Significance of sustainable HRM: A salient Sri Lankan effort

 Monday, 14 January 2019

I witnessed the launch of a book with a difference recently. It was Senior Professor Henarath Opatha, a veteran researcher in the field of HRM presenting his newest contribution titled ‘Sustainable HRM’. Today’s column is about the nature and features of that valued collection of insightful thoughts with emphasis on the relevance to Sri Lanka.
Overview

There is a growing awareness and enthusiasm on people management in Sri Lankan organisations. This is evident by the increasing number of activities related to Human Resource Management (HRM) in many fronts taking place in the island. Yet, we have a long way to go in unleashing the true potential of our productive workforce, in the wake of a post-war economic expansion and development drive.

One key element in such an endeavour is to have clarity of what really HRM is all about and its broad dimensions. Senior Prof. Henarath Opatha has fulfilled a felt void in presenting a prolific volume on ‘Sustainable HRM’.

As he mentioned clearly, “the objective of this book is to provide a systematic and rational understanding of sustainable HRM based on a model developed by me, both conceptual understanding and application-oriented understanding to the reader”. As he further states, “it delivers a systematic approach to the analysis and handling of major issues in sustainable HRM”.


Sustainability to the forefront

Sustainability has multiple fronts. The author observes that that the terms ‘sustainable development,’ ‘sustainability,’ ‘corporate sustainability’ and ‘Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)’ have been utilised interchangeably. As it is popularly known, the name sustainability is derived from the Latin sustainer meaning to ‘maintain,’ ‘support’ or ‘endure’.

Since the 1980s sustainability has been used more in the sense of human sustainability on planet Earth and this has resulted in the most widely quoted definition of sustainability as a part of the concept sustainable development, that of the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations on 20 March 1987: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

As the author observes, “This is the widely used definition and the Commission highlighted three fundamental components of sustainable development, i.e. the economic growth, the environmental protection, and social equity.”

“Hence sustainable future needs to be economically viable, environmentally sound, and socially equitable.”

He also cites the International Institute for Sustainable Development presented a business definition of sustainable development in its report, in 1992 as follows: “Adopting business strategies and activities that meet the needs of the enterprise and its stakeholders today while protecting, sustaining and enhancing the human and natural resources that will be needed in the future.”

The author having perused through multiple ways of describing sustainability presents his definition: “Deliberate constant endeavour to utilise human and other resources, and natural environment to meet needs of current stakeholders of the organisation while maintaining and if possible enhancing human and other resources, and natural environment to meet needs of future stakeholders. “
Sustainable HRM in focus 

Prof. Opatha cites many previous who attempted to describe Sustainable HRM and summaries what has been captured so far. “Sustainable HRM is the utilisation of HRM tools to help embed a sustainability strategy in the organisation and the creation of an HRM system that contributes to the sustainable performance of the firm. Sustainable HRM creates the skills, motivation, values and the trust to achieve a triple bottom line and at the same time ensures the long-term health and sustainability of both the organizations internal and external stakeholders with policies that reflect equity, development and well-being and help support environmentally friendly practices.”

In essence, it is how HRM proactively responds to the creation of triple bottom line, profit, people and planet. As the author presents his own definition of sustainable HRM: “It is that part of Human Resource Management which is concerned with planet-related matters, society-related matters and profit-related matters. Its aim is to maximise environmental, social, and economic performance of the organisation. It refers to the policies, procedures, rules, practices and systems of managing employees which contribute to achieve sustainability.”

It is interestingly to observe how Prof. Opatha divides three sub-branches of sustainable HRM. They are termed as Green HRM (planet-related matters), Social HRM (society-related matters) and Economic HRM (profit-related matters).

As he identifies, Green HRM includes green roles of employees, green HRM functions, green attitude and behaviour, green job performance, etc. Social HRM includes organisational ethics, work-family balance, quality of work life, health and safety and employee counselling, happiness, etc. Economic HRM includes high performance organisation, employee retention, absenteeism and presenteeism, customer satisfaction, competitive business strategy and HR strategy, etc. Obviously, such an approach captures a vast array of affairs in the broad gamut of HRM.

A veteran in action

It is a pleasure to note the profound contribution of Senior Professor Henerath Opatha, to the research and teaching arenas of HRM. His impressive profile shows that he is the Senior Professor in the Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura (USJ), Sri Lanka. Apart from his regular teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at USJ, he has taught HRM for many postgraduate programmes in other universities, local and overseas, including Universiti Utara, Malaysia.

His wide range of publications include 18 books, 63 research articles in local and international journals of repute, 19 abstracts and four study manuals. He is the author of the first textbook on HRM in Sinhala medium (‘Sew mandala Kalamanakaranaye,’ 1995), the first Sri Lankan textbook on HRM in English medium (‘Human Resource Management: Personnel,’ 2009), the first Sri Lankan textbook on organisational behaviour in English medium (‘Organizational Behaviour, The Human Side of Work,’ 2015), a creative book titled ‘Personal Quality,’ 2010, and the main author of the book ‘Enhancing PQ,’ published by the Universiti Utara Malaysia.

Being the first full professor in HRM in Sri Lanka, he holds five academic qualifications. Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Special) (Honours) (USJ) in 1985, Master of Science in Business Administration (HRM) (USJ) in 1991, Master of Business Administration (University of Birmingham, United Kingdom) in 1993, Doctor of Philosophy in Human Resource Management (Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia) in 2001 and very prestigious Doctor of Letters (Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka) in 2015. His impressive scholarly approach is amply evident in his latest publication, ‘Sustainable HRM’.
Key features of the book

‘Sustainable HRM’ is a comprehensive volume that consists of 12 chapters. Each of the chapters contain chapter objectives and summary, useful frameworks, instruments developed by the author to measure various sustainable HRM constructs, real-life and interesting examples, review questions, activities (cases, critical incidents, and skill builders) and a glossary of key terms.

Among the interesting topics, sustainability and HRM, green HRM, organisational ethics and HRM, work-family balance, quality of work-life, employee counselling and happiness and HRM can be stated. I see the chapter on happiness, particularly insightful with wide-ranging aspects such as psychological well-being. Pathway to happiness has been stated as a pleasant life, good life and a meaningful life. The role of HRM in creating employee happiness has been adequately dealt with by the author.

As the book intended to be more of a text book, the appeal is more for the students and researchers. As an improvement for a future revision, adding more practical relevance by way of contemporary local and global examples can be proposed. It is by no means undermining the pioneering contribution in bringing a strategically significant publication to the forefront.

