Yahapalanaya: Wake up to reality

Yahapalanaya Government Minister says they are mystified. Why?

ormer President Mahinda Rajapaksa, having won the Presidential Election, in his first address to the Nation in 2005 stated:
“My policy will be to consolidate the rule of law to the maximum. The law of the country should be just. Everybody including the President of the country should obey and respect the law. I would like to state here that I would not allow anyone to subvert the law and order using political power and privileges. I believe all state institutions should strictly follow policies of good governance”. 
What did former President mean by “all State institutions”?  I have no doubt that he meant the “Public Service”, which covered the core of Government’s machinery - Judiciary, Ministries, Departments, (including the provincial administrative machinery) Boards, Corporations and other State owned business undertakings. 
As you know, the death of Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra occurred after a shoot-out in Kolonnawa. However, after the 8th January victory, the case came up before a trial-at-bar and the verdict too had been pronounced on the 8th September, 2016. 
Does this signpost that the Yahapalanaya team (YT) is on the right track? The people however seem to be in a predicament because there are YT members to whom the law does not apply. You could see politicians travelling at break-neck speeds with security escorts. Do they now need security vehicles at a massive cost to the people? They could also escape from hit and run cases too. 
A true democracy requires the rule of law, accountability for elected representatives too. 
YT made promises after promises and highlighted the need to strengthen our democracy, freedom and good governance in the interest of the people.  However, in real life, after they are elected, they also do not honour the promises and apply the noble practices. 
Eventually, all those in YT had also given rise to corruption, abuse of power, nepotism and misrule once again. Addressing a press briefing, Minister Rajitha Senaratne had said that their government was mystified because investigations were being done for smaller cases and the big ones had been left out.

"If the necessary steps are taken to minimise corruption and establish good governance, we could ensure a better country without drugs, bribery, extortion, nepotism, organised crime etc."

The court of appeal had issued notices returnable on Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake challenging the impugned decision to grant a waiver of Customs Duty. 
A COPE member had said the crisis at LAKSATHOSA, involving billions, had shocked the COPE. 
Politicians quite effectively take over the controls and swindle national wealth while raising slogans of democracy, patriotism, economic growth and the need to ‘consolidate the rule of law to the maximum’.  
Another senior Minister had allegedly got involved by attempting to prevent a transfer of a CID officer. YT continues to violate democratic principles by exploitation, mismanagement, nepotism, bad governance and particularly lack of rule of law even to this day.  
Why? Because there is unchecked political corruption rampant under the YT too in every nook and corner. 
What happened when the Supplementary Estimate was considered to provide billions to purchase luxury vehicles in Parliament for YT members?  YT gave most ridiculous sounding excuses. YT argued they needed comfortable vehicles because they have to travel long distances and  hilly terrains. They had greedily disregarded the enormous suffering their electors underwent due to poor transport facilities, and the lack of proper roadways. 
The Government owned and maintained big vehicle fleet – Benzes, Jaguars, Volvos, Monteros, Prados is a huge drain to the Treasury. Consumption of fuel is less than 4km per litre. Servicing, repairs are done by the Agents at exorbitant costs with unlimited fuel. 
They had conveniently forgotten that the poor people have been deprived of their children’s education which is their birth right having drastically reduced funding. Free education system in our country has wretchedly failed. All the successive governments had served and looked after themselves.  
It has been reported that university education too in Sri Lanka is in a state of crisis. They had opined that our graduates especially those graduating with Arts Degrees are considered unemployable and low quality. Research and innovation are pathetic. Politicisation of university administration is at a disaster level.  

"I had duly taken this matter up with the Presidential Secretariat that PRECIFAC should be given suitable powers to investigate issues of corruption of the present government too!"

