The battle for Local Government Elections is heating up. An election should benefit the people, irrespective of symbols like the Pohottuwas, Beetle leaves or Elephants through which they come into power. Several decades down the line, people are still hoping for a better country. Sharmila Gonawela is contesting from the Bambalapitiya Ward for the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) under the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) ticket.
Speaking to the Dailymirror, Gonawela spoke about the challenges she faced being a Municipal Councillor back in 2002 and what she is planning to do if elected.
Excerpts :
QYou were a member of the CMC before. What made you contest again?
I was a member back in 2002 and I won under the UNP ticket. I was the only woman sitting with 52 other men. I have fought corruption and malpractices, but I never got the support that I needed from the party. Thereafter I went to the Bribery Commission, the CID and other Presidential Commissions with documentation to complain about all these issues. Eventually I stepped down from politics after four years. But in 2010 after the war concluded I voted for Mahinda because I thought it was the duty of all Sri Lankans. He invited me this time and I therefore decided to contest under the SLPP ticket.
If I can be the Mayor of Colombo who has worked for the city after 60 years, who has built up a greener, healthier and an IT-friendly city and if people say that all this was done by a woman, I would be the happiest. I’m also sure that I can be that person as well
QBack in 2002, women were rarely involved in the political scene when compared to the present time. What challenges did you face back then?
There were some men who were very supportive. But when I went in I was the only woman sitting there. Some would bring in bottles and get drunk at official meetings and then I requested for a private area. I even refused to use the toilets there because they were in a row with just one door. Although I requested for a separate room, neither the party nor the councilors backed me. They feared that I would get more power if I went in to a separate room. So my requests were more often than not, turned down.
QWhat are your views on operationalizing the 25% quota for women in politics?
It’s an excellent move. Women have to be encouraged to be in politics. They are more sensitive towards issues and we also want to change the political culture. We need to be more transparent and ensure a corruption-free society. We have 5% of Parliamentarians who are women, but what have they really spoken about? There was an issue of a 14-year-old girl who was raped in Down South and she then took her life. We also have the incident where the Uva Province Chief Minister made a teacher kneel down. But has any female Parliamentarian made any statement with regard to these issues? When my opponent candidate Rosy was in the Women’s and Children’s Affairs ministry, there was a complaint made regarding the rape of an underaged girl by a powerful cabinet minister’s son. But was any action taken? With regard to the Bond Issue, Rosy was in the COPE committee and during the 100 days inquiry a vote was called for and she didn’t come and vote. The son was accused of it. But she went and sat with Sujeewa Senasinghe when he launched the book. So aiding and abetting is equal to being corrupt.
QHow challenging is the political game today with the implementation of the Mixed Electoral System?
I’m on the National List and looking after the Bambalapitiya Ward. Just because women’s representation was increased, if the number of councillors is being increased from 53 to 113, we are still placing the burden on the people. As at now, we don’t see any service being rendered to the people. We are adding to the 53 who are already available, so it’s the rate payer who will be deprived of their services which they should be getting. I feel it’s not very practical. With the increase the general council meetings have been shifted elsewhere and Rs. 25 lakhs is being charged per sitting. In addition to that the existing members’ room is being renovated to accommodate 113 members, but what if this system is a failure? What will they do with 113 seats?
I must say that I have received good feedback, especially from Muslim ladies. People in Colombo have come to realise that they get nothing out of the rates they have been paying for 60 long years. The Government has shown that they aren’t capable of delivering anything. I feel that there’s a big swing
QWhat are your plans for Colombo?
In 2003 I spoke of a greener Colombo. I also spoke of a separate bus line for women in the city. We need to implement these things. Also with regard to the traffic congestion in Colombo we can only talk of sky trains and a good city bus service run by the private sector. The transport system comes under the Central Government and the city bus service is the only thing we can depend on. Garbage is another issue. Way back we had the ‘Kunu mola watte’ in Kirulapona and Central Colombo. Garbage was brought here and burnt. Today this ‘Kunu mola watte’ is called Nagaswatte and has been turned into a low-income housing area. People made a living at ‘Kunu mola watte’ by segregating plastic, cardboard and other materials which were eventually sold. The segregation was done free-of-charge because people had an interest in collecting them. This has come to a halt as well.