As the author himself mentions in his foreword: “May this book contribute to increase learning and teaching of sustainable HRM among students, professionals and university and college teachers, and finally to enhance environmental, social, and economic sustainability! This is my heartfelt wish. Any suggestions for the improvement of the book are welcome.”
Further reflections 

Sustainable HRM is required in a decisive way. Aptly intertwined with the consciousness of profit, people and planet, it should be viewed holistically in the broad context of socio-economic and religion-cultural fabric of Sri Lanka. It should cater for organisational progress, societal well-being and ecological conservation.

The terms I coined some time ago to depict triple trends of future HRM, as be lean, seen and green aptly fits with Prof. Opatha’s concept of sustainable HRM. Be lean is for Economic HRM being cost-effective catering for higher profitability. Be seen is for Societal HRM having the visibility factor in connecting to people in responding to their needs. Be green is obviously connected to Green HRM.

The conventional mindset of “labour handling” should pave way for creative mindset of “talent engagement” in multiple useful fronts. Are Sri Lankan HR professionals ready for such a challenging change with a broader awareness? Are private sector managers and public sector administrators willing to embrace such a mindset expansion? Are Sri Lankan leaders inspiring such change with timely decision making? These are the pertinent questions that need prompt attention, if sustainable HRM to move beyond a theoretical treatise.
Way forward 

As a lifelong learner of HRM, let me appreciate the committed contribution of Prof. Opatha towards humanity. May he engage in more such scholarly projects, preferably with more practical relevance.

It reminds me of what Josiah Charles Stamp stated: “It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.”  Senior Professor Dr. Henarath Hettiarachchige Desapriya Nandana Pushpakumara Opatha has done his part with ecological, ethical and economical consciousness. Now it is our turn to read, reflect and refresh ourselves in gearing towards meaningful sustained results.
(Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri can be reached through director@pim.sjp.ac.lk, ajantha@ou.edu or www.ajanthadharmasiri.info)

SRI LANKA: LEGISLATIVE LANE FOR NEW CONSTITUTION FACES SNAGS

• Steering Committee unable to reach an agreement on draft
• PM asks Constitutional Assembly and public to decide fate of the process
• Acknowledges taking process forward difficult without 2/3 majority 
• Despite lack of draft Constitution, MR demands it be tabled
• TNA says new Constitution was aimed at uniting all Sri Lankans 
• JVP slams PM, points out Steering Committee met 83 times over three years but no results
• PM and JVP criticise MR loyalists for using new Constitution to spread misinformation and ethnic division 

12/01/2019

A report prepared by the Panel of Experts for the Steering Committee based on the Interim Report, six Sub Committee Reports, the Report of the ad hoc Sub Committee assigned to look into the relationship between the Parliament and the Provincial Councils were presented to the Constitutional Assembly yesterday.

As the Steering Committee was unable to reach common ground on most of the areas under discussion to prepare the proposed draft, the Steering Committee Chairman Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe wanted the members to decide the next step following the presentation of the reports.

The first report elaborates on Fundamental Rights and Freedom, Language Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy, which are the chapters proposed by the Sub Committee on Fundamental Rights. The chapter on Citizenship was reproduced from the present Constitution. Political party representations in the Interim Report of the Steering Committee and the comments and letters submitted by Members of the Panel of Experts are found as schedule I and II to the report, respectively. A subject-wise summary of the speeches made at the debate on the Interim Report of the Steering Committee at the Constitutional Assembly and the recommendations submitted by the Chief Ministers of the Provincial Councils were among the reports moved.

Moving the reports, the Prime Minister wanted the members of the Constitutional Assembly and the general public to read them all and take them up for discussion as per the decision taken by the Steering Committee on 25 October 2018.

“The purpose of today’s Constitutional Sitting is to table these reports. It was decided on 6 September 2017 to present the Interim Report to the Constitutional Assembly on 21 September. The debate went on for a few days and we were able to collect many important proposals from the members. Even though we are supposed to present Draft Constitutional Proposals, we decided not to in the absence of a two-thirds majority support. Instead we presented these documents, allowing the assembly to resolve the next step as per a decision taken on 24 May 2018. On 6 September 2018, the Committee resolved to submit the draft document to the Constitutional Assembly as a draft from the experts without a party position post discussion with all members,” he said.

Rejecting the United People’s Freedom Alliance’s (UPFA) charges of the country being divided, Buddhism getting lesser recognition, and the Northern and the Eastern Provinces amalgamated in a non-existent draft Constitution, the Prime Minister nonetheless held that all opinions should be listened to.

Having tabled the reports instead of a draft, the Prime Minister wanted the members to decide the next move where the Steering Committee has finished its task. “Now this august assembly should decide what we should do next. There were no plans to divide the country, but those who are politically bankrupt wanted to misinform the public. In the absence of other matters, they look at spreading rumours to say the country is divided, that Buddhism will not have prominence, and the Northern and Eastern Provinces will be amalgamated,” he said.

According to the 1978 Constitution, Article 2 recognises the Republic of Sri Lanka as a unitary State, and Article 9 in Chapter II states the Republic of Sri Lanka will give to Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly, it will be the duty of the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana, while assuring to all religions the rights granted by Articles 10 and 14(1) (e).

“Former Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake added Buddhism to the 1972 Constitution. Nobody will want to remove this and will want Article 9 of the current Constitution to remain as it is. We will not touch Article 9. We will consider if there are proposals with regards to other religions. There is no federalism in it but a unitary State. We are looking at devolution of power in a unitary State. We are yet to discuss the elections system, especially after the constitutional crisis and also the abolishing of the Executive Presidency. The United National Party (UNP) position is that Article 2 and 9 will be protected and a new Constitution will be drafted. Just because we present you the opinions which are unfavourable it does not say that those will be allowed in the new Constitution. We will get opinions we agree and disagree with, which we will have to consider,” he added, highlighting the fact that a two-thirds majority is necessary to do a draft.

Leader of the Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was on feet, wanted the Steering Committee to present its draft instead of the reports tabled. “We will need time to study these reports. You should have tabled either the draft or at least the standpoint of the UNP, enabling us to debate on it. On the other hand, there is a question of the legitimacy of this Parliament. We don’t see much presence on the Government side, and the current Government lacks legitimacy having lost the Local Government election,” he said.