The following vulnerable groups had also left the targets of compulsory education miserably unachieved – economically disadvantaged children, disabled children, children in the plantation sector, street children and children under institutional care. An elderly man had been abandoned on elders’ day in front of a temple down south.  
There had been similar news items in the media several times. It proves the YT had totally neglected both the youth and the elderly.   
Government must ensure the availability of medicines in State hospitals. Patients now have to buy prescribed medicines from privately owned pharmacies. 
Open heart surgeries and bypass surgeries are done having kept the patients in waiting lists after long delays. Shouldn’t they therefore sacrifice all those luxuries and invest all that for the benefit of the citizens? 
Why are the President and the Prime Minister silent when the Ayurvedic Corporation, and the Laksathosa are being mishandled by the relevant ministers? 
The appointments made by Minister Lakshman Kiriella had been an issue raised in Parliament too.  Kiriella argued that the party supporters had to be looked after, which is totally unethical, depraved, inappropriate and irregular. Accordingly, if YT too permits bad governance, in all probability, if the people do not take the trouble to elect good leaders, we will never be able to solve our problems in future as well.  

"The Government owned and maintained big vehicle fleet – Benzes, Jaguars, Volvos, Monteros, Prados is a huge drain to the Treasury. Consumption of fuel is less than 4km per litre. Servicing, repairs are done by the Agents at exorbitant costs with unlimited fuel"

YT must wake up to understand the realities.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in Parliament, in one of their latest reports had revealed that the Ministry of Agriculture had rented out a building for a sum of Rs. 958 million without following the proper tender procedure.  PAC report had also revealed that the Customs department had failed to collect Rs. 1,886 million from numerous state institutions. 
The report had dealt with several other state institutions, i.e., Prisons, Inland Revenue, the Department of Motor Traffic and several other public sector institutions. All these relate to misdeeds after the 8th January elections. This was also an issue that had cropped up during the period I served PRECIFAC.
I had duly taken this matter up with the Presidential Secretariat that PRECIFAC should be given suitable powers to investigate issues of corruption of the present government too!  
Corruption undermines economic growth and development and generates inefficiency and causes dilapidation of public sector institutions. We had therefore neglected strategic areas such as basic industries, health, education and transport services, technological, scientific and agricultural research and even preservation of the environment and natural resources. 
We eat fruits and vegetables sprayed with various chemicals. A news item in the media revealed that over 50 percent of the medicines are far below the standards.  We even pay for motor spare parts of inferior quality at inflated and unrealistic prices due to unscrupulous traders in motor spare parts.  Politicians, businessmen and the bureaucrats love to promote corruption for personal gain, while protecting each other. And they together disregard the poor citizen.  However, could the President, and Prime Minister alone clean up the corrupt systems?  A herculean task! Law makers themselves are breaking laws. We now need good, capable and committed law makers with sincerity if we need to change the culture.  Corruption no doubt in every sector had been the cause for the country to lag behind causing immense problems to everybody. 
The education system too currently does not support developing an appropriate sense of dignity, integrity and respect for human rights. 
Accordingly, children too become accustomed to corruption. They consider the disregard of human rights is a natural part of social interaction. 
On suicides WHO has ranked Sri Lanka among the fourth highest in the world. A Consultant Psychiatrist at The National Institute of Mental Health had stated “The number of people suffering from mental illness in the country is on the rise, and I believe the present mental health services are inadequate”. 

"Government must ensure the availability of medicines in State hospitals. Patients now have to buy prescribed medicines from privately owned pharmacies"

It has been the same story in Cancer hospital too. 
If the necessary steps are taken to minimise corruption and establish good governance, we could ensure a better country without drugs, bribery, extortion, nepotism, organised crime etc.    
These are good enough proof that the state machinery is yet terribly ineffective. We believe even a small business venture cannot become productive and profitable if it is badly managed. 
Similarly, if the state cannot play the expected role, the dreams of the present government cannot be attained.  Why have we failed to manage Sri Lankan Airlines, when in fact Singapore Airlines are managed so well with efficiency? Why cannot we manage the Petroleum Corporation profitably? 
Why is it that the National Water Supply and Drainage Board and even the Lotteries Board had recorded losses? Why is it that 51% of the running water in the NWSB is wasted, which is the highest compared to other countries? How can CEOs go scot-free having allowed losses to accumulate for several years? This will not be permitted in developed countries. 
Our rulers do not remove incompetent persons or even replace them with efficient capable and honest managers. It appears YT does not mind pumping money senselessly from the Treasury continually by taxing the over-burdened public. Do they invest tax money for the benefit of the people? No.     
Nevertheless, shouldn’t they now do a SWOT analysis, to understand the strengths, weaknesses, threats and the opportunities before YT. Time is running out fast.