the Savoy Cinema, had initially collapsed with the ground floor threatening to follow. Although police are yet to find the reason for the collapse of the building, this is not the first time that such an incident has occurred in Sri Lanka or the region. One of the most tragic building collapses in recent times occurred in Bangladesh exactly four years ago, when the eight story Rana Plaza building in Dhaka caved in, killing 1,130 people. Miraculously, more than 2,500 people were rescued.

Although one cannot compare the Excellency and Rana incidents in terms of scale, most of the lessons could be identical in both instances. The buildings' owners ignored warnings to avoid using the building after cracks had appeared the day before. Garment workers were ordered to return the following day, and the building collapsed during the morning rush-hour. The head of the Bangladesh Fire Service, Ali Ahmed Khan, said that the upper four floors had been built without a permit. Rana Plaza's architect, Massood Reza, said the building was planned for shops and offices – but not factories.

Once the Excellency rescue efforts are over, a comprehensive investigation into the incident should follow. The Police should call in the experts for the structural and architectural side of the investigation – the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) which has expert personnel and the right equipment. No stone should be left unturned in this probe.

There are already unverified initial reports that builders had violated some terms of the planning permission. If this is true, the builders had committed an inexcusable offence. The Police should get to the bottom of this and question the owner, architect and the contractor without delay to ascertain whether any omissions on their part led to the tragedy.

Colombo is experiencing a construction boom with a large number of high-rises coming up throughout the city. Developers try to expedite the construction due to the competitive nature of the various businesses they engage in (a six-month delay in construction can mean 5-6 lost weddings for a new reception hall). But this could have dangerous consequences.

In the light of this incident, the NBRO along with the Construction Industry Development Authority (CIDA) should re-check all building sites to ascertain whether the contractors had complied with all rules and regulations. Local authorities which actually approve the plans must also get involved in this exercise.

It is essential that potential building owners hand over their construction projects only to CIDA-approved contractors. There is very little awareness on this issue among the public and prospective building owners who usually give their work to unknown companies. The authorities should publish a list of approved construction companies and contractors with their ICTAD grades so that the public can choose them with confidence. Although this is available on the website, a newspaper advertisement is a far better option.

In most other countries, houses and buildings cannot be built by rag-tag bands of non-professionals who sometimes do not follow sound professional advice. The police must probe whether an approved contractor was in charge and whether the building owners had made any unauthorized alternations to the original plans. Some have raised the question whether the ongoing inclement weather affected the structural integrity of the building. This factor too should be taken into account in the probe.

The Police must also examine whether the Excellency workers had been provided with helmets, safety harnesses, non-slip footwear and other construction industry safety gear which they are supposed to wear at all times at the site. Even a one-foot fall can be dangerous in a construction site. A helmet can be a saviour – we know that already from motorcycle accidents, but a construction site is no different.

In line with our “closing the stable door after the horse has bolted” mentality, we realise the importance of safety gear only when an incident takes place. Safety at Work must be a priority for all workers, not just construction workers, but in their case it is much more important.

It is also time for our construction industry to look for safer alternatives to some of the materials used for construction. Asbestos is being phased out and wood is emerging as a serious contender for constructing whole buildings. The Trummens Strand residential project in Växjö, Sweden is the foremost example for a whole wooden building. New fire-resistant wood-based construction materials have the potential to replace the steel and concrete commonly used today. Graphene, the thinnest and strongest new material is also entering the mainstream construction industry. These and other new materials will ensure higher levels of safety both during and after construction, which is every builder’s aim.

The Island Editorial

When the system strikes back

20 May 2017

Republican billionaire Donald Trump’s anti-establishment outlook and rhetoric helped him secure the much-coveted US presidency. He was derisively described by his political rivals prior to the polls as an anti-establishment outsider surrounded by some like-minded wags. That label stuck. Paradoxical as it may sound, such criticism stood him in good stead thanks to the disillusionment of many Americans with the establishment which had thrown up several leaders who could not live up to their expectations. Trump has since lived up to his ‘reputation’!

President Trump may have thought he had triumphed over the establishment decisively, but the unforeseen difficulties he has had to face since his inauguration a few months ago show that the establishment has struck back with might and main. Did he underestimate his pro-establishment enemies who are all out to make life miserable for him? He sought to bulldoze his way through from the word go. His rule began with the sacking of an acting Attorney General, who refused to endorse his draconian travel ban which affected predominantly Muslim nations. Then he unceremoniously sacked an FBI Director. He went on the offensive. But, his rivals have regrouped; the establishment has put him on the defensive.

President Trump stands accused of having asked FBI Director James Comey, whom he subsequently sacked, to hush up a probe into his former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s associations with Russia. Such action amounts to the obstruction of justice, undermining the rule of law and abuse of power—all impeachable offences—which won’t go unnoticed by the irate Democrats. It is being argued that President Trump has the power to terminate the aforesaid investigation without anyone else’s assistance, but that fact cannot be cited in extenuation of what Comey accuses him of having done. Besides, Trump’s critics claim he has revealed highly sensitive, classified information, which was passed on to Russians. This is also a very serious allegation which, if proved, could cost him dear politically. It may be recalled that one of the reasons for the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-hye was the allegation that she had given one of her confidantes access to classified government information.

Nothing would have been more worrisome for Trump than the appointment of ex-FBI Director Robert Mueller as a special counsel in charge of a government probe into his White House team’s alleged Russian links. This has been a very adroit move on the part of his political enemies to unsettle him. Ironically, Trump’s critics claim Russians influenced the polls in his favour through cyber means. He has vehemently denied the charge. So has the Kremlin but to no avail. He has had to face a probe.

The US, which has taken on Russia for meddling with its elections, has a history of engineering the downfall of many a foreign regime perceived to be hostile to it. Some of the US-backed regime change operations have plunged the targeted countries into bloodbaths. Chile is a case in point. In Libya, too, it backed an army of bloodthirsty terrorists, euphemistically described as militant groups, who captured power and executed President Muammar Gaddafi in a savage manner. The then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton even exulted over the brutal killing of Gaddafi. As for interfering in the electoral affairs of other countries, one may wonder whether Russia has beaten Uncle Sam at his own game.

Trump’s kneejerk reaction to the high-level probe into the alleged Russian connection has been to play the victim. He lost no time in playing the sympathy card on twitter: "This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!" (We thought politicians had to face witch hunts only in the developing world!) He may be able to retain the sympathy of his optimistic backers, but his enemies are not likely to relent in their efforts to see the back of the ‘anti-establishment outsider’.