Proposing the UNP dissolve the Parliament and go for an election with its draft, the Opposition Leader said: “You have gone to the courts to stop a General election. The court decision has insulted the Parliament. Don’t mislead the public or the Parliament. Just let us know what you are planning to do. We should accept that Sinhalese don’t have the right to trample any other race. Consensus is necessary among the races. Don’t establish political hatred,” he said while rejecting his presence at the vote to pass the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.

Challenging MP Rajapaksa’s claim to not have been present for the vote, Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera said: “215 lawmakers voted, one abstained, and seven were absent. So, almost all of you voted for it.”

Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi MP Rajavarothiam Sampanthan, expressing his views, held that Sri Lanka is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious, multi-cultural, and pluralistic society that needs to unite. “The objective of framing this Constitution is to have unity and bring the people together. We have not been able to constitute a Sri Lankan nation up to now for the reasons that we are divided and disunited. The intention of the new Constitution is to get the people to feel that they belong to one country and the country belongs to them. The constitutional power-sharing arrangement is important, and the devolution at regional level will make the governance more accountable and transparent. Corruption and waste will be eliminated if power is devolved.”
MP Sampanthan also appealed the members to read the reports objectively and to endeavour to draft a new Constitution for the betterment of the country and its people.

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) MP Anura Dissanayake criticised UPFA for spreading false information with a non-existent draft. “We were at the Steering Committee and the experts in the panel were unable to reach a common agreement. They, too, have made four groups and presented this report. We strongly oppose the 1978 Constitution. We got involved in the Constitution-making process along with those who are spreading false information out to the public. There is a process for drafting a Constitution and approving a Constitution. They are politically-compromised. Baseless allegations were brought, spreading false information. The Steering Committee has met 83 times during the last three years and have failed to reach an agreement on basic matters. In the absence of a draft prepared with common agreement, how can a Constitution-making process proceed? All what we see is that the Prime Minister has tactfully avoided drafting a Constitution,” said MP Dissanayake, who said that there is no purpose for having a Steering Committee which is unable to do a draft Constitution.

By Ashwin Hemmathagama, Lobby Correspondent.

FT

Impact Of The Caste System On Social Harmony: A Study Of Six Villages In Matara District

By Udeshika Jayasekara –JANUARY 11, 2019

Udeshika Jayasekara

This is a study of the impact of the caste system on social harmony in the Southern part of the country. For this study the researcher selected six villages in Matara: Aparekka  Devundara Eladeniya, Kottawatta, Deeyagaha,Kubalagama, and Eladeniya. This analysis considers caste impacts on employment, social mobility, marriage, education and their day today life.

What is caste?

The Caste system is the world’s longest surviving social hierarchy. Caste encompasses a complex ordering of social groups on the basis of ritual purity. 

A person is considered a member of the caste into which he or she is born and remains within that caste until death, although the particular ranking of that caste may vary among regions and over time.

What is Social harmony? 

Social harmony means minimizing the inequalities within the complexity of diversity using access and equity strategies and affirmative action initiatives in the society. 

Social harmony is a state of affairs where social strife is minimized through cooperation, compromise and understanding. It assumes that differences in identities as castes are artificial, bridgeable and non-fundamental, and hence, it is a situation that is not utopian but achievable.

What is Caste Discrimination?

Caste discrimination is caused by the caste system. In caste discrimination there could be harassment and certain prejudices. This discrimination of lower caste people is often perpetrated by people of higher castes. 

Impact of caste on education and occupation

Table 1: Distribution of villages according to the caste

This is a distribution of occupations based on caste.

Table 2: Caste based Occupation 

Figure 1: Occupations and social mobility

Three generations are considered under this: the respondents’ occupation, his fathers’ occupation and his grandfathers’ occupations. Above clustered column chart shows that two generations ago, occupations were closely linked to their Caste. But now situation has changed. In Goigama, most of their occupation had changed. Among the Govi (high caste), the emergence of numerous public servants indicates a growing inclination towards white-collar jobs. Nawandanda and Berawa caste people still engage in the occupation that is the same as their caste system. A moderate number of Karawa and Badahela castes have seeked new occupations. In kottawatta, Rada people are shifting towards other occupations. Nowadays Laundry workers have disappeared and it’s hard to find someone who engages in that occupation. 

Findings confirm that the importance of caste is reducing among both the higher and the lower caste groups within the Sinhalese community in Sri Lanka. A large percentage of persons were no longer occupied in caste-based employment as they move on to do their higher studies. There is a stigma associated with caste based occupations, therefore they tend to reach higher education and move from their caste based occupation.

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Reporting on identity in the Sri Lankan media: Ethics and errors

Featured image courtesy The Colombo Post

01/12/2019

‘It was a Muslim youth who got them involved in the [drug] trade.’

‘A Tamil man who tried to enter Singapore with forged documents has been arrested.’

It is not uncommon to read headlines of this nature in Sri Lankan print media, with perpetrators of a crime or their suspects being identified by race. In Sinhala, Tamil and English media alike, the race or ethnicity of an individual engaged in or suspected of criminal activity is often highlighted, even when it is not central to the news story, and despite the damaging impact it can have on community relations.

‘Sri Lankan media is hyper sensitive to anything to do with ethnicity because for three decades and more that was what dominated the coverage’ says Amantha Perera, a veteran journalist who reported on defense-related issues during the conflict. He observes that after the war came to an end, ethnicity has remained at the centre of political dialogue, which the media continues to remain swayed by.

The selective manner in which ethnicity is highlighted signals existing divisions within society, informed by history and inter-communal relations. When ethnicity is specified in the instance of crime or scandal, it is usually to identify an individual of the minority community. One would find several reports therefore on “thieves”, “murderers” and “drug dealers” who are either Tamil or Muslim, which is problematic ‘especially in a post-war society likes ours that needs to bridge divides’ says independent media analyst Nalaka Gunawardena.

The Code of Ethics laid out by the Sri Lanka Editors Guild notes that journalists must ‘avoid publishing details of a person’s race, caste, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental illness or disability unless these are directly relevant to the story.’ Gunawardena questions, however, if reporters working in Sri Lanka are actually made aware of this Code and familiarised with its clauses.

Infographic by Ethics Eye shows irrelevant use of identity in reporting in selected newspapers across the first half of 2018.

The need for specification of any of these characteristics in a news story is best addressed on a case-by-case basis. For example, if these aspects of a person’s identity cause them to come under attack or discrimination (a hate crime), it is essential that they are reported.

