Yahapalanaya scorecard

 JUL 11 2016

It’s public knowledge that space exists in the political arena for moral government which is now of presidential concern though its past meandering compelled the public to stumble on the implicit faith it had in this government. That integrity adorns Central Bank's hottest seat consequent to presidential reins being well directed is cause for public euphoria and hopefully will remain that way even in the days to come. By yielding to public opinion in the appointment of the new Central Bank Governor, Presidential priority to people's sovereignty was very conspicuous - the absence for which the past regime gained much notoriety.

It’s the restricted, warped mediocre mindset of the communalists always from the lower social strata that would develop a hiccup over the integrity of a cultured, educated scholar such as Dr Indrajit Coommaraswamy, unfailingly judging him by their own standard. From whichever quarter the appointment came, certainly it is a choice of refinement and intellectual taste proving presidential capability of making yahapalanaya a reality though some past derailment was to public distaste.

To be noted also in the area of rule of law and people's sovereignty is the outstanding ruling of the supreme court that upheld the locus stand of Singapore's Messrs Nobel Resources who charged that the tender criteria had been misdirected following the bids being opened of a tender worth over 60 billion to supply 6.75 million tonnes of coal to the Norochcholai power plant. Supreme Court viewed the Cabinet decision of September 22 to award the contract to Messrs Singapore Ltd. as invalid. Some of the events, according to Chief Justice Sri Pavan, ‘stirred the court's conscience.’

Functioning democracy

Many were the instances when such irregular tender procedures went unchecked during the past regime as inroads were built into the judiciary. That the rule of law is functional now is in itself a feather in the cap for yahapalanaya though subject to much ridicule in recent times. However, the deafening silence of government media units in conveying it to the masses is regretful.

Keeping people in the dark on measures taken to uphold their sovereignty is counterproductive. An essential feature of a functioning democracy is sovereignty where the people ‘s wishes and aspirations are held supreme which a country's constitution is all about. Politicising the three arms of government undermines people's sovereignty resulting in the loss of their freedom as well.

Besides all this is the latest clarion call for bureaucratic exclusiveness to the point of bureaucrats asking that they be considered above the law is fast gaining ground. There is a mismatch in this clamour for ‘legal untouchability’ of public servants and public accountability - the first paves the way for licensing immorality and the latter a moral obligation on the part of the state towards its citizenry which invariably substantiates sovereignty.

Yahapaalanaya is realisable only when people's sovereignty is upheld. From which ever quarters it may emanate, should the executive take on the ‘holier than thou attitude’ and presidential confirmation of such, does not augur well for democratic government rather a stampeding of the people's rights and supremacy is inevitably endorsed. Presidential wiser counsel has so far prevailed on the matter and hopefully will remain so in the future as well.

A corrupt bureaucracy contradicts the constitutional guarantee of people's wishes and aspirations to be upheld at all times. A public agency of the government duly elected by the people has every moral right to summon any public officer to present himself before an institutional body investigating into financial irregularities. The very thought of public servants calling for a full stop to these summonings itself goes against the very people whom they serve forgetting it’s the people's right to know the misdoings of a public service established to serve the people. This then is part of the right to information which promise the government has already fulfilled to its electorate.

Area of rule of law

An invisible yahapalanaya now operative is not without its moral discrepancies. Yet amid those shortfalls we have kept a few steps forward in the area of rule of law with space for improvement. That the white van with its recorded black past is no more and journalists aren't abducted among other things are those that uphold invisible good governance yet the marauding silence going by presidential admission of the state publicity agencies in the prime ministerial and presidential divisions to create awareness among the public on such is conspicuous which is why, ‘nothing is happening’ are the well chosen words that come off many people in the course of conversation.

The people's insistence on their elected government to take legal action against those that plundered monies rightfully theirs and the failure to live up to their expectations results in high degree frustration. Many believe that legal action against corruption is shelved because the MR camp once in power will help cover up whatever corruption of today's power wielders. Some even believe such action cannot be instituted - the system now brimming with MR's acolytes.

To top it all, these acolytes having connived with the now defunct regime, have the audacity to even demand the right not to be summoned before financial irregularities agencies. Not surprising then, if this plea is legally licensed it will be a boon and a blessing to cover up contemporary corruption as well if any.

People's sovereignty

A corruption-free government service is a great celebration to the concept of people's sovereignty. Honest government servants should challenge all irregularities coming off ministerial hot seats. The lackadaisical reply of ‘what to do, these are orders from the top’ are simply lame, servile and naive excuses for wallet fattening.

A spineless corrupt public service or the executive is to be blamed for the quagmire this country is engulfed in not to forget an equally corrupt silent media with rare exceptions - both unequivocally deterrent to public interest as much as a powerful executive presidency. Elections to choose people's representatives into parliament apparently of recent times is a futile endeavour as a bunch of crooks prepare to be replaced by some other - the only hope being an honest, principled public service in whom rests the country's redemption coupled with a strong, vibrant and equally honest media.

Politicians will always remain the same so eager to aquire for themselves - this country's perennial curse - exceptions so hard to come by. But the danger lies in the corrupt public servant and certain sections of their match in the media ever ready to co-operate with this morally deviant bunch that later resort to a readymade reply: “What's to be done I was forced into this from the top”, an answer not likely to find social acceptance except that it could be told to the marines! If this piece of unfair legislation in transforming government servants into ‘licensed vice men’ and corrupt ‘paragons of virtue’ find legal acceptance with the law becoming an ass - this time not a blind one, and is given a presidential nod, to be noted is the emergence of a very powerful corrupt executive that will replace the all powerful executive presidency whose now curtailed powers will be totally redundant.