Clearing Or Laying Land Mines With Friends & Family?
By Rajeewa Jayaweera –May 8, 2016
Rajeewa Jayaweera
A recent full page advertisement, carried out and paid for by the Ministry of National Policy & Economic Affairs headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was indeed thought provoking. Its headline was “The Landmines that have Wrecked the Economy”. The text stated “State-owned enterprises are heavily in debt to domestic and foreign banks to the tune of 1,042.8 billion rupees. The SriLankan Airlines share alone is approximately Rs 212 billion. Keep in mind that these are only the liabilities that have surfaced so far. Handing over these institutions to friends and family members of politicians as well as gross mismanagement facilitated corruption, waste and the illegal use of budgeted funds. With better policies and management, we have managed to repay 100 billion rupees of the outstanding debts these institutions have accumulated. And this is only 10% of what we owe! These debt-ridden institutions constitute a minefield that stands in the way of progress. We cannot and will not pass on this burden to our children and future generations.” The advertisement ended with “Instead of seeking short-term political benefits we will take prudent and decisive steps to resolve this unprecedented debt crisis.”
The legality and ethics of ministries carrying paid advertisements in state owned and private publications, especially with messages carrying political content is best left for another day.
The most curious part of the advertisement was “Handing over these institutions to friends and family members of politicians.” We are all aware of the promises made by both the President and Prime Minister prior to Presidential and Parliamentary elections of eradicating nepotism and family bandyism, turned into a fine art by the Rajapaksa administration. That said, the past fifteen months has seen members of the Yahapalanaya administration indulging in similar acts of nepotism and family bandyism. An entire newspaper will not suffice to list out the various acts of nepotism and family bandyism of this administration. Two glaring examples will suffice for the purpose, one of which was raised by Trade Unions immediately prior to the Sinhala New Year break. The silence thereafter suggests unions may have been silenced.
