The upcoming Local Government Election has been a much anticipated event in the local political calendar. In the run up for positions, both known and unknown faces have begun their campaigns abiding to stricter laws than what was seen during the previous regime. With a new electoral system, both citizens and those contesting are expecting further ‘change’. Among those contesting from the Green Party, Rosy Senanayake, former beauty queen and present Deputy Chief of Staff at the Prime Minister’s Office, hopes to further her political ambitions and become Colombo’s first female mayor.
In a candid interview with the Dailymirror, Senanayake shared her views with us. Following are excerpts of the interview.
QYou wish to be the first female mayor in Colombo. How do you feel about it?
I view it both as an honour and an enormous responsibility. When it comes to women in public service, 62% of the Government sector is staffed by women, but only a small minority are in decision making positions. But how many are corporate chairpersons and on boards? How many are CEOs or even secretaries to ministries? With my election as mayor, people will see that it is time this changes and that there is a crucial need to elevate women to positions of leadership and responsibility.
By electing a female mayor, Colombo will be showing the country and the world that it is ready to transcend gender stereotypes and be an epicenter of progress and change. I am proud that I will be the first woman who is being given the opportunity to take the mantle of this wonderful City and very proud also of the men and women of this City who are showing that they value ability, hard work, and integrity above all else.
I am aware that becoming the first female mayor brings with it huge responsibility. As a woman, I will have to do more than just live up to expectations. I will have to exceed them. And I plan to do just that! I also realize that I will be seen as a pioneer for women holding very high leadership positions in Government and people will be watching me to see how women perform in positions of leadership. My performance in this role will have repercussions for future female leaders. I am confident that I will be able to lead Colombo to make it a safe, smart, economically viable, and corruption-free City which caters to and empowers all sections of its citizenry, leaving no doubt about the leadership potential and efficacy of women!
QThe Capital is where women face a lot of harassment in public transport and other places. How will you ensure the safety of women while in your position?
The harassment of women in public transport and other public places is a huge concern and something that needs to be addressed immediately. There is no point in talking about more representation for women or a louder voice for women, if women can’t do something as basic as getting from point A to point B, without fear of being harassed sexually or otherwise in a verbal, visual, or physical manner. It’s frankly unacceptable that a woman might dread her daily commute to work or other public interactions because of what she fears experiencing in the bus, train and on the street.
However, while changing attitudes and belief systems are important and need to be started immediately, it takes time to bear fruit.
My plans are for a smart, safe, economically viable and corruption-free city where people will enjoy dividends
Therefore, some of the more tactical strategies that could be put in place to provide more immediate solutions include the following; ensuring that streets and pathways are well lit and exposed, commissioning more CCTVs and targeting the use of CCTV for this purpose, panic button stations that activate alarms and bright flashing lights when activated from within a certain radius, working closely with law enforcement to ensure that sexual harassment in public is something they are always alert to and respond to immediately, requiring that buses/trains that enter the city have panic bells that could be activated by buttons placed in the bus/train or even from a mobile phone, apps that link to a database that can log complaints and highlight locations of frequent harassment, encouraging documenting the harassment if possible (e.g. take a picture of perpetrator committing act) and report it via app or internet, encouraging a ‘see something, say something’ approach in the general public, ensure transport crews are more vigilant etc.
QAs the mayoral candidate for the UNP what are the immediate issues that need to be looked into in the Colombo city?
My plans are for a smart, safe, economically viable and corruption-free city, one in which people will benefit, one that is environmentally friendly and where the people will enjoy dividends. All levels of society will be empowered and strengthened. One
- I am very confident that the UNP will win
- I will have to do more than just live up to expectations
- It’s unfair that my son’s name was linked to the Bond Scam
- Previous regime didn’t find green and safe solutions for garbage disposal
- Yes, Gotabhaya pulled down walls of Govt. buildings and ‘beautified’ the City
- I have already put in place the processes for green and smart planning in all City activities
of its main focuses includes The Effectiveness and Efficiency of CMC. I plan to leverage ICT to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the CMC thereby enabling many services and functions to be digitalized. These include online applications, payments, E-procurements etc. I also intend to establish a high level Monitoring and Progress Review Unit reporting directly to the Mayor to tackle issues, public complaints and requests (with response deadlines) to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of all activities and functions of CMC. A Healthy City and A Healthy Citizenry is another pillar in my plans. One of the priorities will be tackling dengue. We will control dengue by identifying hotspots of dengue using past data and the new app ‘Epi Hack’ and prioritizing areas with the highest dengue incidence. Other approaches include a Central Control Unit which will focus on quality control of food in city eateries, Multifunctional Community Centers (MCCs) to empower the community and tackle a variety of issues by reinvigorating and strengthening existing community centres and establishing new ones.
