Editorial

Editorial

Local councils or garbage dumps?
The fact that the composition of the local councils reflects that of the central government has been a trend in recent decades.

The obvious reason for this is that people feel these councils will be able to 'deliver the goods' better if they had the support of the central government. Though this election is meant to be a local-level poll on local-level issues, those that impact on the day-to-day lives of the locality, and voters are supposed to pick the best man or woman who can solve their local problems -- it is generally felt that an opposition candidate can only shout; but a government candidate can deliver.

The advent of proportional representation into local government elections erased the last vestige of people's representation -- and it cannot be an exaggeration to say that the vast mass of voters at Thursday's election would not have known who on earth they voted for as their local representative.
The PR system has made local representation so impersonal -- and while in smaller councils the magnitude of this problem could be less, in the bigger councils, most voters would simply be marking for a party or for a preferential candidate on some irrelevant factor like same caste, same school, some relative or friend's friend, or on someone's recommendation or request for a favour, or even in the same manner as a student would mark a script when he does not know the answer to a multiple-choice question.

While political analysts work out the voting patterns of a largely disinterested, election-fatigued electorate -- almost unfairly forced into polling booths and asked to vote for quite a set of rascals, and rascals-to-be; what is patently clear is that by far the most number of the local councils have been ruined, not run.

Bad management and corruption are the hallmarks of a bulk of them, and had there been a Referendum to ask the people if this were so, to a man and woman, all those who voted on Thursday would cast a YES ballot.

That is why the incumbency factor (the UNP ran - or ruined most of these Councils from 2002 onwards) plays a crucial role in these elections. And unless the newly elected Councillors who are now partaking of the fruits of victory look sharp and pull up their socks (or tuck their sarongs as the case may be) and get down to hard clean work, they are guaranteed to face the same fate that befell the incumbents of yesteryear, in the years ahead.

There are elections to 69 more councils due very shortly -- among them the primus inter-pares -- the Colombo Municipal Council, where the UNP has already made a hash of things upfront.

Soon after those elections are concluded, and the councillors elected -- everything about these councils will be forgotten. This is as it should be for the newly-elected city-fathers should be given an opportunity to do their job in peace and without interference -- if only we could afford to do that.
The whole local council system stinks -- just like the garbage dumps all over the island, from the election of the councillors to the management of the councils.

We have repeatedly asked that the local councils be strengthened financially. One way of doing so is to abolish the 'white elephant' Provincial Councils that serve no one other than the Councillors themselves and the party they represent to abuse official perks like vehicles, fuel, stationery etc., for party-work.

But the diversion of such funds to local councils is not to fatten the pockets of the local councillors or the massive bureaucracy within these councils. It is not to give these councils the freedom of the wild ass to do as they please and break all the laws to line their pockets and favour bribe-givers, political stooges and their relatives.

The Government got activated and moved at the speed of greased lightning when it feared the UNP getting the advantage of a vote split among the Government (UPFA) and the JVP. They proposed a bill to enable two parties to form a coalition in a council - an insurance against the UNP regaining control of these councils.

Now that the UPFA has recorded clear wins in most councils, this bill will surely be thrown into the dustbin of history. But while the iron is still hot, the Government and the Opposition must surely get together and introduce legislative reforms for the benefit of the citizenry.

The re-introduction of the old Ward member is something to think of -- though parties that came third will be wary of being flung out of the council lock, stock and bell. Yet, there can be a day when the voter might, in fact, opt for a known and better man from such a party rather than this impersonal party politics system.

The implementation of the Dinesh Gunawardene All Party Report on Electoral Reforms, agreed on, rather unusually, by all political parties, might be a good starting point in ensuring changes for the better.

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