Tharindu Jayawardhana, a journalist at Lankadeepa and member of the Sri Lanka Young Journalists Association, illustrates that during and after the riots in Kandy, it would not have been correct to refer to the violence as simply involving two groups. ‘The fact is that extremists from a particular religion attacked those of another religion for the sole fact that they were of that particular religion. In this case, there is no fault in identifying the different groups.’

Currently, there is often reporting of crimes committed by minorities, with specific mention of their ethnicity, while, if an individual is from the majority, their ethnicity is not mentioned. This applies vice versa, in the case of positive reports; one does not often read about individuals from minority communities who achieve prestigious placements in institutions. ‘How does it become fair reporting then?’ asks Ranga Kalansooriya, who once served as Director General of the Government Information Department.

As the Poynter Institute, a US-based journalism school that has long worked on media ethics and professionalism, has noted: “Identifying subjects in stories presents a continual challenge for journalists. Do we describe subjects the way we see them? Do we describe them the way they want to be described? Do we describe them the way our audience wants them described?”

Deepanjalie Abeywardana, Head of Media Research at Verité Research, oversees the work on Ethics Eye, a media analysis platform that draws attention to press coverage that violates ethical codes in journalism. She notes pushback to their work, where journalists argue that ethnicity is essential in reporting, and not specifying so would be irresponsible reporting. Her response is that this practice must then be adopted equally across communities. ‘If you can report that a Tamil or Muslim person committed a crime, why can’t you mention if a Sinhala person did the same?’. These violations are glaring in instances where the same story has been reported in two entirely different ways by two different newspapers. In the case of an individual arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport for trafficking drugs, while some reports identify the person as ‘Sri Lankan’, others specify the ethnic group that the person belongs to.

In some cases, it might be necessary to mention the ethnicity in order to combat misinformation and rumours that might begin to spread as a result of speculation on social media. In June 2018, the media reported on a case in Chilaw, where a young Muslim boy was murdered by his classmates. With the anti-Muslim riots in Kandy still at the forefront of people’s consciousness, many were quick to assume that the perpetrators were Sinhalese, and that this was a racially-motivated crime. Closer reading of the news report would have indicated to people that the boy attended a Muslim school, and his classmates were Muslim as well. Police spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekara confirmed this to Groundviews.

Through a series of discussions in Vavuniya and Batticaloa, Groundviews was able to speak with regional reporters and news producers on their thoughts about reporting and identity. ‘We should only include details that are relevant to the story’, several said. In this case, ‘relevance’ was seen as the bearing of that particular fact or detail on the crime or achievement that was being reported. For example, clashes between communities that are racially-motivated warrant race or ethnicity being mentioned, however to include such details in the case of a personal dispute would be too harmful.

Reporters feel that indication of ethnicity in crime reporting can have damaging impacts across the community as a whole, though only one individual may be at fault. A regional correspondent for Vavuniya noted that ‘people will generalise that everyone from this ethnicity or religious group are violent, and it contributes to tensions between communities’; The journalists felt that this was particularly important in areas where there are several communities living alongside each other.

They also noted that it is important to recognise the audience that is being reached through the particular publication when deciding how ethnicity should be reported. ‘A journalist writing for a Sinhala-language paper must be careful how they represent the Tamil and Muslim communities’, a reporter said. Given Sri Lanka’s history of conflict and its recent past, reporters are responsible to not contribute to existing stereotypes or discrimination faced by these groups. For example, the reporters noted how the visit of United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay, during her tenure from 2008 to 2014, was reported in Sinhala and Tamil media. While Tamil media highlighted that the families of the disappeared were able to engage with her in discussion, Sinhala reports painted as a foreigner looking to interfere in the country’s affairs, a narrative regularly wielded by the Joint Opposition and nationalist groups to undermine human rights and truth initiatives for war-affected areas. A journalist also noted how the arrest of Gnanasara Thero was reported in Sinhala print media as being a ‘gift’ to a certain community, inadvertently demonising the Muslim community in the eyes of Sinhala readers. ‘All the work that people have been trying to do since 2009, to bring communities together and talk about reconciliation, is no use when the media does the opposite it in how it reports’, noted a journalist working in Puttalam.

‘We are responsible to tell stories that can allow communities to understand each other’, said a news producer based in Anuradhapura. They illustrated this with incidents of a Sinhala Navy officer helping a Muslim family, or a great achievement by a Tamil youth that could contribute to a positive narrative of communities that are often misrepresented in mainstream media.

‘We know how to report ethically, with relevant details and accurate headlines, however often our editors call and ask us to add information that is not necessary or make the headline more eye-catching, just to sell copies’, said a correspondent working in Batticaloa. Many of the regional reporters were quick to note that the editorial had more responsibility in the irresponsible content published than the journalists themselves did. With profit as a primary motive, journalists say that editors under pressure from media owners demand reporting that is sensational. This occasionally results in stories that are factually accurate and ethically sound being withheld, as editors and owners believe these will not sell.

Abeywardana states that in the time that Ethics Eye has been operational, some newspapers have corrected the manner in which they report on these issues. Whether the newspapers are doing so with genuine acknowledgment of their faults, or simply to avoid condemnation by monitors or citizens on social media, is not certain. However it does signal a need to hold the media – journalists and owners alike – accountable for the content they are presenting to the general public.

20 Parliamentarians have been decided to refrain from voting

W.K.PRASAD MANJU- JAN 12 2019

Nearly 20 Parliamentarians have been decided to refrain from voting to the expenditure heads of three United National Party (UNP) Parliamentarians at the budget debate to be held on March 2019, said a UNP Parliamentarian.

Accordingly it was decided to be refrain from voting to the expenditure heads of   Minister of Development Strategies, International Trade and Science and Technology Malik Samarawickrama, Minister of Megapolis & Western Development Patali Champika Ranawaka and Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine. Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, he opined.

He said that several UNP Parliamentarians have issues on these three Cabinet Ministers including not carrying out several policies of the Government and not serving to the UNP members fairly.

 He further said that it has been also reported regarding these three Ministers to the four member committee appointed by the Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe

EQUITABLE QUALITY IN EDUCATION

Fr. Augustine Fernando (Diocese of Badulla)-Monday, January 14, 2019

Almost all parents who send their children to school desire to see them get a good education. The meaning and understanding of what a good education is may vary according to the differing evaluations of parents. Objectively, a good education should mean an education of a good quality which is imparted in a school where the possibility of acquiring the ability of sound reasoning, knowledge in several disciplines and of the challenges, nature and values of life with aesthetic underpinnings are available to the students. That, along with solid aids to the formation of a good character to help the alumni to become civic conscious and live a happy and contented life as socially responsible citizens able to live in good relationship with fellow human beings in a multi-faceted pluralist world may be considered a good education.

