Opinion

Present system is seriously flawed

19 Jul 2015 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Rules, regulations, circulars should be adhered to

s we all know President Maithripala Sirisena was elected to the top job on January 08. The support of all those opposition parties led by the UNP and its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was a major factor for this victory. The UNP led coalition during their campaign accused the MR regime as the most corrupt, fraudulent, top-heavy, and deceitful government, which sustained drug bosses, crooks and ethanol dealers. The coalition promised that they would wipe out corruption, nepotism and end misrule which had led the country to the brink of destruction.
We could recall that the MR government was at its peak of popularity in 2009 immediately after winning the war. It was, therefore, a tough job for the opposition to change the mind-set of the voters. There was no indication at all to readily defeat the MR government and hence the key opposition members too crossed over to the UPFA for personal benefit and gain.

Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera, Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera and several others did extend their support immensely to the Maithri campaign and those Buddhist clergy played a big role in toppling the last government. We must never forget that the role played by the JVP leader too was an important factor and he boldly revealed issues of massive corruption and fraud in Parliament and outside again and again, when the then ministers tried to cover up their shady deals saying that they were trying to reverse the development projects such as highways etc. undertaken by them.
We must remember corrupt god-fatherly politicos and compromised officers at all levels provided invaluable assistance for those engaged in these shady activities and corrupt practices. Drug business, fraud,corruption, misrule etc., therefore, thrived during the former regime. Even in countries like Colombia, Mexico, it has been revealed that nothing works without large bribes.

"Corrupt god-fatherly politicos provided invaluable assistance for those engaged in these shady activities and corrupt practices. Drug business, fraud, corruption, misrule etc., thrived during the former regime"

A personal Security Officer who worked for one of four godfathers, Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela had said “I know that Mexico, like Colombia, cannot succeed against its drug gangs without choking off much of the bribery and intimidation that sustain them”. He also had said “The biggest bribe I ever handled personally was half-million dollar pay off to a Salvadoran air force colonel. The cash was disguised as a birthday present, about the size of a large shoe box,

wrapped in red paper with gold trim. I’d never seen so much money. I remember that it was surprisingly heavy”.
There has been allegations made by him that “hundreds of high-ranking and lower level police officers were on the cartel’s secret payroll – tens of thousands of dollars paid every month for inside tips or for looking the other way. The cartel had important friends in the military too – from helicopter pilots to generals. One well placed insider was the Chief of Staff to the military commander of the anti-narcotics task force. His costs is $20,000 a month”.
It is more appropriate if I reproduce the article entitled “What I saw inside the Cali drug cartel” for our readers for information: “My bosses and I were kept informed about dates, times and places for raids and such things as which cartel cars were being followed and what phone numbers were being tapped. On one occasion, we knew that Miguel had time for lunch and a shower before the raiding party was ready to arrive”.

Politicians were considered a long-term investment by them. Besides, the cartel had manipulated Colombia’s justice system with pay-offs to prosecutors in Colombia and paved the way to lose track of evidence, misplaced paper work, blocked search warrants or had released prisoners before they could be questioned. It has also been mentioned that judges became millionaires there overnight and that the police and the judicial system was the biggest contributory factor for corruption, fraud and organised crime.
Sri Lanka too no doubt should follow the developments in Colombia presently taking place in their fight against drugs, corruption, fraud and misrule. Once Colombia earned notoriety for its ugly record of drug trafficking internationally. As part of former President Alvaro Uribe’s campaign to disarm and demobilize narc-trafficking para military groups there is tremendous improvement where terror campaigns of political assassinations, socialite kidnappings, and deadly bombings have disappeared. He took steps to fast track extradition process having discovered that imprisoned gangsters were still running criminal enterprises from their Colombian jails.

Colombia remains highly motivated at present because they do not want to return to the bad old days when criminal demands undermined national interests. It is also important to mention that when Colombia was overrun by drug cartels, the United States poured in a billion dollars of aid to help a friend and ally to fight back the cartels. It is, therefore, no wonder we too need international support including India to fight drugs and even financial crimes committed by the previous regime.
A couple of years ago people in Sri Lanka even said that they would prefer to leave and live overseas to have a more peaceful life. Today, Sri Lanka has become one of the safest places to live. This is no doubt thanks to the former regime. However, where did they fail in securing the other achievements. Sri Lanka had been torn apart by a 30 year war and two insurgencies. There was uncertainty every where and nobody knew who killed whom. There were 600 policemen killed in a police station in the north in a single day. Similarly, there were other killings too in the south, eg. journalists kidnapped and killed. The airport was bombed and the country was in flames.

"As is evident, there is political bickering only for gaining power"

In Rwanda, having gone through even worse difficulties, their leaders, have now drawn up a document called “RWANDA’s VISION 2020” for the development of “ a modern, strong and united nation, proud of its fundamental values, politically stable and without discrimination among its citizens”. In Sri Lanka, however, people having voted overwhelmingly on January 08 for a change, there seem to be no consensus reached for a plural and multicultural Sri Lanka that incorporates the concerns and desires of all ethnic groups resident in the country.
As is evident, there is political bickering only for gaining power. We have not started planning for a serious process of evaluation and consultation with regard to the kind of achievements we need as a country. It is time now for us to be free of corruption, fraud and ensure social justice in the country. If we do not have a sense of direction or commitment, I do not think anything can be achieved.
During the last couple of months, I have raised the issue of NON-IMPLEMENTATION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION CIRCULAR 15 of 1990 on several occasions, by successive governments, without any success. This circular was an outcome based on the recommendations of the PARLIAMENTARY SELECT COMMITTEE APOINTED TO GO IN TO THE YOUTH UNREST
in 1988 - 89.

This issue should be a major concern for the impending Parliamentary elections too. P/A circular 15 of 1990 stipulated the recruitment procedure for the entire public sector. The youth in all communities were overjoyed since this was a step in the right direction.
We must understand that this circular paved the way for transparent recruitment in the public sector without political interference and emphasised the need to base the recruitment purely on MERIT and merit alone. This circular has been simply pushed under the carpet for political expediency and recruitment to the public sector had been manipulated continuously by the politicians causing severe injustices to the eligible youth until this moment. I must remind everybody that the recruitment to the state banks, Sri Lankan and many other government owned undertakings during the former regime caused irreparable damage to the former government. There was an allegation that NILBALAKAYA was responsible for filling most of the vacancies in banks, statutory bodies etc. and if the 15 of 1990 was effective, recruitment, will always be open and transparent.
I must mention that policies should not simply be words on paper. They should deliver the intended promises as had been assured. If the politicians start dilly-dallying even at this late stage without fulfilling the aspirations of the youth meaningfully, I do not think you can tease them always by showing them carrots on sticks, particularly when they are hungry and without food.

Opinion

Present system is seriously flawed

Rules, regulations, circulars should be adhered to

"Corrupt god-fatherly politicos provided invaluable assistance for those engaged in these shady activities and corrupt practices. Drug business, fraud, corruption, misrule etc., thrived during the former regime"

"As is evident, there is political bickering only for gaining power"

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