Columns

• Ranil writes personal letters to MPs, seeks support to restore normalcy and build consensus
• SLFP, Wimal-Gammanpila-Vasu group and some SJB dissidents likely to be in new Cabinet; SJB leader and JHU opt out
• Concern that prorogation will nullify vital COPE inquiries on who or what caused the economic crisis

By Our Political Editor

Amidst the economic and political chaos, taking the country by surprise was Thursday’s announcement of the prorogation of Parliament.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe issued a proclamation fixing August 3 at 10.30 a.m. for the next session. As is customary, there will be a ceremonial opening after which he will make a policy statement. What shape and form it will take is unclear. More so since an all-party government is still not in place with only three days left for the event.

Yet, a statement assumes greater significance for several reasons. Most importantly, plans are afoot to form a broader interim government. President Wickremesinghe made clear to the Cabinet of Ministers sworn in last week, essentially from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna  (SLPP), and two from the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB), that their life span would be two weeks. Since then, he has focused on the all-party government.

President Wickremesinghe wrote to every MP a letter which said: “The government is currently engaged in great efforts to gradually restore normalcy to the political and social unrest created with the economic crisis that the country is facing today. Accordingly, initial plans required to implement a systematic economic reform programme are being formulated, while preliminary measures are also being undertaken for the creation of economic stability. It is my opinion, however, that a programme needs to be implemented with the participation of all political parties represented in Parliament, expert groups, civil society organisations and all related parties to successfully overcome the challenges before us. It is also the intention of the people at this moment that their representatives in Parliament will act to find solutions to the economic and social crises in the country through a common programme. It is the duty and responsibility of all of us. Accordingly, I propose to initiate a broad dialogue to discuss the next steps, including the reintroduction of the 19th amendment to the constitution and the Parliamentary Oversight Committee System to fulfil this national responsibility, and wish to accordingly request to you convey your or your party’s concurrence to me as early as possible.”

Conditions for national
government

On Thursday, he met a Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) delegation led by Maithripala Sirisena, a former President himself. It was at the Finance Ministry conference room since cleaning up operations at the Presidential Secretariat were still underway then. Members in the party hierarchy had pressured Sirisena to hold the meeting before he undertook a foreign visit. He left thereafter. The SLFP proposed two broad conditions in agreeing to join an all-party government. One is the creation of a National Executive Council (NEC) from among constituents of the all-party government to formulate policy. The other is the re-introduction in Parliament of the 19th Amendment.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe visited Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy and paid homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic yesterday

President Wickremesinghe is learnt to have agreed to place their request for an NEC before other would-be partners. He has already declared that he would re-introduce 19A. Not all parties represented in Parliament are inclined to join the proposed all-party government. SJB leader, Sajith Premadasa has declared his party will not become a partner. However, there are those within the main opposition group who are talking informally about joining. A more substantive development in this regard is a move by a few former UNP high rankers to forge unity between their members and those in the SJB under the UNP banner. Different formulae are being talked of, again informally, and there is no finality. They want to continue the dialogue. All this is not good news for Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, who is facing more discontent from his parliamentarians over what they call his lack of assertiveness and aggressive leadership. One senior SJBer, now disillusioned with the leadership, described his leader as Aasai Bayai  or one who loves it but is frightened – a reference to his taking decisions. There were others who were livid that one of his meetings with the then presidential candidate Dullas Alahapperuma, where he worked a “no contest deal” was at the private office of a cabinet minister. This was three days before the elections in Parliament.

The Jathika Hela Urumauya (JHU) will also not join. Its leader, Patali Champika Ranawaka told the Sunday Times: “We have put forward three conditions: One is a Leadership Council in which we must agree on the policy agenda by the all-party government. The second is for partner leaders to sign an agreement on the minimum policies. The 225 MPs in Parliament should form the executive committee system to assist in the working of ministries. Thirdly, important institutions, like for example the Central Bank, the state banks, the Ceylon Electricity Board, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, the Water Supply Board, and Litro Gas should be headed by independent persons.” The JHU is doubtful whether its demands would be met. The JHU did create some confusion over a tie up with President Wickremesinghe after former JHU spokesperson Dhanushka Ramanayake was appointed Director General of Media at the President’s Office. It transpired that he had parted ways with the JHU and had been nominated by Saman Athaudahetti, media head when Wickremesinghe was Prime Minister in the yahapalana government.

