Ghosts of the past
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Sometime ago in these columns I suggested that a government should resort to a two-track approach of managing the country: one track to deal with mid-to-long-term issues and a second track to cover immediate needs and fire-fighting on all current issues.This model, it appears, would be something the current administration needs to look at closely, given the current battle and hurdles it has to overcome in meeting the growing expectations of the people.
It’s easy to make statements and promises during an election campaign; a former prime minister promised to even ‘bring rice from the moon’! But when the time comes to govern, it’s hard to fulfil these promises. It’s another bitter lesson for the ruling administration.
These were among the thoughts of Pedris Appo, short for Appuhamy, a retired agriculture expert who now has his own farm, during a phone call on Thursday. “I say, the government seems to be struggling to deliver the goods as promised during the election campaign,” he said. “This is a problem that many past regimes have faced,” I said.
“In this case, it also shows the immaturity of the JVP/NPP regime because some bungling in administrative matters is taking place,” he said. “In fairness to the government, they can’t do everything in such a short time amid high expectations of the people to fulfill all the promises that were made. At least on one front they seem to be succeeding; corruption in the public service seems to have ended. But that has triggered another problem: public officials are slowing down the administration, maybe because they are unable to ‘make money’.” I said.
In a recent interview with our sister paper, the Daily Mirror, Plantation and Community Infrastructure Minister Samantha Vidyaratna was quoted as saying that the bureaucracy is not working in tandem with the government’s aspirations. “We can’t move at the pace we desire and it’s the same for my ministry. We have to constantly push to get things done,” he said.
The fact that the government machinery is slow and not in line with the government’s needs and aspirations is an issue that many ministers seem to be facing; whether it’s a deliberate attempt by public officials appointed by previous regimes or via political patronage to stall progress (officials fearing they would be removed or hauled up for bribery or corruption), remains to be seen.
On one front, the government seems to be winning some support: going after allegedly corrupt politicians and public officials. A familiar sight these days at the Colombo Magistrate’s Courts is the regular ‘trooping in, in handcuffs’ of former ministers, politicians and former senior officials and current officials accused of bribery and corruption. This is in fact happening daily.
Some former ministers and politicians are already booking their place in the prison hospital, saying they are unwell and submitting medical certificates when directed to appear before the Bribery Commission and other legal authorities.
Many of the cases are those filed many years back, in some instances more than a decade ago, but not proceeded with, and action suspended. Many were cases initiated during the Yahapalanaya regime under the Maithripala Sirisena-Ranil Wickremesinghe watch. After a lot of promises to catch the crooks, that regime failed miserably and was accused of protecting the ‘powerful’ instead of prosecuting them.
In a recent article published in the Sunday Times Business, Priyanga Algama, a former Deputy Secretary to the Treasury, raised some salient issues about the public service and
governance.
“Election after election, promise after promise but what have we really gained? Sri Lanka continues to cycle through elections local, provincial, parliamentary and presidential, each costing billions of taxpayer rupees. In return, we elect politicians who offer little more than empty rhetoric, personal enrichment and political theatrics. Instead of leaders who uplift the nation, we’re stuck funding layers of bureaucracy and political showmanship. Precious public funds that could transform our communities, support our most vulnerable and build national infrastructure are wasted on a political machine that serves itself first,” he wrote.
He said decades of political rule have delivered bloated provincial administrations that are expensive, inefficient and disconnected from the people’s real needs; dysfunctional local governments – unable to manage even basic public services; an obsolete public service – red tape, outdated processes and widespread inefficiency; and a broken education system – relying on outdated exams rather than real-world skills; among other negatives.
“Citizens deserve a government that uses their hard-earned money wisely, not one that fuels its own survival while people suffer. We must break this cycle of apathy and political privilege and move toward a nation built on merit, efficiency and public service, not empty slogans and political dynasties,” he said.
Another challenge facing the administration is the billions of rupees pumped annually into loss-making state-owned enterprises to keep them afloat and ensure the workers there (often many appointed due to political patronage) don’t lose their jobs.
According to a report today in the Sunday Times Business, these underperforming state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have accumulated losses exceeding Rs. 8 trillion over the past three decades. This massive financial loss is almost equivalent to Sri Lanka’s pre-default external debt before 2022. The report said that the government spends nearly Rs. 300 billion annually to keep these institutions afloat, diverting crucial funds away from essential public services like healthcare, education and infrastructure.
Well, it’s that time of the morning to fetch my second mug of tea from the kitchen (Kussi Amma Sera often forgets to bring it to my office room as she is ‘busy’ gossiping with her friends). However I use this opportunity to walk around and listen to the conversation of the trio under the margosa tree.
“Godak deshapalagnayanwa den ath-adanguwata aran usavi daanawa (There are many politicians being arrested and brought to courts),” said Kussi Amma Sera. “Samahara nadu parana ewa, samahara nadu aluth ewa (Some of them are old cases and some are new),” noted Serapina. “Parana aandu asaarthaka wuna-nae horu allanna (Past governments have failed to catch these thieves),” added Mabel Rasthiyadu.
As I wind up my column, the challenge is to ensure these charges against various politicians and public officials stick. For, as seen in the past, allegations by legal authorities presented to the Magistrate’s Courts often fail before a higher court due to lack of sufficient evidence or due to some other legal issue.
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