CHOGM Is Not Where People’s Issues Can Be Solved
By Siritunga Jayasuriya -November 12, 2013 |
Siritunga Jayasuriya
The Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting (CHOGM) taking place in Colombo from 10 to 17 November will in no way benefit the working people in Sri Lanka or workers and poor in the other 53 member countries, the majority of whom remain poor. In fact the opposite is true. CHOGM is, in reality, a ‘business club’ led by the British government largely to safeguard British big business’s interests in the former colonies.
This year the Commonwealth established a formal Charter setting out its core values: they include democracy; human rights; peace and security; tolerance; freedom of expression; and many other commendable aims.
If, however, the Commonwealth was sincere in standing by these declared core values, the majority of member states would be excluded from membership. Chief among the candidates for expulsion would be this year’s host Sri Lanka, which stands accused of war crimes.Read More
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The Opportunity
For an emerging nation like Sri Lanka, the CHOGM provides a perfect platform to promote the country as a destination for FDI, Tourism and as a source of Exports. The Government has made a significant investment in preparing the nation for this event, which will certainly have the world’s media attention. I will not get into the debate about the level of expenditure for CHOGM, because it has already been made! What is important now is to ensure that Sri Lanka gets the best return on this investment. For this to happen, the relevant authorities like the EDB, BOI, CSE, Tourist Board, Tea Board and the Foreign Missions must be set measurable targets. The heads of these institutions should be able to demonstrate, in 6 to 12 months that quantifiable progress has been made towards these targets. Perhaps a TV show at which they will present tangible results achieved.
What gets measured gets done!
The Relevance
I am a strong believer and practitioner in asking the very basic questions and always challenging it with my favourite question ‘So what?’ The Commonwealth did not escape this test! I started asking myself: Who is the Commonwealth? Why do they exist? What do they do? (which every organization should ask!). To me, the answer is simple: it is an ‘Old Boys Club’ of the countries that (Great) Britain conquered and colonized. It has no geographical relevance; neither does it have any economic or political relevance. Can you really be a global influencer in today’s world – if USA, Japan, China, Germany, France, Brazil, Russia and Saudi Arabia are all not members of your ‘Club’? So, how can an ‘alliance’ that lacks relevance and influence make a difference?
