Act judiciously, President tells new Secretaries

Many in political circles have been anticipating a Cabinet reshuffle for several months though there has not been any official communication from the Presidential Secretariat. At the same time there has been speculation on changes among Ministry Secretaries as well as in top seats of several corporations and Government bodies.

Last Thursday’s appointment of 18 Secretaries to Ministries gave fresh hope for all those who have been expecting a reshuffle. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that new ministry Secretaries must manage institutions under them in an efficient and exemplary manner to promote productivity.

The President said ministry Secretaries should have a thorough knowledge of the institutions under their purview, visit the institutions and look into their activities personally. Addressing the newly appointed Secretaries after presenting them their appointment letters, the President said that the Ministry Secretaries should not be confined to their seats.

He urged the Ministry Secretaries to have a proper understanding of the grievances of the public.

The most notable among the new 18 Ministry Secretaries are Charitha Herath and Imelda Sukumar.

Chairman of the Central Environmental Authority Herath was appointed as new Secretary of Ministry of Mass Media and Information replacing senior SLAS officer W.B. Ganegala. In one of the most significant moves, former Government Agent for Jaffna M.A. Emelda Sukumar was appointed Secretary to the Ministry of Social Services. It is said that this was the first time that a Government Agent has been elevated to the post of Ministry Secretary.

Though political analysts have been making various predictions, even if a Cabinet reshuffle is on the cards, it is highly unlikely to materilise until the elections of Sabaragamuwa, North Central and the Eastern Province Provincial Council Elections in September.

Ministers and Government parliamentarians have been allocated various electorates in these three provinces to strengthen the campaign of the ruling UPFA.

Their performances will be closely monitored by the party leadership before deciding on a possible reshuffle.

The UPFA’s chances of retaining power in the Eastern Provincial Council looks even brighter after its ally - the SLMC, led by Minister Rauf Hakeem, decided to extend their support to the government at the forthcoming polls. The TNA, which had been dancing to the tune of the LTTE leadership until May 2009, made desperate attempts to contest the EPC elections with the SLMC.

Following their unsuccessful talks with the SLMC, the TNA has now decided to contest the Eastern PC on their own.

However, the internal crisis and power struggle within the TNA has deepened while finalising the party’s nominations for the EPC.

The constituent parties in the TNA, which had been formed as an alliance of almost all Tamil political parties in the North under the instructions of the LTTE, are now levelling allegations against parliamentarian R. Sampanthan.

The constituent parties of the TNA are of the view that TNA leader is acting like a dictator in finalising nominations, overlooking the broader interests of the remaining parties.

“He is talking about democracy and well-being of Tamil people, but he is behaving like a dictator and does not give a hearing to the voice of the constituent parties of the TNA,” a senior Tamil politician who wished to remain anonymous for obvious reasons said.

Fonseka opens big mouth again

It seems that soldier turned politician Sarath Fonseka still has not learnt a lesson after a series of blunders which ultimately made him a convicted prisoner. Living under an illusion projected by Mangala Samaraweera, Fonseka kept on overestimating himself which made him assume that he would be the easy winner at the 2010 Presidential elections.

There was no limit to his mouthing and he amply demonstrated his political immaturity during his unsuccessful Presidential election campaign two-and-a-half years ago. He once again proved that he could well become the biggest traitor in Lankan history when he gave an interview to the Daily Telegraph.

Fonseka, who was released from jail recently on a special presidential pardon, has begun from where he had left off at the time of his conviction. In an interview given to the British newspaper, he has once again started tarnishing Sri Lanka’s image before the international community to meet his petty political goals. He even goes to the extent of criticising British Prime Minister David Cameron for meeting the democratically elected President of his own country during Queen Elizabeth’s jubilee lunch in London last month.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph Fonseka had called upon the international community to ‘derecognise’ the Government - a controversial statement which was widely criticised even by his political buddies. If Fonseka has a score to settle with the Government, he should do it on a political platform in a democratic manner, rather than pleading with the international community to resurrect his political image. One UNP parliamentarian wondered whether Fonseka is thinking that Sri Lanka is still a British colony. “He attempts to take the full credit for the great achievements of the Security Forces. At the same time, he is tarnishing the name of our Motherland before the world community,” he said.

It is a shame that Fonseka had conveniently credited some of the isolated criminal incidents to the Government’s account so that he could project a gloomy picture before the international community.

