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| Sunday, 14 December 2003 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Cohabitation & good governance - A load of hogwash! by Amrit Muttukumaru The sad plight of this country is such that its future at least to some extent is today in the hands of two virtual greenhorns - Messrs Mano Tittawella and Malik Samarawickrema whose only credentials for their exalted positions is their close friendship and loyalty to the President and Prime Minister respectively. History does not seem to teach our leaders anything. A major reason for the failure of the 1994 peace talks was due to the enlisting of the services of virtual novices which included the presidents lack lustre accountant to pursue negotiations. Here again, their only credentials were personal loyalty and friendship to the president. The public are nevertheless familiar with the names of both the accountant concerned and Tittawella who in their previous avatars in the PA administration were the Chairman and Director General respectively of PERC presiding over some very disgraceful privatizations inclusive of AirLanka which stank to high heaven in their alleged unbelievable corruption. If purported success in the extremely low technology and unstable garment industry is a criterion, there are other names in this country that could compete with Samarawickrema! We must be vigilant to the real dangers posed by any cohabitation arrangements to the need for accountability in the public life of this country. After all, it is the absence of this that is at the heart of the perpetual crisis in this country. No Accountability The key individual responsible for the veritable scam of establishing a bizarre benchmark for the privatization of plantations where the lowest price was applied for divestiture under the previous PA administration, is currently an influential advisor to the Treasury which is responsible for all economic policy inclusive of privatization! He being a relative of a VVIP in the present UNF administration is no doubt merely a coincidence! The same perfidy is witnessed in several other cases which includes a very high profile former business leader being appointed by the present UNP led government to the key position of overlooking the countrys aid utilization in spite of the UNP itself when in opposition vehemently protesting some of his ugly politically motivated actions as chairman of the state owned Bank of Ceylon not to mention the controversy tainted privatization of a key section of the Colombo Port in favour of his private sector company while he was chairman. This individual is indeed a man for all seasons like most of our corporate leaders. An individual very closely connected with one of the most controversial commercial entities in this country is being seriously considered to be put in charge of the regulatory agency also responsible for life sustaining utilities such as water which is slated for privatization. By another coincidence, this agency comes under a dull debut politician heavily built-up by the electronic media of this very same company! Where else but in Sri Lanka will a controversial individual highly connected with the gambling industry be tolerated as the chief of its cash rich cricket board and also appointed as chairman of the state controlled telecom agency with the countrys highest market capitalization? The irony is that the ruling UNP which when in opposition rightly created a furore promising accountability has now not only conspicuously reneged on its promise but more reprehensibly is discussing the future of this country with an individual who allegedly played a lead role in such blatant abuse. It is hilarious to note that among their terms of reference is one for the promotion of good governance! The absence of accountability in the public life of this country be it in the government, public and private sectors or affluent NGOs which is at the core for the mayhem and spiraling anarchy does not seem to be of serious interest to anyone. This in turn has led to the rule of law being virtually non-existent. The severe debilitation of the judiciary commencing from the well documented rot at its very apex - the hallowed position of Chief Justice further exacerbates this. In this connection, the proposal not to pursue the governments much belated impeachment motion against the Chief Justice as a condition for cohabitation while at the same time espousing good governance smacks of hypocrisy and duplicity. The circumstances and context surrounding the sudden candidature of Lakshman Kadirgamar for the position of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth proposed both by the president and prime minister is another manifestation of this. After all, in essence what this country has done is to give a vote of confidence to a terrible despot wreaking havoc on his country and people in Zimbabwe. The sound thrashing he received in the ensuing elections with India also voting against him further tarnishes the image of this country. Apart from this, it is salutary to recall the childish treatment meted out to Jayantha Dhanapala in his bid for the post of Director-General of the UNs atomic energy agency IAEA by the PA government in which Kadirgamar's role as foreign minister was conspicuous. Executive Presidency In any true democracy, the constitution which is supreme gives primacy to the dignity of the individual. Although it is well known that the insane powers vested in the executive presidency is not only a curse to this country but also is an affront to the dignity of the individual, we still continue to tolerate this depravity. The incumbent president and the prime minister although at politically convenient times having articulated their abhorrence of this system, have for reasons of political opportunism ignored this evil. A root cause for the recent constitutional coup which has led to the current political impasse with all its implications is due to the untrammeled powers of the executive presidency. But miraculously, we do not hear of even a whimper of an initiative to either abolish or civilize this monstrosity. The reason is obvious. The prime minister wants his bite at this irresistible cherry. Of course, the incumbent holder of this office will now jump at this idea at the proper time simply because the constitution debars her from a third term! However, there is