The assessment of the quality of education could vary according to the values that are considered high and most important that they cannot be disregarded. Today some may have come to consider education in Sri Lanka in Sinhala or Tamil along with the acquisition of a practical use of English as very valuable. Some others may consider a very good knowledge of English to be the most important along with good abilities in Sinhala or Tamil while some would choose capability in all three languages. Some would consider studying certain foreign languages a very necessary and useful tool and a remarkable value addition. Many wish that a proper knowledge of one’s religion is also very necessary. Many rightly consider sports and extra-curricular activities to be an important formative part of youngsters’ lives. However all may not participate in these in the school itself. Some would choose freedom in education in privately managed denominational schools and fee-levying private schools and those called international schools run under the Companies Act.

Whether the various authorities of education, especially those who plan and make education policies at the national level, have a good understanding as to what a good education would be and how it could be made available to all to equip them for life, should and could be discussed from time to time. What the good educationists of Sri Lanka generally agree on could be implemented so that all may have access to a good education which is their right. If a required proper education was not given to a percentage of the population as low as 0.01 the number so affected would be over 20,000 people in Sri Lanka.

ENVIRONMENTS OF EDUCATION

The environment of schools providing education to our children varies not only due to their being situated in urban, provincial, rural village and estate plantation areas but also due to the facilities available to the students, the qualification and commitment of teachers and the nature of educational management. It is very evident that the State does not uphold the equal rights of all schoolchildren because it does not provide equal facilities to all the students of Sri Lanka and does not provide even the minimum educational requirements and facilities to some schools. Some schools not only lack qualified principals and teachers, those appointed are hamstrung by archaic administrative regulations. Some schools lack suitable classrooms, desks and chairs, and other facilities such as water and toilets. Even to bring matters to the awareness of the Department of Education and obtain the necessary facilities promptly, the MPs of the electorates, low on social consciousness and responsibility, are not that keenly interested as these things do not bring them immediate political profits.

In Sri Lanka Ministers of Education are not known to have been innovators nor even creative maintainers or efficient managers of the system of education who have made notable contributions to raise the standard of education to the benefit of the country. They have been political managers or even manipulators who have taken great delight in presenting letters of appointment mostly to their unemployed party supporters as teachers irrespective of their understanding of education or suitability to be teachers.

NO CLEAR EDUCATION POLICY

The President, Prime Minister and Minister of Education as well as others politicians make statements about education and social values that appear very appealing as they appear in the mass media. But Sri Lanka has not formulated a clear national policy on education or cared about updating any.

Parents interested in education are often compelled due to their economic condition, to resort to the education facilities provided by the State, even though they may not be satisfied with the quality of education and the discipline and formation of character that is inculcated in the school to which they are compelled to send their children. Another phenomenon in the field of education in Sri Lanka is the private tuition system which has spread throughout the country like a virus.

The private tuition system spread after the state take-over of denominational schools and the resultant lowering of standards due to corruption and unqualified men and women being recruited as teachers by politicians who knew next to nothing about education. Politicization in education due to the horribly disarrayed and uncultured characters in politics interfering in education administration, appointments of principals and teachers and their upholding discipline, has not only muddled education and created many a mess in the education system, it has prevented organic development and well thought out education reform. Not knowing what education is, these fellows are not only incapable of letting educationists to formulate a viable policy for Sri Lanka, they do not even know how to help their own children to benefit from the good environment and ethos of the schools, sometimes denominational, to which they send their children. In spite of breathing clean air in a good atmosphere, the children of corrupt politicians turn out to be civically unhealthy citizens and bad eggs that become another menace to society. Bad trees cannot produce good fruits.

NATIONAL POLICY

A national policy is a plan and a strategy with a carefully outlined and well formulated method to implement it. The noted policies especially of SLFP led governments have been state-take-overs and ‘nationalization’ of business enterprises, institutions run by corporate citizens and education institutions. The take-over of schools initiated and managed by religious denominations was mainly directed against Catholic schools, as if they were not national, until they were forcibly taken over by a government with politicians of a narrow totalitarian mindset. They did not just vest institutions, properties and their management in the State; the politicians and their henchmen exploited the process and procedures to plunder some of the most valuable movable properties and take them home as their private possessions.

Politicians of the two main parties have now found more sophisticated methods of plunder but their minds are not set on getting together and formulating viable and stable national policies in the many fields and activities, including the drafting of Constitutions, where a national policy is called for. Politicians in power to do well for themselves get engaged in doing for Sri Lanka, plausibly, all kinds of mega business with governments and world business magnates for which too there is no faithfully followed national policy.

We have no well planned national policy formulated with the collaboration of all stakeholders who are genuinely interested in the integral education, upbringing and formation of the younger generation. Those who have studied the development of education would also know how the universal Catholic Church has over the centuries contributed through education to the progress and advancement of nations. Unfortunately some uncultured politicians both of the SLFP and UNP have been incapable of appreciating the education given to students from its various types of schools and universities by the Church whose priests in parishes saw to the provision not only of free education along with character formation but also meals and clothes for the poorer students long before governments thought of it as a vote catching devise.

Rather than mobilizing the collaboration of the Church, politicians due to their selfishness and jealousy destroyed the system of assisted schools, took on a burden, growing heavier by the day due to increase of students. The costs and wherewithal of running even a creaking and complex system of education turn the mediocre politicians of every government incompetent and inefficient.

INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION

Besides the government that spend taxpayers’ money on education, most citizens spend extra money on private tuition for the education of their children, while parents who send their children to fee-levying schools and international schools foot the whole bill of their children’s education, in addition to paying taxes. While the government also wastes money on an unsatisfactorily maintained education system, in which corruption is rampant, and an overblown and lethargic bureaucracy, parents strain to invest their hard-earned money on a valuable and wholesome education of their children.

It is unfortunate that unprincipled politicians surrender the freedom of citizens to blackmailers who wish to keep a monolithic education system as a state monopoly. The blackmailers adamantly fight against the establishment of non-governmental universities, especially faculties of medicine but are blind to billions of dollars going out of the country for medical education. Investments in education need to be assessed objectively and without bias especially on days following the first U.N. International Day of Education.

