News/Comment

3rd March 2002

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Squeeze on President's funds?

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti

A proposal by Lands Minister Rajitha Senaratne to slash the allocation for the President in the forthcoming budget if President Kumaratunga continues to be at loggerheads with the government has received a positive response from some key government ministers.

The proposal was originally mooted by Dr. Senaratne when President Kumaratunga refused to swear in Minister S.B. Dissanayake as Samurdhi Minister. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is said to have hinted to the President of this move when they met to discuss the swearing in of seven more Cabinet ministers.

With senior ministers claiming the President's repeated refusal to swear in her one time lieutenant and party general secretary as absurd, Dr. Senaratne had proposed that 75% of the Presidential allocation should be slashed if the President continued to block the path of the government by subjecting the peace process to what is termed 'unfair criticism'.

Dr. Senaratne said that his proposal was greeted with much enthusiasm by some UNP ministers, adding that it was not a witch hunt but an effort to impress upon the President the need to work together if the country is to function smoothly.

It has been proposed that the President should be requested to co-operate with the government's programme of action, or else the President's allocation will be drastically reduced and money released as and when it becomes necessary only by way of supplementary estimates.

Meanwhile, a group of UNPers have further proposed that if the tussle between the government and the President continues, steps to impeach the Chief Justice should be taken followed by the impeachment of the President herself, once the local government elections are concluded.


PA seeks protection from the Speaker

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti

Accusing the government of carrying out an unprecedented political witch hunt, the PA is to request the Speaker to renew the process where the arrest of any MP could be carried out only with the approval of the Speaker.

The PA move led by opposition leader Mahinda Rajapakse came after three parliamentarians, including former strongman Anuruddha Ratwatte, were arrested and remanded. One of them, the controversial Chilaw parliamentarian D. M. Dissanayake who had been remanded for more than two months was released on bail on Friday after the Court of Appeal upheld his petition.

PA parliamentarian Mahindananda Aluthgamage told The Sunday Times they feared half the PA MPs might be in custody before the local polls. The situation has caused serious concern and angry protests from the PA, with President Kumaratunga claiming she had to cancel her visit to Brisbane for the Commonwealth summit because of the persecution of her party members here.


Forced landing after freak defect

By Tania Fernando

A SriLankan Airlines flight to Paris, experienced engine failure a couple of hours into the flight and had to make an unscheduled stop at Abu Dhabi.

The A340 airbus with around 300 passengers on board had left Colombo Friday before last for Paris. However engine trouble forced the aircraft to stop at Abu Dhabi.

While the crew and the passengers were checked into a hotel for about 24 hours, SriLankan Airlines engineers and airbus engineers were flown there to examine the plane.

According to airline sources, the ram air turbine (RAT) which is used in emergency situations to generate sufficient power when both engines fail had malfunctioned, resulting in the pilots making a decision to land.

They said that even the airbus engineers were shocked, as this has never happened to any of the other aircraft.

The aircraft had taken off from Abu Dhabi after having been repaired by the engineers.

However, the aircraft experienced the problem once again, one hour into the flight, and had to return to Abu Dhabi.

The passengers had then refused to board the aircraft again and the airline had to charter a Gulf Air plane to get them to their destination. The ill-fated aircraft was ferried back to Colombo and is presently grounded.

Airline authorities confirmed the engine failure incident and said that an airbus team of systems specialists including the designer of the system arrived in Colombo last Thursday and is currently investigating the cause of the defect.

Meanwhile, airline sources said that a baggage truck has damaged another aircraft of the airline.

A baggage truck had damaged an A330 that was parked on the runway on Thursday. This aircraft too has now being grounded and is in the hangar.

The airline, which had its fleet of 12 reduced to six after the attack on the airport in July is presently using only four aircraft. Sources said that flights have been cancelled within the last few days due to a shortage of aircraft.


GMOA diagnoses health job crisis

By Faraza Farook

Poor administration and undue political appointments to the Health Ministry have resulted in over 2000 promotions and 1300 appointments of medical officers held in abeyance, the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) has charged.

With the post of Director General of Health falling vacant, the GMOA had forwarded a proposal to the Health Ministry calling for an appointment devoid of political affiliations which would help improve the health sector.