no better opportunity than the present to muster the 2/3 parliamentary majority to either rid us of the executive presidency or at least to discipline it to ensure its functioning within democratic norms consistent with human dignity. Realpolitik would dictate that the latter seems more practicable. Our pathetic leaders of civil society are characteristically silent since presumably they do not wish to displease anyone. Nevertheless, all stakeholders of this country should strongly lobby not only for this but also for other constitutional changes towards ensuring good governance instead of the sham perpetrated by the 17th Amendment and its highly ineffective Constitutional Council and other purported independent commissions . The excuse of waiting to resolve the ethnic problem is not prudent. If this is the case, by the looks of it and on past track record we may have to wait forever! After all, even the ethnic crisis itself and its exacerbation are precisely due to the appalling absence of good governance in this country. Independent Commissions Why is it that almost everything to do with good governance in this country is a veritable sham? This applies to the private sector and affluent NGOs as well. Isnt it mainly due to the servility of our leaders of civil society and their running with the hare and hunting with the hound mentality in search of state patronage and hand-outs irrespective of the parties governing the country? The issue of principle hardly comes into reckoning. Unless and until we rid ourselves of this attitude and people begin to assert themselves, this country will never progress. We will continue to wallow in an ever worsening quagmire. The Constitutional Council (CC) established with much hope to bring about some sanity to the madness that passes off as governance in this country which has virtually brought this country to a state of relative anarchy, seems to have fallen victim to the very evil it was supposed to exorcise, which is the politicization of almost all key institutions mandated to be a check on abuse of power and corruption and the scourge of conflict of interest which pervades throughout all sections of society. It was established under the 17th Amendment ostensibly to ensure the genuine independence of key public institutions such as the police, elections, public service, judicial, human rights as well as bribery and corruption commissions. Under the circumstances, in the context of almost the entire economy being privatised and the appalling state of our corporate governance, the exclusion of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) from the 17th Amendment is disappointing. For reasons which mainly hinge on the lack of political will, inappropriate appointments, conflict of interest and deficiencies in the 17th Amendment itself, none of the commissions are functioning even remotely in the manner intended. It would seem to this writer that even if legal hurdles are cleared, any improvement will at best be marginal due to the other reasons mentioned. In the final analysis, its success will depend on the integrity of the people in these commissions. No legislation in the world can remedy this! Raw Opportunism Just as the PA was propelled to power in 1994 on a wave of popular disenchantment against the 17 year record of appalling UNP governance and abuse, the present UNP led administration too has ascended to power due to similar reasons attributable to the PA. The issues in 1994 and 2001 were also identical- ethnic peace, good governance, democracy and economic growth with equity. In spite of all the strident allegations of terrible corruption and abuse of power against the UNP, the PA did not institute even one credible inquiry to make anyone accountable. The UNP has now returned the favour and let the PA and the president off the hook . Now it is the turn of the ruling UNP to have its own brand of alleged corruption and abuse which include the proposed write-off of Billions of Rupees owed by a controversial politically well-connected (both PA & UNP) individual to the Peoples Bank and the bizarre privatization of key sections of the petroleum sector in favour of the Indian Oil Corporation prior even to establishing valuations! The alleged horrible corruption and abuse by the previous PA government include military purchases, Airlanka and plantations privatisations, Channel 9, Thawakkal, Orient Lanka, Galle Port, locomotive engines, Kotte Golf Course, Colombo-Katunayake Expressway, presidential limousine scam worth Rs. 2.4 Billion outside established tender procedures without cabinet/parliamentary approval, Sri Lanka Rubber Manufacturing and Export Corporation scam valued at Rs.541 Million, Kumar Ponnambalam murder, Chemmani mass graves and others. Under the circumstances, isnt it a sheer waste of time and the height of hypocrisy to have a presidential commission inquiring into the reasons for the breakdown in law and order. There is widespread belief of the existence of a nexus between criminal elements on one hand and some sections of the political and police establishments. What is particularly shocking is the impunity surrounding all these activities . A conspicuous feature of the rotten state of governance is the record number of ministerial appointments now amounting to 70 together with their unprecedented perks of office. From a management point of view it is a nightmare with overlapping functions guaranteed for inefficiency. The emoluments and perks of our parliamentarians are preposterous. Conclusion All this abuse and corruption take place only because we allow it to happen. After all, it is the vigilance and assertiveness of civil society that is the lubricant that oils the wheels of a vibrant democracy. This is also a critical ingredient for sustainable development and progress. It is in the absence of this, that irresponsible governance and inequity thrives. Its absence is the real tragedy of this country. Although, bereft of all the abuse, corruption and wastage, this country will have sufficient resources to cater at least to the critical needs of the people, we tacitly encourage all this by collecting money from the public for cancer hospitals, MRI equipment and the like. Worse than this, we invite the politicians themselves to inaugurate the same. In the final analysis, dont we richly deserve all what we get? |
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