I’m also focusing on ‘Participatory Citizenship’ where I will actively involve the citizenry in the activities of the CMC
Infrastructure is another priority. I will make maximum use of CMC’s powers to ease the burden of traffic for those living and working in Colombo.
Cultural Development is another pillar of a new and revitalized Colombo. To cater to the future demands, we have space and areas that we have already identified to turn into restaurant strips, tourist strips and for the residents to have leisure activities such as hawker streets. I’m also focusing on ‘Participatory Citizenship’ where I will actively involve the citizenry in planning, implementation and monitoring the policies and activities of the CMC.
I have deliberately left the description of my plans for women and children to last, because this is something especially close to my heart. In this area, among other things, I will be focusing on Maternal and Child healthcare and a nutrition package, establishing new day care centres and monitoring existing ones etc. I am happy to say that I was able to bring to Sri Lanka a subject called ‘Think Equal,’ which is a social and emotional value-based education which begins at pre-school; much-needed in today’s society
I will also focus on drop-in centres for street children and the homeless, family strengthening programs to prevent institutionalization of children and school entry programs to facilitate school admission with regard to children of urbanites.
QThe New electoral system and the law have become challenges for candidates when promoting themselves. What are your views?
Actually the new system makes it easier for candidates to campaign. Now a candidate has to campaign only within his or her Ward. The huge amounts of money previously spent on obtaining preferential votes under the Proportional Representation (PR) system is no longer necessary and we therefore have a more equal playing field with less wastage. Minority parties are still protected because this is a mixed system and each party is entitled to appoint a number of members proportionate to the total number of votes received by that party in all the wards.
QHow confident are you that the UNP will win the LG polls and you would be elected to office?
I am very confident. Colombo is a UNP stronghold and even in the last Local Government Elections when we were not in power nationally, we easily won the CMC.
QIn terms of women’s rights and their inclusion, Sri Lanka has to progress more when compared to the rest of the world. What key areas still need change?
Security, livelihood and discriminatory laws against women and female-headed households are key areas. Even at present, women go to the Middle East for a pittance. I don’t think as a Government we have negotiated well enough with regard to safety and salary of females who are employed overseas. Empowering women economically in a sustainable and viable manner – that’s something the Prime Minister has been reiterating recently. He says he will improve standards and bring in more economic avenues for women, so that they won’t have to go and struggle in the Middle East.
Security is one of the major issues due to violence against women in this country, in addition to nutrition. It’s important that the community and decision makers be more educated about the effects of violence against women. We also don’t realise how many pregnant mothers are malnourished in the far-flung villages.
By electing a female mayor, Colombo will be showing the country and the world that it is ready to transcend gender stereotypes and be an epicenter of progress and change
There are other social areas as well. We have a huge female-headed household rate. One in every third household is headed by a woman. Single parenting is an issue. We need to have more social welfare. Today even if a woman wants to start a small business, she can’t go to a bank, given the things that they ask for, such as collateral. We need to see how we can help women start businesses. I believe that is an area we need to concentrate on, especially in relation to women in the north and east and in the Deep South, who are suffering.
QAs a woman who has been in the political arena for some time, what changes could have possibly taken place if more women were in politics?
The evidence shows that female leaders typically have more compassion and empathy. They have a more open and an inclusive negotiating style. This is a generality, of course- there are many types of leadership styles, both male and female. But women have traits more in line with modern ideas of transformative leadership; empathy, inclusiveness and an open negotiation style.
Having women in positions of political leadership impacts how policy resources are spent- either through gender budgeting efforts or simply, such as in the case of climate change, showing how women experience issues differently than men. Women’s leadership also helps drive direct change in structural policies including parental leave, child care and pay. Studies systematically show that female politicians are more likely to concentrate on issues that matter more to women such as day care, gender equality, reproductive rights, flex time, elderly care, children’s welfare.
