Parliament

Letting off steam over rails
By Chandani Kirinde, Our Lobby Correspondent
The merits and demerits of the promulgation of the Railways Department into an Authority took centre stage during Parliament sittings last week with the opposition accusing the government of laying the groundwork for the privatisation of the Railways, a charge denied by the government.

Most speakers during the day long adjournment debate on Wednesday managed to stay on track unlike during most other deliberations in the House with opposition members being strongly critical of the secretive manner in which the government used a bill passed ten years earlier to convert the Department to an Authority.

The debate began more than half an hour later than scheduled after Speaker Joseph Michael Perera suspended sittings following an uproar when he disallowed JVP Parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa to make a statement criticising the fingerprinting of Sri Lankans applying for visas to Britian on the grounds that it was sub judice. The Speaker said Chief opposition Whip Mangala Samaraweera had filed a case in the Supreme Court against the UK government's decision the previous evening.

However both Mr.Weerawansa and Mr.Samaraweera disagreed with the ruling stating that the case had been submitted but there was no case number allocated to it nor had leave been granted to proceed with it.

This led to a bitter exchange of words between the two sides and in turn to the suspension of the House. Mr.Weerawansa was allowed to make the statement the next morning but he was not allowed to use the name of the country in question.

The debate on the controversial Inland Revenue (Special Provisions) Bill scheduled for Thursday could not take place pending a Supreme Court determination on its legality. This Bill seeks to extend the deadline for tax defaulters to claim an amnesty till August 15.

The Railways debate was opened by a former Transport Minister - Colombo district MP Dinesh Gunawardena who accused the government of deliberately crippling the services as a prelude to privatising it.

"You have made it an authority and next you will sell it off part by part to the private sector. When you take the experience of New Zealand and Britain you see that privatisation of the Railways in these two countries have been a failure," Mr.Gunawardena said.

He also said the government had failed to consult with the numerous trade unions in the Railways before making the decision to promulgate it into an authority.

K.D.Lalkantha, JVP MP for Anuradhapura district said the main idea behind the creation of an authority for the railways was to seize the valuable land that belonged to it and sell it off for other commercial purposes.

"Why can't we continue this as a department and work to improve the service it provides," he asked.

Another opposition MP Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra too said the government had pledged to privatise the railways under its "Re-awakening Sri Lanka" programme and this was a move in that direction." You start by saying we won't privatise and ending up doing just that. See what you have done to CWE and the Ports Authority. It's the same with the railways," he said.

Tertiary Education Minister Kabeer Hashim said although the law was enacted in 1993, none of the previous Transport minister's had the courage to implement it. "The railways had become a breeding ground for inefficiency and corruption and we had to make changes," he said.

PA Badulla district MP Dilan Perera said that the problem with the Railways Authority Act was it was more a profit-oriented piece of legislation than a service oriented one. "The railway is a service that is used by thousands of people and the first priority should be their comfort and convenience and not profits," he said.

Another PA MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage said the railways was used by the working masses in the country and that the present minister was not in a position to understand their grievances. "Has he ever travelled by train in Sri Lanka? I know he went on a train ride in India referred to as "Palace on Wheels" but our local trains are a far cry from those luxury trains you travel in," he said.

Lands Minister Rajitha Senaratne said that in 1975 it was Leslie Gunawardena who first wanted to create an authority for the railways but did not succeed as the United Front lost power shortly after that." This is not the first time authorities have been created. We have had 23 authorities created including some prominent ones like the Mahaweli Authority and the National Housing Development Authority under which thousands have benefited," he said.

Transport Minister Tilak Marapana said the decision to promulgate the authority was not a sudden or secret one and that he had met with several trade unions before the decision was taken. "We have no intention of privatising the railways nor have we tried to deliberately cripple it. This year we have allocated more money for the railways than in previous years and the rights of the workers will be protected under the authority," he assured the House.

Parliament also debated and passed the Protection of the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (Amendment) Bill, which will ensure more facilities to disabled persons in public places as well as ensure more work opportunities for them.

MP Dinesh Gunawardena suggested that the government start an insurance scheme for the disabled as it was becoming difficult for the state to provide facilities for these people who account for two in every 100 Lankans.

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