A good part of the investment made by citizens on their own and by the government does not benefit our country when those highly qualified sons and daughters of the land do not return to Sri Lanka to serve her people but choose to serve other nations who give them recognition according to their merits and also pay them well. In Sri Lanka, sadly, even retired professors need to find remunerative work just to survive while Sri Lankans who have retired from their jobs in other countries are able to offer their services free, just to keep themselves occupied in a manner useful to others. 

Seeking IMF support is necessary, but ailing economy needs permanent treatment

Hitting a dying man on the head

Monday, 14 January 2019

A high-level delegation led by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera has left for Washington DC to meet IMF’s high-ups. The purpose? To negotiate for the restoration of the Extended Fund Facility or EFF temporarily suspended by IMF following the political uncertainties caused by the man-made constitutional crisis of October 2018.

The economic fallout of the crisis, though ignored by President Maithripala Sirisena and his Prime Minster protem, Mahinda Rajapaksa, had been enormous as I had presented in my article in this series under the title ‘With this man-made constitutional crisis, economy will be the casualty; resolve it quickly or perish’ (available at: http://www.ft.lk/columns/With-this-man-made-Constitutional-crisis--economy-will-be-the-casualty--resolve-it-quickly-or-perish/4-665587).

It, in fact, had worsened the already deepening economic crisis which had begun in late 2012 and not properly addressed by the present unity government that came to power in January 2015. The crisis had been manifested by a number of critical factors relating to the macroeconomy. The growth rate had slowed down. The public debt had ballooned. The budget had refused to yield to reforms. The external sector had been chronically sick. The rupee had been under pressure for continuous depreciation.

The only salutary side of the macroeconomy was the taming of inflation by the Central Bank through a combination of a tight and loose monetary policy package. Hence, the constitutional crisis was like hitting hard on the head of an already dying patient.
The wounded economy began to bleed to death

In fact, it hit on the head of the dying man during the 51 day period during which there was no legally-constituted government in the country. It created uncertainty and markets do not like uncertainties. When they are faced with uncertainties, they make a series of adjustments to eliminate the new risk profiles brought in by the new conditions. To avert the risks, individual investors withdraw from the existing enterprises. With regard to new enterprises, they postpone their decisions.

It is like a wounded man losing blood, on the one hand, and not getting enough new blood through infusion, on the other. Either way, he bleeds to death, while his loved ones are watching his death struggle helplessly.
Politicians fighting personal wars aren’t concerned about people

The man who has caused the wound, if it has been inflicted by someone, is unconcerned because his objective has been to better his position no matter what would happen to the man who has been wounded. Likewise, political leaders who fight their own personal wars are totally unconcerned about country, its people or its economy.

This thesis was amply proved during the infamous 51-day period in Sri Lanka. Many analysts, including this writer, had brought this reality to the notice of the warring parties, but none of them was ready to pay attention to it. Hence, the marker adjustment took place driving the country’s economy backward.

Finding necessary money to meet current bills is only meeting an urgent requirement. It will not take Sri Lanka out of the crisis. In fact, throughout the post-independence period, this is exactly what Sri Lanka’s successive governments did. Whenever the country was faced with a foreign exchange crisis, they tried to wade through the crisis just by borrowing from foreign sources. Once the immediate requirement has been satisfied, they did nothing to bring about a long term solution to the problem

Foreigners shunning the market


As expected, foreigners who had invested heavily in the country’s share market and the government securities market began withdrawing their investments wholesale.

In the share market, there was a net inflow of $ 359 million in 2017, according to Central Bank data. During the first 10 months of 2018, according to CSE data, there was a net sale of $ 74 million by foreigners. This amounted to a monthly average sale of $ 7.4 million. In November and December of 2018, they withdrew their investments in an accelerated pace taking out a total of $ 59 million increasing the average monthly net sales to $ 29.5 million.

It was the Government securities market which became the biggest casualty of the uncertainty during the infamous 51-day period. In 2017, according to Central Bank, foreigners had purchased Government securities on a net basis bringing in $ 360 million to the country. In 2018, as a risk management strategy to reduce the country’s exposure to these hot moneys, the Central Bank had been gradually adjusting the foreign investment share in the Government securities market. Accordingly, during the first 10 months of 2018, the total investment of foreigners in these securities was reduced by $ 520 million or $ 52 million a month on average.

However, during the last two months during which there was uncertainty created by the man-made constitutional crisis, they withdrew a total of $ 423 million or $ 211 million a month. Thus, the country lost $ 482 million in both the share and the Government securities markets during this period.
Central Bank was forced to sell dollars in the market

In a very thin foreign exchange market where even $ 10 million could have a major impact on the exchange rate, this was really a bleeding of the foreign exchange reserves which the Central Bank had been maintaining.

When the pressure was building on the exchange rate to depreciate, according to Central Bank data, $ 641 million was released to the market by the bank in a vain attempt to keep the rate stable.


Fall of the country’s free foreign exchange reserves

The end result was for the free foreign exchange reserves to fall from $ 7 billion as at end October to $ 6 billion by the end of 2018. The critical nature of the foreign exchange reserve position is demonstrated when one considers the foreign debt repayment and interest payment commitments during the next 12-month period. That amounts to $ 6 billion, exactly equal to the amount of free foreign reserves in the country at the end of 2018.

Unless the country gets a massive amount of foreign exchange flows in the next two months, either it has to default its foreign loans or cut down imports by about a half to keep the economy afloat in a background of adverse external developments and deepening domestic political and economic environment.
The man fallen from the tree being attacked by a ravaging bull

Sri Lanka was hit by several other external shocks owing to the man-made constitutional crisis.

IMF which had offered an EFF to Sri Lanka earlier in mid 2016 to help the country to overcome its balance of payments problems suspended the release of the last instalment of the facility, called the final tranche in IMF terminology. That was not much, only $ 250 million, but it gave a warning signal to outside markets intent on lending to the country.

Two other donors – USA and Japan – suspended two credit lines that were in the pipeline. That too frightened the potential foreign investors.