Even a few incidents of rape have been deliberately credited to ruling party politicians by Fonseka while claiming that the two persons who were killed at a JVP political meeting, allegedly by Julampitiye Amare to be his supporters. In fact, one person killed in Katuwana was said to be a JVP supporter while the other did not have any political affiliation. But Fonseka claims both of them as his supporters so that he could paint a gloomy picture on Sri Lanka.

Narayanasamy’s advice to Tamil Nadu

At a time when certain extremist politicians in South India, along with some opportunist Opposition politicians here, try to harm Indo-Lanka relations to suite their respective political agendas, India’s Minister of State in PMO V. Narayanasamy last week stressed the need for cordial ties with its neighbour in the broader interest of Tamils in Sri Lanka. He called upon political parties in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu to desist from whipping up Tamil sentiments. “Sri Lanka is our neighbouring country. There should be cordial and friendly relations with that nation in the larger interest of the Sri Lankan Tamils and also for the protection of hundreds of industrialists, businessmen and traders from India and more particularly from Tamil Nadu doing business there,” the Minister was quoted as saying.

He said political parties in Tamil Nadu intending to whip up Tamil sentiments should therefore, bear in mind implications of their activities and ensure that the Tamils and the Indian business community in Sri Lanka did not face any embarrassing dangerous situation. Noting that various leaders in Tamil Nadu had issued statements protesting the training of Sri Lanka Air Force personnel in Tamil Nadu, Minister Narayanasamy said this was a new issue that has cropped up in the state where an uncommon environment was prevailing in view of alleged killing of innocent Sri Lankan Tamils during the war against LTTE.

India was part of SAARC and defence personnel of member nations could be trained in any other member country, he added.

Meanwhile, the Navies of Sri Lanka and India last week discussed a range of maritime issues at the bilateral International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) meeting held in Kankesanthurai. The 21st International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) meeting between Sri Lanka and India was held on board the Sri Lanka Naval Ship Sagara at the Indo-Sri Lanka Maritime Boundary Line off Kankesanthurai. During this meeting, matters of mutual interest related to naval operations and fishing activities were discussed.

President cautions senior Lankan diplomats

President Mahinda Rajapaksa called upon Sri Lanka’s top diplomats to acquire a deep understanding of the country, its many assets, its short, medium and long term requirements and the problems and challenges it faces.

Addressing a three-day residential workshop for Sri Lanka’s Ambassadors, High Commissioners and Heads of Missions at Diyatalawa last weekend, the President said the representation of diplomats should be “one that is complete in every aspect”. “You must have a readiness, a willingness and capability to persuade others about the needs of our country, and how our country can contribute to other countries, regions and to the world,” he said.

President Rajapaksa said the aim of the government was to fortify national security both domestically and internationally while also achieving the required financial goals. “Remember that you are not one who waves the Sri Lankan flag in a crowd of others. Consider yourself as the flag of Sri Lanka, in every sense. You are the symbol and embodiment of our country. Live up to the standards this demands,” the President said.

The President attended two funerals last Monday. He paid tribute to eminent consultant neurologist, the late Dr. Geethanjana Mendis at his residence at Maitland Crescent. Dr. Mendis, a presidential advisor, was the founder President of the Sri Lanka Sports Medicine Institute. The President also paid his last respects to the late Somadasa Vithanage, father of popular radio and television announcer Ariyasiri Vithanage.

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved to amend the Press Council Act to include the registration of websites for a fee of Rs.100,000 and an annual renewal fee of Rs. 50,000. This follows the recent police action against mud-slinging websites which have been character assassinating public figures as actresses, artists and politicians.

A king pin of such websites - Ruwan Ferdinandz, a buddy of Mangala Samaraweera, who had gone missing after the police raid on their Lanka Mirror and XNews website offices, was reported to have met the ruling party seniors through Minister Mervyn Silva.

Minister of Mass Media and Information, Keheliya Rambukwella said last week that the Government has a responsibility to make sure that a regular pattern and a certain amount of dignity and decorum is maintained in the field of the media. He observed that the government is of the view that the time is ripe to bring in necessary amendments to the existing law to accommodate new technologies and new methodologies used in this sphere.

Minister Rambukwella pointed out that if certain media are behaving irresponsibly, the government is bound to correct it. He noted that websites did not exist at the time the Act was enacted in 1973. He said this move is a corrective measure initiated by the ministry. He requested the media to take this move in the right spirit without narrowly looking at it as a politically driven act.