I am aware that becoming the first female mayor brings with it huge responsibility
QDo you think the LG polls would change the political landscape and encourage more women to enter the political scene?
Yes definitely. I have been fighting for this! One of the major things the Prime Minister did was bring in the bill to ensure that 25% women are in local Government. That was an initial bill that he passed in the new Government. I am the most elated about this. Although I brought in a private member motion asking for 30% of women, it was thrown out. After much opposition it became 25% but I am happy with it. Next we are looking at the provincial councils with the last amendment and 25% women have been added on.
While ensuring that more women will join politics, the next has to be a quota for parliamentary seats. In Parliament, I strongly believe that it is the PR system that is depriving women of their rightful access. You need an enormous amount of money for an election. A lot of women who want to enter politics are being discouraged as they have to go through gun and character assassination. For me, affirmative action is the only way forward and 25% is not enough. That should be the minimum, but more would be even better. We need to make it mandatory and use affirmative action with regard to the electoral systems in this country. The women’s movements have to be stronger and advocate for this.
QThe findings of the Bond issue have imposed a black mark on the UNP and a few members in the Government as well. What is your stance regarding this case?
I am proud that this Government has stood up against corruption and ordered a thorough investigation into this issue. The President and PM appointed a commission with wide-ranging powers to investigate and their report has now been finalized and forwarded by the PM and President to the Attorney General’s Department for their opinion.
There is no point in talking about more representation for women if women can’t do something as basic as getting from point A to point B, without being harassed
By conducting such a thorough investigation into this issue the Government has created a huge deterrent for Government servants to be corrupt or aid in corruption. This alone should be viewed as a big win for the Government.
One of the recommendations of the PCOI is that previous instances of irregularity in bond issuance, including that in 2008 under the previous regime be investigated. It is essential that those instances also be investigated with no delay.
QYour son’s name also surfaced regarding the issue. What are your views regarding these allegations?
I was surprised and shocked. My participation in COPE proceedings concluded on June 26, 2015 when I ceased to be a Member of Parliament. This allegation is from a third-party conversation on August 12, 2016, by which time I had long ceased to be an MP.
I immediately wrote to the Speaker of Parliament categorically denying any wrongdoing either on my part or that of my son and I also wrote to the Prime Minister and I said I want an investigation because I want my name cleared. In the 100-day COPE, there was no report. D.E.W. Gunasekara tried to rush and bring a report, but Sujeewa Senasinghe, Eran Wickramaratne and everyone on that committee, including the TNA members, said the investigation had not been completed, so there can’t be a report.
It was so unfair that my son’s name was linked. I have already written to the Speaker in this regard.
QThe beautification project carried out by Gotabhaya Rajapakse seems to have stopped. How will you plan out a cleaner, greener Colombo?
While it is true that Gotabhaya Rajapakse made many cosmetic changes to Colombo, our vision is both broader and deeper.
As I have said we will focus on making Colombo a greener cleaner City. Yes we will have more parks and develop existing ones, we will have cleaner and nicer roads and pavements. We will ensure that Colombo is a place of beauty. I have already put in place the processes for green and smart planning in all City activities.
However, the changes we intend to make go beyond the merely superficial. Under the previous regime, no thought was given to finding green and safe solutions to garbage disposal. In fact no thought was given to even finding permanent dumping places for garbage. A garbage dump was created in Meethotamulla, ignoring the many protests of local residents, ignoring studies warning against it by the World Bank and others and we all know of the consequences. The garbage landslide, the loss of lives, the destruction of homes, the displacement of families were all foreseeable, but ignored by the previous regime. Even prior to the landslide around 30 people in the area had died due to killer germs, outbreak of dengue, kidney diseases, rat fever and skin conditions.
The evidence shows that female leaders typically have more compassion and empathy. They have a more open and an inclusive negotiating style
We have already identified a permanent dumping ground in Puttalam, we have already started implementing projects for hazardous waste, recycling, addressing clinical waste issues, and waste to energy etc.
Yes, Gotabhaya pulled down walls of Government buildings and ‘beautified’ the City. We will certainly be beautifying the City also, but we will be doing so in a sustainable and truly green manner.
