Residents in main cities, including Colombo, were without vegetables - the result of a work stoppage by distributors countrywide.
Such shortages normally occur only once a year, during National New Year when shops close and life comes to a standstill. However, this time around, it was because Trade Minister Johnston Fernando had decreed that plastic crates instead of polythene sacks should be used to pack vegetables.
 He had even obtained Cabinet approval for the move. Police were told to stop lorries that transported vegetables by any other means than in plastic crates. Needless to say that whoever supplied the plastic crates would make a windfall profit not to mention the possible fat commissions that would fall into the pockets of some. Who says they are a bribe? They are trade profits. A few lorry drivers and helpers were arrested and the Police began cracking down.
As Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa declared publicly, such measures by Minister Fernando should have been enforced only after he consulted farmers and traders. The Speaker, who was once the Minister in charge of agriculture, said that Minister Fernando should have gone to the grassroots first.
The fact that he did not go meant most Sri Lankans were without vegetables. The small stock available was at a premium price. A 100 grams of carrots cost Rs. 200. That meant a kilo would be Rs 2,000, perhaps one of the costliest prices in the world. Cabbage was Rs. 175 for 100 grams or Rs. 1,750 a kilo. This is more than the price of a carat of some varieties of gems.
 Earlier, another such act by Minister Fernando without consulting those who matter led to the government suffering a loss of Rs 690,000. This was when 22,500 coconuts he imported from South India were dumped into the sea. They were not even fed to the animals at the Dehiwala Zoo. It's the taxpayer's money and who cares.
The farmers had a story too. They said they paid Rs. 60 for a polythene sack. When it was filled with vegetables, the lorry driver took it to the wholesale distribution point. The transport cost, for example in the Dambulla area, was Rs.35 for a sack. Using plastic cases, they would have to pack it into three different crates and the cost would be three times over, i.e. Rs. 105. They said that the plastic sacks were never returned to them. Understandably, the lorry driver who brings the vegetables to Colombo is booked for different hires on the return journey.
How could he take it back to the distributor or the farmer? Worse enough, the farmer is required to pay Rs. 600 for a plastic crate. If he cannot re-use it, he would naturally raise his price and the consumer would have to pay.
The Internal Trade Ministry's argument was that a good portion of the vegetables are spoilt by the time they reach Colombo. Hence, their logic is that the consumers are called upon to pay more. The cost of the plastic crate is forgotten in that skewed logic of lower prices.
The result of all this - vegetable dealers in the City of Colombo staged a protest. Vegetable shops put up shutters. The turnout was very large. They shouted anti-government slogans. Those at their lunch tables found their meals without vegetables and blamed the government. The daily diet for most workers, a packet of rice and curry was sans vegetables. They blamed the government too. The blunder had made the government unpopular.
Who should intervene over the vegetable mess? President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
He kept his ministers waiting for more than one and half hours at the weekly Cabinet meeting last Wednesday evening. He was at a crisis meeting with organisations representing the vegetable vendors. If Minister Fernando did not consult them, here was President Rajapaksa doing so. He extended the government's deadline by a month and made changes to Minister Fernando's decisions.
Coming late to the Cabinet meeting, Rajapaksa explained that he had resolved the issue. Only three varieties of vegetables - thalana batu, brinjals and tomatoes -should be packed in crates from next month. This is because some part of these vegetables packed in polythene sacks were easily crushed. All other vegetables could be carried in polythene sacks. They include snake gourd, beetroot and cabbage. Rajapaksa said it was the traders who had come up with those suggestions.
So, Fernando who told a news conference earlier that traders would have to fall in line or he would shift the activities at Manning Market to Narahenpita had to eat humble pie. Not even his assurances to officials that "this thing will die down in five or six days" worked.
However, Rajapaksa was angry with one Minister. He looked for him at the cabinet meting but he was not there. The President said he would raise issue with him later. He noted that when the Cabinet made a decision, there was collective responsibility on the part of the ministers. This senior minister, in whose district a main vegetable wholesale distribution centre is located, had allegedly backed the protests and criticised the Cabinet decision. He now faces a reprimand.
