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Bribe-taking: It has become a way of life

Bribery and corruption are not easily eradicated from either a democratic or a totalitarian society.
The reason is that man is by nature acquisitive. The history of the world, from prehistory to the caveman and all the way to present times is an endless saga of acquisition. Warring countries kill to acquire land and property.

We should learn to live with the fact that we are basically acquisitive, and often ruthless in our acquiring ways. You will need more than an army to stop bribery and corruption in this country. Politicians and public servants accept “santhosams”. Corruption levels and smoothens the path for business in which the private sector is engaged. Customs, excise and tax officers, along with peons and doormen, are all vulnerable to bribes. In most instances, the machinery of bureaucracy will start to move only when “greased” and “oiled”.

Some of our top organisations are known to be manned by bribe-takers. The professions are also tainted with bribe-takers. There have even been instances of corruption touching the Bench, not necessarily in cash but possibly in kind. There was a celebrated case, long kept under wraps, of a lawyer who lent his wife to a magistrate for a favourable verdict.

The forms that corruption takes are unimaginable. The country will grow economically as long as palms continue to be oiled. Curtailing the practice will be counter-productive.

Ivor Samarasinghe
Dehiwela


Giving police powers to Chief Ministers would be like giving a razor to a monkey
My one-time police colleague Gamini Gunawardena must be one of the few people in the country to have given deep thought to the question of devolution of police powers to the provinces.

With his years of police experience, his admirable academic record and his wide exposure to research on policy studies, Mr. Gunawardena is eminently qualified to discuss the pros and cons of devolution.
In a recent newspaper article titled “Rajitha Senaratne and devolution of police powers”, Mr. Gunawardena asked the question “who will suffer?” should police powers be devolved. His answer: “The common man who never asked that police powers be devolved to the Chief Ministers.” He elaborates: “In fact, they were never asked if they would like the idea and whether they thought it would solve whatever political problem they had.”

Mr. Gunawardena has hit the nail on the head. What does the common man expect of the police? To put it in a nutshell, the community expects an efficient police service it can go to in times of distress. It expects the police to maintain law and order and ensure that we citizens can live without fear of the criminal elements in society.

For this, the police have been given the necessary powers by law and the necessary resources by the state. These powers – conferred on the police so they can carry out their duties effectively and efficiently – are what are referred to as police powers.

The ability of the police to communicate with the citizens in a language they understand is just another aspect of police efficiency. This is what the Northerners and the Easterners have been asking for. We do not need the input or the intervention of the Provincial Councils for this. The government need take only a few steps to “Tamilise” the police stations in the areas where the majority speak Tamil.

The question to ask is what exactly are the Chief Ministers hoping to enjoy in the form of police powers? The answer is very simple: The power to lord it over the police. This is what every politician longs for in our part of the world, whether he is in India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka. If the Chief Ministers get a police force they can push around, they will have a veritable private police.

If devolution does take place, we can reasonably assume, judging from the behaviour of our politicians over the past two decades, that the streets, lanes and by-lanes in the North and East will be clogged with police pilot vehicles, police escorts and police back-up vehicles, that underworld characters and kasippu kings who support the Chief Ministers will get police support, that those who oppose the Chief Ministers will be harassed by the police, and that bribery, corruption and indiscipline will be rampant in the police force.

Mr. Gunawardena wants to know who will suffer. It will be the man in the street, our average law-abiding citizens. Devolution of police powers to the provinces? Ask this question at a national referendum. You can be sure the answer will be a resounding “No”. The only persons to say “yes” will be the Chief Ministers.
To use a pithy Sinhala saying: It would be like giving a razor to a monkey!

Edward Gunawardena
Battaramulla


Foul-smelling drain in Kandy
We see lots of notices and posters put up about the eradication of dengue, and we hear stories of negligent citizens paying hefty fines for not keeping their gardens clean and free of mosquito-breeding places.

I recently visited the Kandy main post office to mail a letter, and on the way back I decided to walk back to the main bus stand, next to the police station. I took a short-cut along a rail track alongside a row of shops. There was a drain with stagnant water, and it was giving off a foul smell. I noticed people holding their hands to their noses as they walked past the drain.

This drain, which receives waste water from 30 to 40 “kades” and eateries, is a potential breeding spot for mosquitoes. Something should be done fast. It is unhygienic to have dirty drains with stagnant water. Moreover, no one likes to have foul-smelling drains in their neighbourhood.

Ganesana
Kundasale


Female trains carry a special meaning
The express trains introduced by the late Mr. B. D. Rampala, General Manager of Railways, were given feminine names, such as “Ruhunu Kumari”, “Yal Devi”, “Muthu Kumari”, “Uda Rata Menike”, “Udaya Devi” and “Galu Kumari”, because they “carried” people, just as expectant mothers “carry” babies.
I happened to be working in Mr. Rampala’s office at the time the “express” trains were introduced, and this was the explanation Mr. Rampala gave when asked why the trains had been given “female” names.

L. L. Leanage
Retd. AO, Railway Headquarters
Ambalangoda

 
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