Then, rating agencies reassessed the country risk in the light of political and economic uncertainty and changed their rating numbers. Moody’s Rating Services downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating from B1 to B2. The repercussions of this downgrading and the possibility of similar action by other rating agencies were discussed by me in an article titled ‘Moody’s downgrade of Sri Lanka’s sovereign debt: A pat on the Central Bank while slapping the President’ (available at: http://www.ft.lk/columns/Moody-s-downgrade-of-SL-sovereign-debt--A-pat-for-Central-Bank--while-slapping-the-President/4-667584.)
Other two rating agencies follow suit

Following the action by Moody’s, both Standard and Poor’s and Fitch Rating downgraded Sri Lanka from B+ to B. Before these actions, Sri Lanka’s ratings were in the speculative category depicting high probabilities of credit default, known as junk bond category in rating parlance. Hence, the downgrading did not make that much of a difference to Sri Lanka’s borrowing capacity from international capital markets.

Responding to the uncertainty, foreign investors began to sell Sri Lanka sovereign bonds en masse causing their prices to fall and yield rates to increase. Accordingly, within a week, the yield rates went up by about five percentage points.

Thus, the downgrading of rating and the increase in the yield rates prevented the Central Bank which had earlier planned to raise $ 2 billion from the market from doing so. It put further pressure on the exchange rate, on the one hand, and caused the foreign reserves to be depleted unnecessarily, on the other.

To create an export friendly environment, there are a lot other economic reforms which it has to undertake. First of all, the Government should reform its budget – known as budgetary consolidation – to release funds for investment by curtailing consumption. Budgetary consolidation means the Government’s taking charge of the budget rather than the budget taking charge of the Government

Central Bank raising liquid dollars to face the situation
Accordingly, Sri Lanka is in a critical situation today. It has to find liquid foreign exchange reserves urgently from whatever the source to avert either debt default or drastic curtailment of imports or both. This is the responsibility of the Central Bank and it indeed has stood up to that most difficult task.

The Reserve Bank of India, India’s central bank, has come to its help by offering $ 400 million in a currency SWAP facility. In this facility, India will provide dollars to Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka has to provide the equivalent amount in rupees to India. Once the current SWAP matures, they would either exchange back the currencies they had swapped or go for an extension for a further period.
India has always stood by Sri Lanka 

This is not the first occasion that India has come to help its neighbour to the south. Even in 2008, it provided a similar SWAP facility to Mahinda Rajapaksa administration when it was faced with a foreign exchange crisis of a high magnitude.

Once again, $ 400 million is not much compared to Sri Lanka’s massive foreign exchange commitments. However, that a country with a foreign exchange reserve of $ 396 billion is ready to support its neighbour to the south would certainly help Sri Lanka to build confidence about itself among prospective investors.

In this scenario, if IMF too provides a similar facility, it would facilitate to boost Sri Lanka’s confidence levels. In that sense, Mangala’s treading to Washington DC to solicit IMF support is a necessity rather than an obligation.
Need for going for long-term measures

Finding necessary money to meet current bills is only meeting an urgent requirement. It will not take Sri Lanka out of the crisis. In fact, throughout the post-independence period, this is exactly what Sri Lanka’s successive governments did.

Whenever the country was faced with a foreign exchange crisis, they tried to wade through the crisis just by borrowing from foreign sources. Once the immediate requirement has been satisfied, they did nothing to bring about a long term solution to the problem.

That long-term solution takes the form of increasing earnings from the export of goods and services over and above the foreign exchange requirements. To increase earnings, Sri Lanka has to restructure its exports from simple type of products as it does now to high tech exports to capture a sizable portion of the global market.

To create an export friendly environment, there are a lot other economic reforms which it has to undertake. First of all, the Government should reform its budget – known as budgetary consolidation – to release funds for investment by curtailing consumption.
Budgetary consolidation

Budgetary consolidation means the Government’s taking charge of the budget rather than the budget taking charge of the Government.

On one side, it involves increasing revenue and cutting down unnecessary expenditure while increasing productivity related ones. The latter ones include expenditure on education, research and development, healthcare services and essential infrastructure facilities like roads, power-plants, improvements in communication facilities, etc.

On another side, with improved revenue and expenditure conditions, fiscal consolidation aims at generating savings in the budget – that is, keeping its consumption expenditure known as recurrent expenditure below the revenue levels –  and reducing  the overall budget deficit to an affordable level. The latter target brings out another beneficial improvement in the form of keeping a check on the growth of overall public debt levels.
Continuing with reforms a must

In the EFF, the Government had pledged to implement a six-fold reform program for the country.

They cover reducing the budget deficit to 3.5% of GDP by 2020, expanding the tax net, improving public financial management, reforming loss making public enterprises, introducing inflation targeting, facilitating trade and investment. In addition, an important requirement is relaxing the regulatory environment to make it easy for an investor to do business.

It is unlikely that the Government would be bold enough to introduce these tough measures in this election year. But, if they are postponed or not adhered to, the casualty would be the economy in the long run.

What it would mean is that the current manifestations about the sickness of the economy would continue to plague the country until it is squeezed of its breath. What are the ramifications? They would be the presence of these economic manifestations on a bigger scale. Accordingly, growth will be slower, public debt bigger, inflation higher, exchange rate lower and monetary policy tighter. In the absence of necessary reforms, this cycle will be repeated and in each subsequent cycle, the problem would be much bigger than before.

Hence, while seeking IMF support, the Government should not ignore the need for introducing necessary long-term reforms, the treatments needed for the ailing economy.

(W.A. Wijewardena, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, can be reached at waw1949@gmail.com.)

Sri Lanka: Constitutional squib

by Rajan Philips- Jan 13, 2019

Jan 13, 2019

On Friday, the current parliament and the government showed themselves to be utterly unworthy beneficiaries of the Supreme Court’s ruling against the unconstitutional dissolution of parliament by an overreaching President. Only 28 UNF government MPs showed up when the House met as a Constitutional Assembly after an interval of over one year, to hear their Prime Minister present the proposals for a new constitution prepared by a panel experts. All total there were 56 MPs, with the UPFA (17), the TNA (9) and the JVP (2) making up the other 28 MPs who cared to show up. 19 more government MPs trundled in as the proceedings went on. That is a total of 75 MPs, just one third of the total 225 MPs, for a project that requires a two-thirds majority support for passage in parliament. That is before a referendum. The poor attendance is indicative of the pathetic lack of enthusiasm among the government MPs to Prime Minister’s prime project, and the even more pathetic failure of the government leaders to whip their MPs to show up.