There is a lesson for Minister Johnston Fernando, a pole vaulter to the government from the UNP, from this episode. Rushing through decisions, without consulting those who matter, not only costs taxpayers’ money but also produces public anger and unpopularity to the government.
Sampanthan speech: President tells Devananda to hit back
The weekly Cabinet meeting last Wednesday was nearing its end. When it came to "any other business," Minister Douglas Devananda raised an issue and wanted a ruling from President Rajapaksa.
He said Tamil National Alliance leader Rajavarothayam Sampanthan had made a "damaging" speech during the Committee Stage debate on the votes of the External Affairs Ministry.
Devananda alleged that Sampanthan had spoken about the UN panel's report on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka being credible and supported the right to protect (R2P) doctrine. This acronym is a norm or set of principles based on the idea that sovereignty is not a privilege, but a responsibility.
"My instructions to you are to challenge them. You have my permission to do so," declared Rajapaksa. He said Devananda should not let them (the TNA) get away with those assertions.
Referring to the UN Panel of Experts, Sampanthan had said "…... They published a Report in April this year. They said that there were credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian laws and international human rights laws amounting to war crimes and that there was a need for both domestic and international investigation. You paid no heed to the report; you never engaged with them with regard to their Report; you did not deal with any matter in that report. You merely attacked the members of the panel. There was a meaningless reaction on your part; there was no rational reaction on your part…"
On the subject of R2P, Sampanthan said, "Then on the question of the responsibility to protect, there were certain reports submitted: one by the Secretary General and one by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty called the ICISS and based on the reports the Commission identified matters that needed to be addressed.
"Eventually, Sir, there was a resolution passed, with more than 150 members voting in its favour where R2P was adopted, the responsibility to protect, the right of the international community to intervene in situations when the local state itself has failed in its responsibility to protect its citizens was recognized. In other words, the first duty is on the part of the local state, the country concerned to protect its citizens."
LLRC wants full probe on Karuna's role in mass killing
The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation (LLRC) Commission's final report tabled in Parliament on Friday has said that two senior police officers who were victims of abduction along with 600 police officers, referred to the involvement of Karuna and several other Tiger guerrillas in the murder of police officers. They had been ordered to lay down arms and surrender before being killed.
Karuna alias Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, former Eastern Commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is now Deputy Minister of National Integration.
The Commission report states: "Pursuant to the allegations made by the representers the Commission questioned Mr Muralitharan alias Karuna about the allegations levelled against him. He denied the allegations in respect of these murders.
"However, this Commission regrets to note that up to date no investigation has been conducted in respect of this allegation of the killing of six hundred policemen. The two senior police officers said that there had not even been a departmental inquiry into the circumstances that led to the surrender of these police officers to the LTTE. Nor have the dependants of the police officers who lost their lives been recompensed. The Commission is of the view that this matter warrants a full investigation because of the nature of the crime and the bearing it has on reconciliation."
The family tie that binds
Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa took his oaths as an Attorney-at-Law last Thursday at the Supreme Court before Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake.
It was an emotional moment for his father, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and mother Shiranthi.
Though not many knew, Namal wore the same neck tie his father had worn when he took his oaths as an Attorney-at Law.
Age limit for front-seat security
Personal Security Officers (PSOs), the armed men from the Ministerial Security Division, who accompany Ministers in the front seat of their official vehicles are to be placed under an age limit.
In terms of a new directive, officers who will now be handpicked are those below 45.
Ajinomo-tea for Minister Yapa
If government representatives from several countries were poring over measures to deal with climate change in Durban, South Africa, there was some activity in Sri Lanka too.
Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa held a news conference to speak of the government's own role. As is customary, the amiable minister entertained journalists to tea after the conference. There was a climate change of sorts when Minister Yapa and some of his senior officials took the first sip of tea. Though it was Ceylon tea, it did not taste good. Their facial expressions showed they had drunk something unpalatable. They were seen returning their full cups to an office assistant.
