A few days ago we carried an analysis by Prof Harsha de Silva, one of the much acclaimed financial analysts in Sri Lanka, on how the imprudent economic proposals enunciated in the Mahinda Chintanaya had dragged this country into an irreversible economic collapse. He pointed out that the country had lost a gigantic 460 billion rupees (SIRe) because of the mismanagement, waste, corruption, and fraud which have infested the current administration.
Prof Silva stressed that 'fraud' had been a major elections platform issue that reverberated throughout the country during the recent presidential election. The charges of fraud and corruption raised mainly on opposition party platforms have begun to rumble on the southern region as well which is believed to be a stronghold of the ruling alliance.
The responses of the government to these criticisms have funnily enough been tantamount to an admission rather than a rejection of those charges. Why? Because, the Mahinda Rajapaksa government in its first term in office claimed that its prime objective was that of eradicating terrorism is now pledging to fight corruption, waste and fraud, in its second term.
Corruptions and Frauds
Mahinda Rajapaksa rode into power on the back of promises given in the first election campaign. It however does not look like he is going to do anything about these serious allegations. Instead, it appears as though his objective is to project himself as a man who will vengefully hunt down anyone who dares to reveal anomalies, corruptions and frauds and use his position to oppress them. This is the gut feeling one gets when one assimilates the news pouring out in relation to these issues.
Transparency International in Sri Lanka is an organization committed to revealing corruption, fraud, waste, tyrannies, transgressions and anomalies in state administration. It also monitors incidents of the ruling alliance abusing state resources and assets to promote its election campaign.
The Asian Human Rights Commission has said it has reliable information that indicates a government plan to place impediments in the way of its investigations in Sri Lanka and to render it impotent by putting its Chief Executive Attorney J.C Weliamuna behind bars by framing false charges against him. The commission expressed deep concern over recent obstructions against it by the government similar to those unleashed on a wider scale against various other Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) operating in the country by making false allegations against them as well.
People's Responsibility
In the meantime, M. J. M. Muzammil, a Muslim candidate contesting in the Colombo district from the United National Party has made some observations in this regard. He has drawn our attention to a remark made by Wimal Weerawansa, one of the prominent governing alliance candidates in the forthcoming election, at an election campaign meeting, while President Mahinda Rajapaksa was present also on the same stage.
Various constraints exist which make it almost impossible for political parties to totally weed out corrupt members from their ranks and they are compelled to coexist with these bad eggs. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the people to identify those corrupt politicians and remove them from the political realm by not voting for them. Muzammil, while quoting this remark by Weerawansa, has said that Weerawansa should then help identify those bad guys since Weerawansa appears to know who these bad eggs are!
Wishful Thinking
It is mere wishful thinking to hope that anything of this nature would ever happen here in Sri Lanka. The reality is that people are arrested on trumped up charges and committed social activists in the NGOs are arrested when they reveal the wrongdoings of the government and this will continue.
In the context of these realities in the political realm it would then seem logical to contend that an economic revival in Sri Lanka is light years away.
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