When private bus operators struck work on Tuesday demanding a fare-hike, commuters had to depend on state transport. CTB buses were jam-packed with commuters travelling dangerously on footboards

The UNF government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, though rising to the highest levels, perhaps even of statesmanship in the peace process, has horribly fouled up the marriage in other vital areas.

The main breaking point has been the miserable failure to manage and monitor the cost of living. In recent weeks and months, electricity and water bills have shot up along with fuel while vegetable soared to three-figure levels during the Vesak holidays and the rain.

Hardpressed and struggling families found themselves at the receiving end of red notices, with flying squads moving into cut electricity or water within days of the deadline.

Government ministers and top officials may not feel the full impact of this because they probably feel they would not get any red notices for the next six years. But unless effective action is taken to check the cost of living and provide relief to the people, the red notices might come much earlier.

The bust-up of the marriage or the honeymoon came with last week's private bus strike which left tens of thousands of people stranded on the roads and work disrupted. Adding to the chaos was the fact that the President, the Prime Minister and as many as 15 ministers had gone abroad on official or private visits. Adding a degree of anarchy to the absence was their failure, neglect or indifference to make provision for the appointment of acting ministers so that administrative work could go on and urgent decisions could be made.

President Kumaratunga might have been somewhat casual or cavalier in the way she handled certain matters, but in the last few months of the PA government, she did appoint an acting head of government and acting ministers to handle her key portfolios.

When the private bus operators held thousands of innocent people to ransom last Tuesday, the Defence and Transport Minister Tilak Marapana was in China. There was no acting minister and the State Transport Minister Upali Piyasoma was on a collision course with one of the major associations of private bus owners.

The dispute exploded when the Prime Minister was in New Delhi for crucial talks on the peace initiative and economic issues like the free trade agreement. He had to give orders from New Delhi for Deputy Leader and Senior Minister Karu Jayasuriya to intervene and settle the dispute.

Mr. Jayasuriya, pressurized and pre-occupied over the past few months with the agonising power crisis, apparently did not have a full and clear picture of the discussions and heated dispute that had been taking place between the State Transport Minister and the private bus owners. They had agreed on a general fare hike but the main dispute had been the basic fare. Mr. Piyasoma had flatly refused any increase in the basic fare but with fuel prices rising month by month, the bus owners were also not ready to reverse.

When hell broke loose on the streets last Tuesday, Minister Jayasuriya reportedly settled the dispute after an hour or so of talks but he agreed to favourably consider allowing an increase in the basic fare, though Minister Piyasoma had resisted that for weeks and months.

The overall consequence of the bungling and muddle is that bus fares are going up by a substantial margin from this week, though the facilities on the often overloaded, ticketless and racing private buses are not likely to get any better.

The private bus strike also served to expose the inefficiency or inadequacy of the state-controlled peoplised transport boards. They were utterly incapable of meeting the demand and the few extra buses that ran saw even middle-aged women precariously clinging to the footboard. It was an ironic twist that this muddle set the scene for brokers from a giant British transport conglomerate to come here for talks on the privatisation of the state transport bus service. They assure there will be no retrenchment or change in status for employees, but casualisation is known to be one of the consequences of such large-scale privatisations.

Though the so-called cohabitation arrangement between the Kumaratunga presidency and the Wickremesinghe government is also largely in a muddle, a healthy change was seen significantly at two hospital ceremonies.

The most interesting was at the Kalubowila hospital where President Kumaratunga presided at a ceremony to open a new ward with Health Minister P. Dayaratne and Deputy Minister Sajith Premadasa in attendance. The young Mr. Premadasa gave a heartfelt vote of thanks to the President for her keen interest in working to make the welfare of patients the centerpiece of health services.

The President's attitude and Mr. Premadasa's warm response apparently drew them together for a tete-a-tete during the ceremony where they exchanged pleasantries and also perspectives on various matters except party politics.

VIPs who were close enough to hear the friendly chat said the President had got very personal and spoken of the common interest in wildlife that her son Vimukthi shared with Sajith. Mr. Premadasa disclosed that he had a rare collection of more than 10,000 wildlife pictures and would be happy to share experiences with the President's son.

The President also perhaps could not avoid a political quip when she referred to her sons collection of wildlife pictures including wild elephants. The President also exchanged pleasantries about Sajith's mother Hema Premadasa and her work out of mainstream politics in the Sucharitha Movement. As a mother herself, the President expressed sadness that her daughter Yashodhara, studying medicine in Cambridge was unable to come home for a holiday.

The same healthy atmosphere was seen at the opening of the Apollo Hospital where Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and Rehabilitation Minister Jayalath Jayawardena were also present.

The political rivals were full of smiles and pleasantries as if they were at a wedding ceremony. Medical doctor Jayawardena, known as a tough critic of the President, softened up when he exchanged views with her regarding the 1998 when Ms. Kumaratunga needed a room in the Merchant's ward and Dr. Jayawardena helped her to get it.

But out of hospital, the cohabitation arrangement is still critically sick.

Though the power cuts have ended and Minister Jayasuriya has vowed that the country would never again face such an agony, he has run into a strong cross current over the Upper Kotmale project.

It had been part of the overall plan for the long-term solution to the power crisis and everything was set for the launching of the Japanese funded project last month when Minister and Plantations leader Arumugam Thondaman dammed or damned it.

Like one of the waterfalls that might be affected by Upper Kotmale, the CWC leader flowed out with a variety of reasons why the government should not go ahead with the project.

Minister Jayasuriya held crisis talks with Mr. Thondaman on Monday. But the powerful plantations leader insisted that the project has many more negatives than positives.

He claimed that at least 400 families might be displaced and denied even of their meagre livelihood, citing the case of Mahaveli where hundreds of displaced people had yet not been properly resettled.

PA Parliamentarian V. Puthrasigamani, though a political rival of Mr. Thondaman, supported him fully on this issue. Thus it seems that the upper Kotmale project is not likely to see the light of day.
- Courtesy Irida Lankadeepa

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