Editorial

It was too good to be true. While the rest of the world was spinning with spike after spike of cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19), now into the tenth month since its initial outbreak outside of China where it was first detected, Sri Lankans seemed to lead a charmed life.

Government leaders were quick to take credit, and the people readily gave it to them for arresting the pandemic’s spread. Slow initially, like many other countries to react to what was an unprecedented virus gathering momentum on a global scale, the Government at first downplayed what was happening. Then, in March it realised the gravity of the disease and shut down airports and sea ports in the nick of time before the situation got aggravated.

Various foreign sources have been quoted from time to time by Government leaders to pat themselves on the back claiming to be not just among the Top Ten, but the Fab Four of nations best controlling the spread of this virus. Additional factors were attributed to the Government’s swift, somewhat heavyhanded response to the situation, among them the hypothesis that Sri Lankans had inbuilt immune systems due to early vaccination programmes, the weather, the possibility of cross immunity between dengue and COVID-19 etc. The Government’s boast about being among “the best countries to handle COVID” even contributed to this false sense of security among the public.

It was not an entirely Sri Lankan thing to relax. All over the world, people were getting claustrophobic, irritated, agitated and economically deprived under lockdowns.

And then came the time bomb that was waiting to explode somewhere. It exploded last Sunday at a garment factory in Minuwangoda, a factory seemingly trying to catch up with lost export orders for foreign markets to earn desperately needed foreign exchange.

This explosion brought about a valid debate; should the economy prevail over public health? This has been argued ever since COVID-19 broke out and lockdowns around the world and curfews in Sri Lanka became the order of the day, and the night.

The discovery of this new cluster that developed within hours to dangerous and frightening proportions jolted the public. The war against COVID-19 was not over. It also woke up the authorities whose appeals to the public to exercise caution had largely fallen on deaf ears after a general election went off without incident.  So much so, when the latest news broke, sceptics asked if it was a mere smokescreen to divert attention from the negative publicity the Government was drawing for the proposals connected with the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, or even probably a controlled self-detonated explosion to get the citizenry back to taking adequate precautions as world health authorities kept warning of second waves and third waves of the virus.

While there are no foolproof measures that can be adopted, questions also remain over the transfer of the former Director General of Health Services and whether it is a continuing question of the government doctors union (GMOA) infighting against foreign qualified personnel holding senior administrative posts in the health sector.

The recent ‘escape’ of a Russian crew from the Mattala airport raised a red flag that this entry point to the country was a soft spot, a weak link, susceptible to corruption and vulnerable to influence peddling that permits foreign passengers to slip into the country without adequate scrutiny. The recent factory ‘explosion’ has raised this question once again. If it has been a secret gateway for foreign passengers in the midst of this crisis, not only must the leak be sealed, but those involved taken to task for endangering the lives of the people at large.

Public funds wasted on derailed projects

What was the basis for cancelling this project? No one has got a proper answer except for a bland response from the Cabinet spokesman who said it would cause “significant environmental damage”.

If it was done because it was the former UDA Minister who is in the bad books of this Government who spearheaded the project (mooted first by the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration prior to 2015), or someone wants make a buck out of a fresh commission, then the Government has a lot to answer for.

A high-level Chinese delegation was given special treatment to enter the country this week to discuss projects. The Chinese embassy has tweeted, brazenly touting this very project saying Chinese companies have shown a “keen interest” to build the Colombo LRT system at “half the cost of which Japanese companies quoted”. The shift from the Japanese-funded project, where after months of negotiations the loan was to be as low as at 0.1 per cent interest with a 12-year grace period, is bound to have geo-political significance when Sri Lanka’s avowed foreign policy is said to be “neutrality”. Foreign investors are going to look askance at doing business with a country that signs and cancels agreements.

Exiting is going to cost good money as penalties for defaulting on a signed contract; good money of the Sri Lankan people just thrown down the drain. These are not new phenomena. Soon after the 1996 Central Bank bombing, an American company was consulted to redevelop the Colombo Fort area, but all that happened was compensation had to be paid in millions of US dollars for not going through with the project. In 2012, US dollars 650 million was paid for the Kriish Square project also in Colombo Fort, a project that never materialised. More recently, an Italian firm was paid Euro 10 million (Rs. 2 billion) for default of a contract on the Hyatt hotel project. SriLankan Airlines paid USD 98 million for aircraft it leased, and never used. The delay in the Port City resulted in more land being given. Millions are squandered on projects that are signed, but never see the light of day.

Such indecision and delays on the part of governments, often laced with corrupt motives, are costing the people dearly, and nobody in High Places seems to care two hoots.