It was the UNP that led the CMC for 60 years. During those 60 years they had no plan. Of course Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had a good plan for garbage, but as they came in, it was stopped due to political reasons. But I believe that we have to stop thinking politically and look at result-oriented approaches for the people. If they continued what Gota started, people would have said this is Gota’s project, but this garbage problem wouldn’t have emerged today. Dengue is another result of this garbage problem. The rate payer pays rates for garbage collection and disposal. If the council has no proper plan for garbage they also cannot penalise the rate payer. Today we have over 100 engineers in the Council and we privatise garbage collection and disposal.
The low-income houses are another aspect I’m considering. If every district has officials looking after the area, then under whose advice or assistance do these unauthorised structures come up daily? It’s all politically motivated. If you are from a low income family I would encourage you to build a separate house because I’m sure of your vote. But after a few years you need to be fed, provided with basic amenities such as roofing sheets and also with ‘pin padi’ (A dole) – which is received by 13,000 people in the city. This is just a political hub of one party and the rate payers are maintaining Colombo for this party to win.
QDoes it mean that the UNP has not found any practical solution for the past 60 years?
Yes. I’m directly challenging the party’s Mayoral Candidate. She is talking about a greener Colombo, but her answer to mitigate the mosquito menace is to cut down huge trees. Who would have a heart to cut trees? How can you run a city like that? We have 13,000 people receiving ‘pin padi’ so can’t we get them to plant a tree each? We also have maternity centres and medicine clinics. We also have one laboratory and Ayurveda clinic as well in addition to all the staff that is required. If we can strengthen these establishments I’m sure we can stop the traffic congestion near the general hospitals. We have the money and the infrastructure, but the priority has been on politically
motivated issues.
QBut the majority of the people have always supported the UNP. Do you still think that after all these years, they would vote for the your party this time?
It was a UNP hub. But in my area I have walked into every house unlike my opponent candidate who goes round throwing leaflets into every house.
The response has been very good. The UNP was confident that the minorities were with them. I must say that I have received good feedback, especially from Muslim ladies. People in Colombo have come to realise that they get nothing out of the rates they have been paying for 60 long years. The Government has shown that they aren’t capable of delivering anything. I feel that there’s a big swing.
QThe past regime carried out various city beautification projects and they appeared to be practical in front of the citizens. But why do you think people voted for the present regime instead?
I wasn’t politically involved when it happened, but I believe that they trusted a lot of wrong people. I think Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) didn’t take appropriate actions when he had to take them. The correct message wasn’t conveyed to him, at times.
QAs you said earlier, you have voiced out on corruption and malpractices. The present regime has appointed various commissions to probe into these matters. What are your views?
The Government appointed commissions one month before the elections. Thajudeen or Lasantha cannot be brought back. They started investigations, but it was stuck somewhere. The people who were rumoured to be involved in these cases were never questioned to begin with. MR and Namal were accused of having accounts in Dubai and so on. So why can’t they question the accused? The opposition now has enough evidence to probe into corrupt practices that have been taking place for the past three years.
QHow confident are you that you will win?
I’m 100% confident. I’m challenging my opponent and I’m going to defeat her in her own Ward. If she doesn’t win her own Ward she can’t be Mayor. I as a woman I would like to be a woman Mayor of Colombo, but I wouldn’t just want to be the first woman Mayor of Colombo. If I can be the Mayor of Colombo who has worked for the city after 60 years, who has built up a greener, healthier and an IT-friendly city and if people say that all this was done by a woman, I would be the happiest. I’m also sure that I can be that person as well. I strongly feel that a Mayor is not just an administrator. We have a staff comprising highly educated engineers and also those people who collect garbage. We have a very strong political wing which is represented by different political parties. The Mayor has to be someone who is good in administration and also someone who has a political background.
