Financial Times

Blind mice yet again!
Following the inspirational lessons to leaders from the owl nursery last week, the Wise Old Owl took flight deep in to the owl territory once again, timing the flight to catch a glimpse of the same singing class. The nursery rhyme was the same this week “The Three Blind Mice”.

On this occasion, two young owls raised their hands in response to the query from the teacher and interpreted the risks the three blind mice (Leaders of Governance, Private Sector and Civil Society) run as “King Tiger, Armed Services and Civil Society Inaction” and “Inequalities in incomes, in health and educational outcomes”.

Yet again the wise old owl was puzzled as to why the risks from the forthcoming Presidential elections and the policies, alliances and networks of the likely winner did not feature as the risks ahead and listened carefully as the young ones went on to explain their rationale.

The risks in the period up to the elections and in the short to medium term beyond according to the little owl which spoke first were “ the approach to emerging issues and the consequential leverage from them in the achievement of long term goals of the rebel leader up in the north, the commitment of the armed forces and the police to uphold the law, order and security during a period of instability and uncertainty and most importantly whether the civil society will stand together and where necessary say “enough is enough” to any attempts by whosoever that endangers the prospects of their future growth and prosperity”.

When the rebel leader believes that confusion and mayhem in the South will lead to further division, disunity and clashing of the Southern people and their possible negative response action on the minorities will harm peace and destroy national resources, then certainly there will emerge a significant new risk.

If the police and armed services due to inaction and non committal attitudes fail to uphold the law and the governance framework effectively or at the directions of selfish leaders carry out illegal orders, then too the forward march of this nation will be endangered.

Whoever wins the election, the southern extremists are sure to become active again, slow growth and development and destroy the network with the global economy.

The lifeline to foreign investment, trade and technology links essential for the future prosperity of this nation are likely to be cut off by the extremists.
If the blue camp wins they will derail the processes leading to peace, conflict resolution, rapid economic growth and economic linkages with a global outreach and foreign direct investments, much needed trade and technology transfers will also slow down. If the greens win the elections these same power hungry elements will mislead the public and create situations of strikes and sabotage that will paralyze much needed faster growth in economic activity.

In the face of this likely negative external environment, if the civil society and its leaders adopt the usual wait and watch attitude then the “merry go round will go around” and the risks to this nation and its people will be heightened.
The World Development Report dedicated to the theme “Equity and Development” focuses on risks that Sri Lankan leaders fail to see, appreciate and act upon with commitment.

The synopsis from the report reads as “Inequalities in incomes, in health and in educational outcomes have long been a stark fact of life in many developing countries. When such inequalities in outcomes arise from unequal opportunities, there are both intrinsic and instrumental grounds for concern.

Because inequalities in opportunity are often accompanied by profound differences in influence, power and social status – whether at the level of individuals or groups – they have a tendency to persist. And because it leads to an inefficient use of resources and to less effective institutions, inequality is inimical to long term development. It follows that there is a legitimate role for public action in the promotion of fairness and in the pursuit of equity, provided action is cognizant of the primacy of individual freedoms and of the role of markets in allocating resources”.

Paul D Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank, writes “ The first is equal opportunity; a person’s life achievements should be determined primarily by his or her talent and efforts, rather than by predetermined circumstances such as race, gender, social and family background, or country of birth. The second principle is the avoidance of deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels”.

We are unfortunate that these risks and principles are not focused on by political and chamber leaders on political platforms and at chamber meetings. The wise old owl has no hesitation in supporting the farmer’s wife proceeding to chop off the tails of the three blind mice.

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