An official responsible for the arrangements, who was embarrassed, hurriedly ran to the tea room to find out what had gone wrong. It turned out that the office assistant had not used sugar from the regular bottle. Usually, to please his bosses he would introduce several spoons of sugar. Instead, he had emptied a bottle of Ajinomoto (monosodium glucomate), a food additive, to the pot of tea.
 After the rain, storm for ‘DoubleD’
The LLRC's final report has slammed EPDP leader Douglas Devananda for his alleged disrespect for the rule of law. This is what it says: "Several representers complained about acts of extortion that were being committed by members of the Eelam Peoples' Democratic Party. When the leader of the EPDP was questioned he stated that, "after the rains there is wetness."
"The Commission regrets to note that this approach by the EPDP leader (Douglas Devananda) does not augur well in fostering respect for the Rule of Law. The Commission is of the view that since there are several complaints against the EPDP there should be a full investigation regarding these allegations. Absence of an investigation would create a sense of impunity."
Top police officers ordered to go by bus
Gazetted officers of the Police, those holding office as Directors at various units, were an angry lot.
They have been told to turn up today in Colombo for a lengthy bus ride to the suburbs of Anuradhapura where next year's Deyata Kirula exhibition is being held. The Police Department is having a stall there.
For those who generally go in chaffeur driven air conditioned cars, going by bus, no doubt, is below their dignity. One of them checked out whether they were luxury buses. They were not. They are the same buses that carry passengers.
MR goes from Bali to Borobudur
President Mahinda Rajapaksa led a 52-member delegation to the Democratic Forum in Bali, Indonesia. He went on a chartered SriLankan Airlines flight.
Whilst in the resort island, it occurred to him that he should visit the historic temple in Borobudur. Sri Lanka's Ambassador, retired Major General Nanda Mallawaratchchi was asked to make the arrangements. The Indonesian government placed a special aircraft at his disposal. Rajapaksa and others flew thereafter.
Others who took part in the event were the Philippines Vice President Jegomar Binay, Brunei Sultan Hassan al-Bolkiah, Qatar's Prime Minister Hamid bin Jassim bin Jaber al Thani and Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.
Wimal as commentator: Don't dare hit Namal for a six
If he is good at bowling the googly, National Freedom Front leader Wimal Weerawansa is equally good at cricket commentary.
This time, he took the gentleman's game to a new level by being both player and commentator at the cricket encounter between Cabinet ministers and Parliamentarians.
During his commentary, Weerawansa gave a piece of advice to Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage. When Namal Rajapaksa was bowling, Weerawansa said, he should know not to attempt sixes but play different strokes. That is if he wanted to ensure his political future. One UPFA minister remarked later "Wimal should have asked Aluthgamage to get out." It drew laughter both from President Rajapaksa as well as Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.
This politico said Mr. Prelate
United National Party deputy leader, Karu Jayasuriya was in for a rude shock when he called on the Most Venerable Udugama Sri Buddharakhittha Thera, Mahanayake of the Malwatte Chapter, in Kandy.
The Mahanayake complained that a UNP member of the Kandy Municipal Council had sent him a letter, addressing the prelate as "Mr".
This had taken place during the local polls campaign in October. 'How could such a person hold political office," the Asgiriya Mahanayake had asked Jayasuriya.
 Fonseka shouts at mad hatters
The former Army Commander who has been in and out of Courts since his arrest 22 months ago make pithy comments which are mostly picked up by the electronic media for broadcast.
Prison officials have been making their best to prevent the electronic media picking up his comments, but in most instances failed.
On Friday when Mr. Fonseka was returning after Courts they tried out a new way. They kept on shouting in loud voices to drown the voice of Mr. Fonseka. Visibly angered Mr. Fonseka shouted out 'Modayao kegehewata gananganna epa' (Do not take notice because fools shout). Prison guards also kept waving their caps to prevent TV crews recording the visuals of Mr. Fonseka walking out of the courts.
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