Poised to join the proposed grand alliance would thus be the remaining faction of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the SLFP and the eleven-party grouping, a breakaway group from the SLPP coalition. There is also now another UNP parliamentarian, Vajira Abeywardena, who was sworn in as MP last week. He is tipped to become a cabinet minister.  The group of eleven is led by the troika Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila and Vasudeva Nanayakkara. All three are likely to be cabinet ministers in an all-party government. In fact, the group of eleven delivered a significant message when the voting on emergency regulations took place in Parliament this week. The 120 parliamentarians who voted in favour included their eleven. Otherwise, the number of the ruling disposition would have been 109 which is four less than the majority in the 225-member Parliament. There were 42 absentees.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) also showed an inclination of joining an all-party government. Its spokesperson Abraham Sumanthiran told the Sunday Times, “If the Government genuinely intends to form a national party government without the dominance of Sri Lanka Podhujana Peramuna (SLPP), the party will consider extending the support to such initiative.

“We have been critical of the Government for that precise reason of it is becoming another SLPP-led one which lost its political mandate. People have rejected SLPP. That is why both the President and the Prime Minister elected by that party were forced to resign from their respective offices. The SLPP itself conceded that it had lost the political mandate. There must be an all-party government but along with other opposition parties in Parliament, we have been maintaining the position that any national government initiative should not be SLPP-led or dominated one,”

Wimal’s defends
Ranil’s Govt.

Weerawansa, who is known to have his own personal domestic compulsions, also spoke in support of the Government. Some of the highlights give one an idea of the direction the group of eleven is headed: “I don’t believe the Government that has been formed now has the kind of legitimacy we had proposed. Whatever the case, however, this Government has been established lawfully and constitutionally. This is the Government we have today, whether we like it or not.

“The “GotaGoHome” struggle was launched due to the immense hardship that the people of this country were undergoing and because they could not see steps being taken to find immediate solutions to these issues. We believed that the struggle would end with the fulfillment of the wish “Gota Go Home.” But that has not been the case. I just heard Sarath Fonseka speak of another protest on August 9 which would send this President home and would result in Dinesh (Gunawardena) being President.

“What sort of farce is this? Rather than say “Gota Go Home” or “Ranil Go Home” or “Dinesh Go Home,” it would be far easier for all of us if they said who they wanted. Then let’s all make him President so that this country will finally get some breathing space. We have issues with this Government and have areas where we don’t agree with them. But those are separate issues. Is the objective of the Aragalaya (Struggle) to wreck this country’s image in front of the world’s media so that we are compared with Libya or some obscure country in Africa? Is that the Aragalaya we are going to legitimise?

“I won’t attack the justifiable anger of hundreds of thousands of people or the genuine struggle waged by the young people there. But we need to understand that what is happening right now is an attempt at bringing down the State. I won’t allow that whether I’m in government or opposition. It would be a great sin if that was allowed to happen. I don’t want a ministerial post from Ranil Wickremesinghe. I want to safeguard my State. We need that State when we finally come out of this economic abyss.

“They stormed and took over President’s House, Presidential Secretariat and Temple Trees. Are we to call that a peaceful occupation? There is a well-planned attempt taking place aimed at bringing down the State. This is anarchy. These people are anarchists. We need to face this with strength. However, if the Government tries to use this State of Emergency to trample the justified demands of the people, we will vote against it next month. It’s true that our votes aren’t crucial to pass the emergency, but we can’t support it in such a situation. We need to stop this attempt to bring down the State and create anarchy. While some politicians may try to mollycoddle such elements, we are not prepared  to be a party to that…….”

