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Political turmoil puts mega US grant in balance
View(s):A multimillion dollar US grant aid programme which was to be signed in December is hanging in the balance due to the political turmoil in Sri Lanka.
Earlier this year, the United States’ Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) approved a five-year grant of about US$ 460mn for Sri Lanka’s land and transport sectors. The money was for upgrading road networks and the bus system in the Colombo metropolitan area. Some of it was for rehabilitating more than 300km of urban and inter-provincial roads. The rest was for improving land administration and strengthening land rights and tenure security.
The agreement was to have been signed in December this year following months of appraisal and negotiations. But the MCC–a bilateral US foreign aid agency established by Congress in 2004–indicated this week that the recent political developments in Sri Lanka might have stymied the process.
“No actions are being taken either to move the compact forward or to suspend it while we assess the situation in the country,” MCC said in a statement to the Associated Press. The agency said it expected Sri Lanka “to remain committed to democratic governance, which includes respect for fundamental freedoms and rule of law.”
Sri Lanka had never before qualified for an MCC “compact”–large, five-year grants for selected countries that meet eligibility criteria that includes economic freedom, investing in people and ruling justly. The last one contains within its framework political rights, civil liberties, control of corruption, government effectiveness, the rule of law and freedom of information.
The MCC’s Board of Directors selected Sri Lanka to develop a compact in December 2016. In August this year, MCC delivered to the US Congress a congressional notification of its intent to negotiate a Millennium Challenge Compact with Sri Lanka. Disbursement of the funds was to start next year after protracted discussions and project plans.
In its note to Congress, MCC said Sri Lanka was selected first for a threshold programme–smaller grants focused on policy and institutional reform–but that the country failed to pass policy indicators in the 2016 fiscal year (FY). However, its performance on the indicators steadily increased in parallel with the reforms undertaken by the Government since January 2015, MCC said.
“In FY 2017, Sri Lanka passed more than half of the indicators including both democratic rights indicators: political rights and civil liberties and control of corruption,” it pointed out. The US Government has expressed concern at the development in Sri Lanka, urging all sides to “refrain from intimidation and violence”. The State Department called on the President, in consultation with the Speaker, to immediately reconvene Parliament and “allow the democratically elected representatives of the Sri Lankan people to fulfil their responsibility to affirm who will lead their Government”.
Meanwhile, State Department Spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters that it’s up to Sri Lanka’s Parliament to decide who the Prime Minister is.
The Embassy also issued a travel alert stating, “Due to the current political situation, US citizens are reminded of an increased likelihood of civil unrest, strikes, and demonstrations”.
“The embassy reminds citizens that even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence… You should avoid areas of demonstrations and exercise caution if you are in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations,” it said US visitors were also urged to monitor local media for updates, be aware of their surroundings and keep a low profile.
Sarath Amunugama, who was appointed as Foreign Minister this week, criticised the travel advisories issued by a few countries, including Britain, saying there was no justification for them as there had been no violence.
Meanwhile, the European Union has warned that Sri Lanka could lose the GSP Plus facility which was restored just last year. “The Government got GSP Plus on the basis of certain commitments, if these commitments are not met, then we would consider withdrawal,” EU Ambassador Tung-Lai Margue is quoted as telling Reuters news agency.
Sri Lanka lost the concession in 2010 because the Government, then under President Mahinda Rajapaksa, had failed to adhere to conditions inherently attached to the GSP Plus. This includes the implementation of three key conventions, namely the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention against Torture (CAT) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
Mr. Margue is quoted as saying that some progress had been made toward human rights by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s administration but “more needed to be done and there were questions about whether a Government led by Mr. Rajapaksa would pursue justice for victims (of the war) as vigorously”.
“I don’t know what his policy on reconciliation would be like. I have fears it won’t be the one we agreed on,” Mr. Margue said.