“The media should pay proper attention to the language and content they disseminate to the people. He observed that even the so called five star democracies in the world are today talking of controlling websites,” the minister said. The minister said the amendments would be presented to Parliament shortly. The minister also said that a revision of registration fee is being considered as their complaints that it is too high.

On Thursday, the President went to Aluthgama to chair the Kalutara District Special Development Committee meeting held at the Eden Grand Hotel. He urged politicians to utilise assets for development according to a proper plan designed in consultation with the authorities, without squandering public money by implementing them arbitrarily.

The progress and the flaws of the development projects implemented in the Kalutara district and the complaints sent by the public were discussed at the meeting. The President said the final benefits of all these projects should pass on to the public and the money and lands utilised in a manner that brings maximum benefits to the country. He said District Development Committee meetings are not political meetings and he had come to the district to solve the issues of the public. All Government and Opposition politicians, irrespective of their party politics, should to take part.

The President said that the masses have elected politicians to solve their problems and members elected by the people have an obligation and responsibility to attend such meetings. He said it was noteworthy the Opposition members get the best benefits at the Consultative Committee meetings in Parliament. Ever since his election as the First citizen in 2005, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has given top priority to country’s development activities.

Even during the difficult period of 2006-2009 when a staggering sum of money had to be allocated on defence to combat terrorism, the development work too went hand-in-hand.

He was not prepared to hold up development activities just because the Government had to spend a colossal sum of money to maintain its Security Forces who had been engaged in a relentless battle against terrorism. The mega development projects implemented under the Mahinda Chinthana still continues with more vigour.

The President was happy to see the completion of yet another project implemented by his UPFA Government as he commissioned the Upper Kotmale hydro power project, which adds 150MW of power to the National Grid, yesterday. It is the country’s largest hydro power generation project launched by the government as part of the programme to provide electricity to all households in the country by end of 2016.

This project which was planned several decades ago, had been abandoned due to environment concerns. The UPFA government recognising the soaring energy requirement of the country, gave the green light for the project by removing all impediments which stood in the path of its implementation. The Japanese government extended financial assistance to the tune of Rs. 50.4 billion for the project while Sri Lanka invested US$ 75 million. Sri Lanka was one of the first countries in South Asia to tap into its significant water resources to produce hydroelectricity. Addition to University of Politics. Minister Mervyn Silva last week opted for a rare public bus ride sans his bodyguards. Having attended a mobile service event at Gamini Dissanayake Model School in Pallewatte, Hasalaka, Minister Silva was shocked to see both his official vehicle and security escort missing.

Assuming that the event would take a longer duration, the driver of the Minister’s vehicle and the security officers had gone to a nearby junction of the village to enjoy the beauty of the area. They could not be contacted as there were no mobile signals and angry Minister came to the main road and boarded a Kandy-bound public bus plying from Mahiyangana. A few UPFA members of the Hasalaka Minipe Pradeshiya Sabha too accompanied Minister Silva and boarded the bus.

When the Minister’s sudden action was known to Hasalaka Police, they deployed a police motorcycle and a jeep to provide cover to the bus carrying the Minister. When the Minister’s security men and driver came to know of the incident, they were shocked and managed to persuade the Minister to get back to his car at Hasalaka. His security men and the driver apologised to the Minister for their mistake. “You’all were not there when I came out. Hence I took a bus,” the Minister told his men. The ongoing confrontation between UNP heavyweights Sajith Premadasa and Mangala Samaraweera continued at the party’s nomination board meeting for the forthcoming Provincial Council elections, presided by the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.

UNP Deputy Leader Premadasa once again brought up the issue of news items which character assassinated him on the Lanka Mirror and XNews websites operated under the patronage of parliamentarian Samaraweera. The situation heated up when Samaraweera attempted to reply. Finally, Wickremesinghe had to mediate and settle the issue temporarily.

Wickremesinghe who generally patronises fortune-tellers in India opted to visit the historic Kabiliththa temple. Having attended a wedding in Ratnapura the previous day, Wickremesinghe headed towards Kabiliththa via Moneragala and Kotiyagala. The UNP supporters in Kotiyagala had informed parliamentarian Ranjith Maddumabandara about Wickremesinghe’s visit. UNP supporters loyal to Maddumabandara, considered as a confidante of Premadasa, had openly showed their resistance to Wickremesinghe.