Promises Made, Promises Kept – The First Instalment!
By Emil van der Poorten –May 8, 2016
Emil van der Poorten
I have, often, been accused of pillorying the current government and not giving it time to live up to the promises made at the time it was seeking to be elected to run this country.
Well, here’s an acknowledgement of the efforts of one MP (and Cabinet Minister) Mr. Haleem who appears to have begun living up to at least one of his promises.
I am submitting three photographs with this piece which I hope the editors will publish together with the script because I believe in the old adage about “a picture speaking a thousand words!”
Just prior to the last general election in January 2015 the “locals,” myself included, organized a “Pocket meeting” to greet the UNP candidate for the area who was already a sitting member of the legislature and of cabinet rank. Mr. Haleem was, I was told, the nephew of an UNP stalwart of another generation, Mr.A.C.S. Hameed, the perhaps-unjustifiably pilloried Minister of Foreign Affairs in the J. R. Jayewardene cabinet whose initials – “A.C.S” – allegedly stood for All Countries Seen!”
Community activist, Thompson Banda, with the bulldozer operators – May 5th 2016
Minister Haleem in conversation with residents requiring road access
In any event, the politico and his minions, I am sure, did not expect the active participation of the audience in the discussion that followed Minister Haleem’s speech. What we heard that afternoon could have been described as a litany of woes, stemming from lack of road access to a large number of families. Having encouraged the “locals” to voice their complaints to the candidate, it was an absolute pleasure to see them do so with only the level of constraint that kept the language used within the bounds of decency! Children having to walk three miles each way to kindergarten was but one of the complaints made, with lack of access to emergency medical assistance and other serious problems also being emphasized. I don’t think the candidate had any previous experience of that level of participation by local folk in what ended up being a forum for serious local issues, not, simply yet another mutual admiration society in action! It was crystal clear that the access issue needed to be addressed first and without further delay. Those of us who were somewhat skeptical about initiating and/or assisting this primary community action were being proved dead wrong! And I, for one, after more years than I care to recount as a community organizer and activist was, as that old saying goes, “pleased as Punch!”