Weerawansa, the orator he is, has well dissected the issues in focus. However, it cannot be forgotten that an “aragalaya” or struggle within Parliament together with his colleagues much ahead of the one at Galle Road, was launched by him. Then they revolted against what they called the cavalier treatment by Basil Rajapaksa, a onetime Finance Minister. So much so, Weerawansa and Gammanpila were sacked from the Cabinet of Ministers unceremoniously by the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Their ordeals were not only during ministerial meetings but also on a day-to-day basis when it came to affairs within the SLPP government. At the last major SLPP rally in Anuradhapura in February, this year, Basil Rajapaksa also engineered a campaign for the party he nurtured to go it alone at future elections. That was aimed at sidelining Weerawansa and his colleagues.

And now, it is the same Basil Rajapaksa, who, with the skill and expertise of a puppeteer, is pulling the strings on many an issue. He saw to the defeat of Dullas Alahapperuma as a presidential candidate with deft political maneuvering that came as a windfall for Ranil Wickremesinghe. Whether Weerawansa likes  it or not, he had gone round in circles and come back to the same spot.  Though not directly, he has yet fulfilled his archenemy Basil Rajapaksa’s political agenda. Little wonder they say there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies in politics. Survival supersedes all. Basil Rajapaksa also saw the unceremonious exit of G.L. Peiris as Foreign Minister and literally edged him out of any role as Chairman of the SLPP. Hilarious enough, Professor Peiris is now driving fears into Sri Lankans about the outcomes of the UN Human Rights Council over Sri Lanka, having spun himself out of control whilst in office saying things opposite.  In marked contrast to Weerawansa’s role, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, in a fiery speech in Parliament, spoke about the protest on August 9, to oust President Wickremesinghe. The veteran soldier who led troops to victory over the Tiger guerrillas in May 2009 appealed to the armed forces not to act against the protestors on that day.

Back to the ceremonial opening of Parliament and the policy statement by President Wickremesinghe. Other than telling Parliament the latest on the state of the economy and the difficult measures that have become necessary, a government source said, the President would also spell out the broad outlines of the proposed interim government. Yesterday, he met the Maha Nayake Theras of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters to brief them on the current situation. Ahead of the meeting, President Wickremesinghe learnt that the two leading prelates were of the view that the proposed interim government should comprise all parties including those representing minority communities. They have also conveyed to him that he was “the only capable person” who could restore normalcy to the country and the “learned qualities he had were not matched by others in the ruling party.”

Concerns over ending COPE’s term

The planned sittings of Parliament have not been interrupted in any way with the prorogation of Parliament. The next sittings were due to resume on August 3, the day now earmarked for the ceremonial opening. However, all pending bills as well as committees will cease to function.

In this regard, serious concerns have been raised over the ending of the term of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), the watchdog body that has been closely monitoring abuse of public funds, mismanagement and corrupt activities in state bodies. Important enough, the COPE Secretariat had just this week prepared to summon before the committee all parties whom it believes are related to the current economic crisis. This is after it obtained a wealth of material from the Auditor General’s Department. It is titled “Special Audit Report on Fiscal Management and Public Debt Control in Sri Lanka 2018–2022” and runs into 597 pages.

Among those to be called upon to testify were former Presidential Secretary (and previously the Finance Ministry Secretary), P.B. Jayasundera, Prof. W.D. Lakshman, S.R. Attygalle, Ajith Nivard Cabral, Indrajit Cumaraswamy and members of the Monetary Board. The COPE is headed by Prof. Charitha Herath, who incidentally is one of the MPs of a group that sits on the opposition benches. The Committee on Public Enterprises, which consists of 31 members reflecting the party composition in the House, is established under the Standing Order 126 at the beginning of each Parliamentary Session and the Chairman is elected by the Members of the Committee at its first session. Its quorum is four. The duty of the Committee is to report to Parliament on accounts examined, budgets and estimates, financial procedures, performance and management of Corporations and other Government Business Undertakings. Accounts of these organisations are audited by the Auditor-General and form the basis of the investigations of the Committee. It has the power to summon the relevant officials and such other people as it thinks fit to obtain evidence and call for documents. The Committee recommendations contained in its reports are deemed to be directives to the respective Corporations or Statutory Boards for due compliance. Now, questions are being raised whether a new set of members would be named to the COPE leaving out those who have been vigorously raising issues.

