Editorial

19th November 2000

World prices - or waste?

Trecent increase in the prices of diesel, kerosene, industrial and auto gas will immediately take its toll on the average Sri Lankan who is already finding it increasingly difficult to pay his or her bills and meet basic needs of the family.

Sometime not so long ago the common man's grumble was that while government leaders urged the masses to tighten their belts, the only belts the leaders tightened were the aeroplane seat belts on their frequent junkets abroad at public expense.

Today the 45 Cabinet ministers, 35 Deputy Ministers, MPs, Provincial Chief Ministers, Ministers, Councillors, Pradeshiya Sabha members et al. are already draining the limited resources from the state coffers which are burdened with a costly war. Both Government administration and the war in relation to cost efficiency are at a nadir.

It costs the people about Rs. 20,000 for a cabinet minister to go from Colombo to Kandy and back by road with his retinue of private secretaries, bodyguards, back-up vehicles and escort cars. This involves the cost of fuel, batta and a multitude of other expenses.

In the war front, funds are going down the tubes in style, the main beneficiaries being the 'komis-kakkas' and some top brass.

When the political- military leadership live extravagantly, spending public money as if they are getting it from a bottomless pit- the lesser officials tend to follow suit. The driver plays out on the fuel and the soldier sells his cartridges.

Political expediency has resulted in the creation of provincial councils and huge cabinets while untangling this Gordian knot may not be possible - but the people will no doubt continue to suffer for the sins of the political-military leadership if this devil-may-care attitude in spending from the public purse continues at this alarming rate. It is time for a little example from the top.

Whither SAARC?

This week's meeting of the SAARC senior officials proved that the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is quite sick and ailing, but not dead.

Twenty months after SAARC's Foreign Ministers met in Nuwara-Eliya in March last year, this meeing at least showed SAARC survives. The intervening period of non-activity could be blamed on India though New Delhi did not want to show itself as being the spoiler who put the knife into the SAARC body.

The fact that this week's meeting of actually not so senior officials took place is a matter for rejoicing at least to those who believe in regional co-operation and good neighbourliness.

But it is nowhere close to what SAARC ought to be, because India, and India alone, does not want a ganging up of her neighbours on the issue of disputed Kashmir.

So as long as India opts to distance itself from SAARC on political issues while regional cooperation is confined to technical matters like environment, travel, cultural and student exchanges, SAARC will remain an organisation operating at half capacity.

That will be the fate of 1.5 billion people of this region.

The Political Column

Editorial/ Opinion Contents