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Dangerous
doctrine But as we have often said, while the North-East conflict takes priority of focus for the country's leaders, it does not mean that the rest of the country's affairs can go to the dogs. Take for instance, what is happening over the sheer impotence of our Honourable legislators to fill one single vacancy to the Constitutional Council, the apex body that independent of the Government appoints members to vital public institutions, administer the Police, the Public Service and the Judiciary, independently. For months on end, since last year, from the time of the previous Administration under President Chandrika Kumaratunga, and now under her successor President Mahinda Rajapaksa, well-meaning associations of people interested in the well-being of this country's administration, the media and a host of others have been howling about the need to activate the Constitutional Council and get the right people appointed to these independent commissions. All the cries have, alas, fallen on deaf ears. These legislators cry from roof tops urging the people to listen to what they say -- but the converse simply does not happen. There is nothing more classic an example than the gibberish that goes on about why that simple seat cannot be filled. Every political party blames the other, but the net result is that the President has now taken the law unto his hands under a dangerous doctrine -- the Doctrine of Necessity. On that shaky basis, he has proceeded to appoint members to the National Police Commission, and the Public Services Commission because of Parliament's continuing vacillation on the matter. This was not the spirit of the 17th Amendment which introduced the Constitutional Council back in 2001. The underlying theme of that Amendment was to free the Police, Public Service and the higher Judiciary from the clutches of the governing party. All the parties in that Parliament of 2001 unanimously agreed with this view. No doubt the Government of the day -- the PA -- was arm-twisted to agree to it, because it was in a minority in Parliament at the time. But overall, there was general consensus that this was a good thing for a country, so rooted in partisan politics and notorious for political victimisation. What has now happened is a reversal of that progressive, forward march towards good governance. What has been done is a retrograde act by the President and the Government -- but he will surely blame it on the Speaker for his inability to reach a consensus on the issue, and rightly so. The nagging question in the meantime, is why the Council could not pick the members of these institutions without a full-house Council, for a quorum was present for such appointments to take place. The Speaker's explanation on this is pathetic, and eventually he himself seems to have said Mea Culpa and simply thrown in the towel. The other question is why the Legislature, and the Government, did not get together to amend the old law ( the 17th Amendment ), and fix its many deficiencies. For the law is filled with pot-holes and loop holes. But there was no urgency shown in this matter, not even after the November Presidential elections when a fresh Administration came to office. The new Administration was apparently preoccupied with elections and political jiggery-pokery, at which, one must concede they are doing a good job. The end result has been not only the appointment of two Commissions ( Police and Public Service ) of the President's choice, but more dangerously, a reversal of the trend towards de-politicising vital institutions. Once again, the police officers and top public servants will need to pay homage to the ruling party politicians to go up the ladder, and get their promotions, while merit and efficiency will get a kick on the rear-end. Our
Legal columnist has written on page 15 about the institutional collapse
of Sri Lanka'a public service. And who cares ? Yet, it is the duty
of the President to seek national consensus, not move away from
that trend as he has done by appointing these Commissions. Otherwise,
he himself will be in some difficulty, when he seeks a southern
consensus to meet the challenge, if - and when, the crunch may come
as the LTTE launches Eelam War IV. |
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