These days, politicians of all hues are burning expensive petrol and subsidised petrol, some even aviation fuel, criss-crossing the Sabaragamuwa and North Central Provinces, while their supporters burn posters and cut-outs of their opponents as they compete for places in those local level legislative councils. The violence barometer is rising in both provinces, a clear indication of what an utterly useless exercise this is for the nation, nothing but a test of political muscle, and a testing of the waters as it were, to gauge the popularity or otherwise of the government mid-way through its term.

It is similar to the by-elections of a bygone era, but on a much larger scale; and correspondingly, the violence unleashed is on a much larger scale too. As election day approaches, the incidents will only escalate.All this is not about devolution of power to the periphery, as was envisaged by the controversial Indo-Lanka Pact of 1987, but about the Centre (the government in Colombo) trying to control the provinces - by hook or by crook. Just a fortnight ago, the news broke that government members of parliament were asked to bring to the President, businessmen who would cough up a million rupees each as 'party funds'. This exercise of showcasing these cash-rich 'milking cows' was performed not at the party office, but at Temple Trees, the office from which the President works.

No doubt, the Opposition has its own 'milking cows', some of whom are probably the same ones brought to Temple Trees. This exercise is known in their own circles as "hedging their bets", and "insurance". Monies to the Opposition are a more discreet affair, and many donors don't even want a receipt for obvious reasons. Their names, whether they contribute to the ruling party or the Opposition, are never made public -- partly to conceal the identity of the donor, partly to hide the amounts contributed.

These contributions, ostensibly to 'party funds', are tax-free IOUs frequently encashed in various other ways; government tenders, contracts; bailing out when confronted by the tax department; loans from state banks written off etc., often at the expense of some bidder or competitor in the same line of business. Clearly, funds are required for election purposes. The proportional representation system and the provincial and district levels electioneering have made expenditure greater. Politicians like to call these contributions "resources", but that is nothing but a euphemism for "bribes". That is why one can say without fear of contradiction, that the biggest two bribe-takers in this country are the two major political parties with other parties following suit. In most advanced democracies, such contributions are made public.

It is not that there are no scandals -- US President Bill Clinton was lambasted when he pardoned a tax offender who was a contributor to his 'party funds', and British Prime Minister Tony Blair was crucified for his infamous 'Cash for Peerages' saga. But, in those countries, the media, the Opposition or public interest groups bring these to light, and issues are debated before the public - the final arbiters in every democracy. There are laws that govern these party funds in most other countries, but not in Sri Lanka.

So, there is an open-cheque, if one may call that for collections, often shrouded in secrecy and mystery.

This brings us back to the need to focus on the utter uselessness of these Provincial Council polls. Similar elections were held in May in the East, but there was a semblance of purpose in that move, because the government wished to ensure its writ in the East or to ensure that the democratic process was re-established.

Basically, the government could not produce any fresh proposals for devolution of power in the face of demands from foreign countries. Desperate to win India's tacit support, the government dusted the 13th Amendment and said this is what it would be implementing. Either by accident or design, this mantra quietened India. And it has helped the government buy some time as it pursues the LTTE.

But are we going to be saddled with the Provincial Council system forever merely because that is the wish of India? Provincial Councils have been proven 'white elephants' draining what is left of our financial resources. It has been long argued that it is the 'District' that must be the unit of devolution in a small country like ours, but that does not seem to be the politically correct thing to say at the moment; and it is not acceptable to India -- whose acquiescence we must obtain in these matters.

In such circumstances, it might not be the right time for the government to re-think the Provincial Council system, but the theatrics unfolding before us in the run-up to the upcoming elections, and the pyrotechnics that were witnessed during the Eastern elections only make for a Pyrrhic victory in the general scheme of things. The futility of such a system of government must be something for the political leaders to ponder as they conduct their frantic electioneering - especially the incumbent government, whose leaders got on the streets to oppose the same, 21 years ago.