Sunday Times 2
If Gota Goes Home…
View(s):The events of these last few days have had me contemplating and cogitating about the unprecedented situation which we Sri Lankans now face.
The people have had enough. We have had enough of suffering like serfs in a feudal society, enough of crony capitalism, enough of incompetent and dishonest folk occupying positions of authority and power in our country. We citizens have been protesting peacefully–even defying last Sunday’s curfew, not just in the Rajapaksa stronghold of Tangalle but all over this island.
Our nation need not have sunk into this morass. For leaders to protect the people and manage the economy does not require them to be blessed with the brains of rocket scientists. People require a leader who is sensible enough and confident enough to select capable persons to run the country for him or her. Appointing a cabinet of 26 members that included no less than three brothers and a nephew gave nepotism a whole new meaning!
It is not that we do not have competent, experienced and knowledgeable people in our country. The sad fact is that they have been ignored, sidelined and not listened to.
Unfortunately, the two Rajapaksa presidents we have elected simply looked upon their being elected to the privilege of the highest office in the land as an opportunity to provide lucrative sinecures for incompetent hangers-on who went on to mismanage ministries, corporations and central banks.
When there is no meritocratic aspect to appointments, then nepotism and patronage hold sway–and the people suffer. Moreover, nepotism and patronage inevitably lead to corruption and waste. The sad fact is that during the Rajapaksa years, corruption and wastage took place on a massive scale.
Decisions were made not on an intelligent appraisal of the facts and a sensible appreciation of the situation but on a ‘knee jerk’ basis. Look at some of the major policy decisions like banning chemical fertilisers, deciding to peg the exchange rate at a time when we did not have adequate foreign exchange reserves, prioritising expensive highways projects (that generated lucrative contracts); these are some of the stupid directives from the President that have left us ordinary citizens in a mess.
While it is appropriate that the whole cabinet resigned last Monday, the people are not blind to the fact that the President is just hoodwinking us and allowing his catchers to play musical chairs by reshuffling some of these ex-ministers to make up a four member cabinet.
Just imagine Johnston Fernando resigning from his post of Highways Minister–and the same Johnston Fernando being reappointed as Highways Minister! Is he not being given another opportunity to run the Highways Ministry just like he ran the CWE? This is the same man who was arrested by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division of the CID in 2015, remanded and had to face charges of bribery in court! The new Finance Minister–who achieved high office because he just happened to be the President’s one time defence lawyer–prudently decided (for reasons only he can explain) to resign his new portfolio just a day after he was appointed to this Gang of Four.
But while ‘Gota Go Home’ is a good slogan, what will happen if the President actually resigns?
Sri Lanka’s constitutional line of succession deems that if the President resigns, he has to be succeeded by the Prime Minister (just as Prime Minister D.B. Wijetunga became president when President Premadasa died), while the next in line will be the Speaker. So will Gota go home only for Mahinda to come back as President? Though he must get the endorsement of Parliamnet thereafter. With the departure of one set of ministers (many of whom have amassed much more wealth than they had when they entered parliament), will we get a new set of ‘Caretakers’ with equally dubious records? Can we trust those forty plus members of parliament who last week deserted the Rajapaksas when the going got tough–simply to save their skins and look for new masters?
Getting rid of those who have plundered our nation with impunity is one thing.
If Gota and his family plus their hangers-on depart, we the people need an interim government consisting of people who have credibility. We do not want those who have been tainted by their time in political office–and certainly not untrustworthy opportunists like Sirisena, Weerawansa and Gamanpila who are now waiting to pounce on the chance of clawing themselves back into power.
Many questions remain.
Can those who “go” be brought to justice and made to pay for their corrupt activities? Can we be confident that they won’t be replaced by others who, caring not a jot or tittle for the people, will take the opportunity to enrich themselves just as the Rajapaksa family and their friends did?
It remains to be seen whether our nation and our people can make a new start.
But for all this to happen, Gota and his family have to go.