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By Chandani Kirinde- Lobby Correspondent
There is no mistaking the “yahapalanaya” Government is going down the same path as the previous regime, with political cronyism once again becoming a priority for those serving in the present administration, while the interests and sentiments of the general public take backstage.

A blatant example of this distasteful trend came to light in Parliament this week when Leader of the House and Minister of Higher Education and Highways Lakshman Kiriella had no qualms about defending the appointment of 45 “consultants’” to various projects under the Road Development Authority (RDA) which functions under his Ministry, saying he had a responsibility to “do something” for those who had helped the UNP win elections in the Kandy District.

“We won the Presidential election by a majority of 81,000 votes, while we won the last Parliamentary election by a majority of 131,000 votes in Kandy, with the support of these people. We have to do something in return for them,” the Minister said on Tuesday, when a query was raised by JVP Kalutara District MP Dr Nalinda Jayatissa on the matter. Each of the so called “consultants” are being paid a monthly allowance of Rs 65,000, of which Rs 40,000 is a travel allowance, the Minister said, adding that, their contracts were limited to one year.

Furthermore, most of these appointees do not hold any academic qualifications to suffice playing the role of “consultant” on road construction related matters, according to documents relating to their appointment tabled in Parliament.

This aside, on Friday, JVP lawmaker Jayatissa raised an even more serious charge against Minister Kiriella, alleging the actual number of “consultants” he had appointed was 56, and accused the UNP MP of misleading the House.

Minister Kiriella was not present in Parliament when Dr Jayatissa made the fresh allegations but, whatever the number, the Minister’s admission that these appointments were made to appease those who worked for the UNP during the last Presidential and Parliamentary election, is like rubbing salt into the wounds of a public that is already reeling under the high cost of living, while also being frustrated at the lack of progress in investigating the wrongdoings of the powerful members of the last regime and bringing them to book.

Adding to this unsatisfactory state of affairs is the attempt by Minister Kiriella to justify the appointments, saying that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed 250 such “consultants” when he was in power.

As the JVP MP pointed out, the people rejected the previous regime due to their frustration with cronyism, nepotism and thuggery that had taken centre-stage. “People voted for the “yahapalanaya” government not to have a repeat of what they rejected at the last presidential and general election but, for an end to such corrupt practices. If this trend continues, the people will reject this Government too,” MP Jayatissa warned.

It is no secret that the former President appointed scores of “advisers” and “consultants”, including many to serve in the Presidential Secretariat, with a similar pattern now emerging from within the ranks of those in the present regime, and the weeks ahead are likely to bring more such information to the open.

Listed on the Order Paper of Parliament is a question under the name of UPFA (Joint opposition ) Group MP Udaya Gammanpila on the number of Advisors, Secretaries, Coordinating Officers, Personal Assistants and such other officers appointed by the President to his staff, as at January 1, 2016, along with details of their salaries and allowances.

No answer was provided to the question this week but, an answer should be forthcoming in the coming month. And, while the Right to Information (RTI) Bill has been passed by Parliament, it is yet to be certified by the Speaker, who has been away due to health issues. Even if the Bill is certified, it will be several months or even a year before it becomes operational.

In the interim, it is by way of questions raised in Parliament that the public will be able to gather information regarding irregular appointments of this nature being made by those in power now. Chief Government Whip and Minister of Media informed Parliament this week, there are 8,388 vacancies to be filled in the Public Service. At least 4,000 others are also to be appointed as Information Officers under the provisions of the RTI Act. It will be interesting to see how transparent the Government will be when filling these vacancies.

To its credit, this Government has been more forthcoming with information as opposed to the Rajapaksa regime, which too often kept facts hidden from the public, using “threats to national security” as the routine excuse to withhold information. But even then, there is no justification for appointing party supporters to government institutions, because it is the taxpayer who has to foot the bill for their salaries and allowances.

The UNP received a total of 5,098,916 votes in the August, 2015 Parliamentary election. A large majority of this number supported the Party to root out corruption, stop waste and political favoritism which had reached epidemic proportions under the previous regime. Ministers handpicking their supporters and giving them jobs in government sector to return a favour only shows that the voters of this country are once again being taken down the same path that they so convincingly and fearlessly chose to reject.