Discontent over Dinesh

Ahead of the ministers being sworn in, taking his oath as Prime Minister was Dinesh Gunawardena. He and President Wickremesinghe were classmates at Royal College. Until his appointment as Premier, Gunawardena, a seasoned politician, has held several ministerial positions and was Leader of the House. That he is the leader of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) and not the SLPP did ruffle some feathers. There were elitist SLPP groups who were unhappy that a member of their own party was not picked. On the other hand, backers of Gunawardena argued that if the elitist group wielded influence in the process, he would not have been Premier.

For his part, Premier Gunawardena found for himself a cosy place in the second row (on the left side) at the Parliament canteen. From there, he used his charm offensive during meal hours on visiting MPs. Most stopped by and chatted with him.

The task of choosing a Prime Minister has not been an easy task for President Wickremesinghe. There were several claimants who thought they were eligible enough. That included a self-styled constitutional wizard, a controversial politician found guilty of corruption with an appeal pending before courts as well as a lawyer turned politician who once earned the wrath of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Another, who confided in colleagues and close friends that he would be Premier, when Wickremesinghe became President, was Badulla District parliamentarian Nimal Siripala de Silva. However, then President Rajapaksa removed him from the portfolio of Minister of Aviation, Ports and Shipping, after allegations that he sought a bribe from Taisei Corporation, a Japanese company involved in development work at the Bandaranaike International Aiport (BIA). Ex-minister de Silva, however, strongly denies the accusations. Sources close to then President Rajapaksa said the former President received complaints from the Japanese Ambassador Mizukoshi Hideaki as well Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, who raised issue in Parliament.

Upon an appeal made by then minister de Silva, President Wickremesinghe appointed a three-member Committee. A statement from the President’s Media Division said, “President Ranil Wickremesinghe, paying attention to the request made by former Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva to conduct an impartial investigation into the matter raised by the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament based on the news published in the social, print and electronic media that a Cabinet Minister had demanded a bribe from Japan’s Taisei Company, has appointed a three-member committee to immediately conduct an investigation and report on it.  The Committee headed by Retired High Court Judge and President’s Counsel Ms. Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena comprises Retired Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police S. M. Wickremasinghe, a Retired Special Grade Officer of Sri Lanka Administrative Service S.M.G.K. Perera.  The President has informed the Committee to submit the investigation report to him before July 31.”

Government sources said that a committee recommendation that de Silva is not guilty or accusations have not been proved would see his return to the Cabinet of ministers.

The move has raised eyebrows in some quarters on whether the exercise would be viewed as an unfriendly act by the Japanese government. Japan is now poised to offer bridging finance to the tune of around a billion dollars once a staff-level agreement is reached with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The perceived displeasure is on the grounds that an inquiry ordered by then President Rajapaksa, notwithstanding, the appointment of a committee amounts to probing the veracity of the complaint from the Japanese envoy. It is pointed out that such representations were accepted and that was why a probe was ordered.

Shortage of fuel despite claims of QR code success

The more recent political developments appear to have obscured one of the most worrisome factors affecting the country and continues to hurt the economy. That is the acute shortage of fuel. Energy Minister, Kanchana Wijesekera, has boasted that the QR code system he had introduced to register motor vehicles, first launched in the western province, and later extended to other areas, was a success. He claimed that more and more vehicles were now being registered and QR codes issued. Well and good. However, only such QR codes are available and there is no fuel, not even on the designated dates when such issues are made based on this magic code. Obviously, the inexperienced minister is clueless and cannot explain what purpose the QR codes would serve if there is no fuel available even on the dates assigned.

For President Wickremesinghe, who plans an all-party government, it is imperative to ensure ministers who know their subjects are given responsibility. Otherwise, the hardships on the people will continue to grow breeding more hatred towards the Government. This is not the time for novices to toy around with major projects and add further burdens to the economy. It is also not the time to call upon the Police to continue to enforce fuel distribution measures including the QR system at the expense of their primary responsibility of maintaining law and order. This aspect is now receiving less priority leaving crime and robbery to increase.