Despite the depleted attendance, there was a lively exchange of claims and counterclaims among the leaders, the reinstated PM, the new and the old Leaders of the Opposition, and the JVP leader. The inscrutable Mr. Wickremesinghe was on a face-saving display of statesmanlike equanimity – leaving it up to the collective wisdom of the Constitutional Assembly (the absconding two-thirds, notwithstanding) to debate and decide on the experts’ proposal. The ever improvising Mahinda Rajapaksa simply asserted that this parliament has no authority to make a constitution. For him, there is no authority in the country until elections held and he emerges as the victor.

The TNA leader, R. Sampanthan, was his usual self, eloquent and articulate, but his special pleadings for a new constitution deserved a fuller house than what his government friends had managed to corral. The JVP’s Anura Kumara Dissanayake took swipes at both the government and official opposition, justifiably blaming the government and the Prime Minister for the inordinate delay in the constitutional reform process. Those who are familiar with the makings of the 1972 and the 1978 constitutions will recall that both of them moved steadily from start to finish under the direct supervision of two exceptionally strong personalities, Colvin R de Silva and JR Jayewardene. There is no comparison between now and then.

The JVP leader even more justifiably took to task Mahinda Rajapaksa for the pack of lies about the constitution that the former President is unbecomingly and irresponsibly propagating in the south. Mahinda Rajapaksa has made more political statements in the few weeks after his unwarranted and short lived ended in December, than he has ever made in the many years of his political career. There are two recurrent themes in these statements. One is the now broken-record refrain that Sri Lankans are being deprived of their democratic right to vote despite all his valiant attempts to stage an election to suit his purposes. The other is the overtly communal messaging, in fact massaging, about the constitution that he got scolded for in parliament by the JVP leader.

The democracy refrain has no audience of consequence even though there is still some outlying misconception even among some jolly old fellows who should know their old and current history that even a constitutional timetable for elections is undemocratic and that a President elected directly in a national election should have the power to dissolve a legislature comprising MPs elected from scattered electoral pockets or from party lists. Suffice it to say, until the 19th Amendment Sri Lanka was the only country where the President had the arbitrary and the absolute power to dissolve any elected body. Not anymore.

The second refrain, the communal massaging, is more insidious and is intended to stampede the southern electorate. The two are interconnected which exposes Rajapaksa’s duplicity about democracy and his knavery about communal massaging. The question is whether Ranil Wickremesinghe is up to successfully calling Rajapaksa’s bluff, or if he is going to sleepwalk into the constitutional trap that Rajapaksa has already set for him. To his credit, Wickremesinghe began the constitutional reform process on a very high note and raising even higher expectations when he delivered the 2015 Sujata Jayawardena Memorial Lecture. I called it “the next frontier in constitutional voyage” in these columns. Three years later, disappointment has given way to expectations and there is no one else except the Prime Minister to blame for the current state of the constitutional file.

The media mafia

Tuesday, January 8 was the tenth anniversary of the brutal killing of Lasantha Wickrematunga. There was a flood of commemorative articles including a very moving and at the same very accurate piece by Keith Noyahr, breaking his journalistic silence for the first time after his own horrific experience of abduction and assault eight months before Mr. Wickrematunga’s murder. Mr. Noyahr’s contribution and scores of others isolated and exposed the less than a handful of deplorable attempts to take crass political mileage out of the painful individual and familial tragedy and still resolved murderous assault on the country’s media freedom. Officially, the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunga remains unresolved. Unofficially, no one believes the formal denials of involvement as everyone knows that there is no need for denial if there is no actual involvement.

Two days later on Thursday, a curious protest took place in front of media outlets that apparently supported that constitutional coup that President Sirisena quite unpresidentially foisted on this country. These outlets took vehement exceptions to the protests and cried foul that their freedom of media expression was under threat. Nothing of kind! – although the counter-protestations by the subject media outlets found an unsurprising ally in the same political parties and individuals who participated in the constitutional coup, the same forces that had gone after not only journalists but also others whose ‘attitude’ was not compatible with the authority of those in power before January 2015. What was surprising was to see Mahinda Rajapaksa calling the protests against the media outlets an attack against media freedom.

The irony of Rajapaksa defending the freedom of the media during the anniversary week of Lasantha Wickrematunga would not have been lost even among his media supporters. It was not lost on the Reporters without Borders (RSF) organization that had ranked Rajapaksa when he was Sri Lanka’s President as one of the “world’s biggest press freedom predators.” When Mahinda Rajapaksa was unconstitutionally sworn in as Prime Minister on October 26, the RWB saw the risk of Sri Lanka falling back to the old ways. True to form, the Rajapaksa supporters stormed the state media institutions, the Rupavahini and the Lake House, and took control of them soon after the swearing in.

The physical seizure of the state media institutions forty four years after the Lake House papers were nationalized through a legislative order is indicative of how far the country has slid back in the balance of power between state institutions and private repositories of thuggish power. In 1974, it was the state that nationalized the country’s biggest media company through a highly controversial but orderly legislative process. In 2018, private political thugs and their journalists took over the state media institutions with threats of violence.

After the 1974 nationalization, the state virtually monopolized the media ownership, and became both the primary owner and regulator of media. The winds of privatization after 1977 have completely transformed the ownership patterns across the different media. While the state has significant footprints in each of the media – television, radio and print, it is not the largest in any of them. And the wily Rajapaksas found a profitable alternative to deal with a hostile news organization. Rather than courting controversy by nationalizing the news organization, facilitate the purchase of it through a politically friendly wealthy family.

According to the Media Ownership Monitor operated by Reporters without Borders, there are over 100 print (dailies and weeklies) media outlets, 20 TV stations and 50 radio stations. But in each of them, over 75% of the market (audience or readership) capture is in the hands of about four organizations. With the exception of the state, every one of the media organizations with significant market capture is in family ownership.

Such a level of concentration of ownership and market capture in the country’s news media, is hardly conducive to what might be called democratic dissemination of news and opinion, although in the print media there is an established tradition of journalism that is rooted in independent news reporting and opinion forming. It is in the print media that journalists have mostly come under attack for reporting politically unfavourable news stories.

The three organizations which were the target of pro-democracy protestors on Thursday, namely, Capital Maharajah Organization (Sirasa), Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Hiru), and Power House (Derena), are the top three operators in TV and radio accounting for 60% of the audience share in each of the two media.

The consumers of their outputs have a right to express their opinions even in the form of protests so long as they are peaceful and orderly. The general public, who were not swayed by the private TV and radio but were galvanized by the more democratically disseminated social media. After October 26, democracy in Sri Lanka could not have received a better outcome.