GMOA assistant secretary Rukshan Bellana said the last appointment to the post given to Dr. A. M. L. Beligaswatte was made in contravention of the general practice of appointing a medical officer who had been serving in the administrative grade. "That was a political appointment that had deprived other suitable candidates from holding the post. It has also become a bad precedent," he said.

Reportedly, Dr. Beligaswatte, a retired surgeon, has been the first to be appointed contrary to the practice of appointing medical officers serving in the administrative grade. His appointment, Dr. Bellana alleged, had opened the avenue for some medical officers to act as political stooges. When the GMOA took up the matter with Dr. Beligaswatte, he responded to the media stating that he would step down if the Cabinet asked him to do so.

Dr. Bellana said over the years, since the appointment of Dr. Beligaswatte, the health sector had seen little improvement. Implementation of cadre projections for specialities and sub specialties had not been addressed. "We need to introduce sub specialties such as traumotologists, especially in a country that is torn by war". Several other areas of medicine too lacked sub specialities which had forced Sri Lankans to seek medical services abroad, he said.

While there was an increasing need to expand the health sector and to have sufficient medical personnel, 1300 medical officers who passed out last year were yet to get their appointments. "Strategies to accommodate these doctors should have been worked out long before they passed out. But that has not been done and they have not been given their appointments for the past 11 months," Dr. Bellana said.

However, following discussions with the Ministry's secretary last Monday, arrangements have been made to give appointments to 900 of the medical officers on Thursday.

Dr. Bellana said at least 2,500 promotions were overdue and several matters pertaining to the health sector were stagnated.

The ideal candidate for the post of Director General should be under 60 years and chosen from those already in the Health Department and preferably from senior medical administrators, a GMOA spokesman said.

The GMOA held a one-day token strike when Dr. Beligaswatte was appointed at the age of 64 years to the post of Director General of Health Services (DGHS) on a contract basis. The contract ended in October last year but a new appointment is yet to be made.

Dr. Bellana said the appointment was unfair when there were several medical officers who have been serving only in the administrative grade. "Unlike other medical officers, those joining the administrative services cannot engage in any private practice," he said.

The post of DGHS is the highest administrative post in the health department and thus, the appointment being given to those outside the administrative grade while there were sufficient medical officers with adequate qualifications and experience deprives them their opportunity to climb the ladder of success.


Navy doc fights his case

By Laila Nasry

A Navy doctor who was allegedly facing harassment at the hands of his superiors for having challenged in court their decision to reduce his rank, was granted leave to proceed in a fresh fundamental rights application filed against a further injustice.

A Supreme Court Bench comprising Justices Mark Fernando, D.P.S. Gunese-kera and J.A.N De Silva gave the go ahead to Dr. Ishantha Gunatileke, a Navy Surgeon Lieutenant who alleged that by a minute dated January 15, 2002 he was released from professional duties at the Navy Hospital for no apparent reason and asked to vacate his room.

Citing Navy Commander D.W.K.Sandagiri, Director of Naval Health Services Dr. N.G. Athulagama and Surgeon Commander E.W. Jayasinghe, as respondents, this case comes after his previous application was allowed by the Supreme Court.

In that application, which is currently pending before court, he alleged he was demoted in rank from Surgeon Lieutenant to Acting Surgeon Lieutenant, due to his lacking of swimming qualifications. Although he wrote to the naval authorities on several occasion he had not received any reponse.

However, after his lawyers had written to the authorities Dr. Gunatileke had received a reply which stated that the first appointment was a mistake and according to the regulations the appointment could only be an acting one.

In his present petition Dr. Gunatileke states that though he responded to the minute which discontinued him from work the naval authorities gave no reasons for doing so. Instead he was informed he was assigned the sole duty of accompanying visiting physicians on their ward rounds.

He adds that neither was there a formal inquiry against him in terms of the Navy Act or Regulations nor was he afforded the opportunity to show cause as to why such order should not be made.

Dr. Gunatileke states that the action of the officials was arbitrary, capricious and in breach of principles of natural justice and constitutes an infringement of his right to equality and his right to indulge in a lawful profession of his choice.



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