Bidding goodbye to another year of broken promises

“Better a broken promise than none at all,” said American Writer Mark Twain and this is one saying that we can give our politicians the credit for taking seriously. Because each year Sri Lankans get their fair share of sky high promises but as the year comes to an end, many remain unfulfilled. Being the first year in operation of the “Mahinda Chintanaya”, a look back at some of the promises contained in it is opportune.

Unemployment being a major problem, there were many promises with regard to getting Sri Lankans employment abroad. The President promised to make arrangements to secure 100,000 jobs in Malaysia, Korea, Italy and other countries but not much headway has been made in this regard. The number who got jobs in Korea is little over a 1,000 and the Malaysian and Italian jobs offers are on hold. In addition the sector had to grapple with the resultant crisis of the war in Lebanon which saw hundreds of Sri Lankan housemaids being forced to leave the country and come home. They were promised compensation as well as jobs in other countries but they are yet to materialise. The government has promised to negotiate a minimum wage of US $ 250 but this too might be a pipe dream going by the past record.

We have had many of the ‘too good to be true” promises from the Transport Minister A.H.M.Fowzie. After all it is the sector that ordinary people have to grapple with day in and day out so any improvement can only be good news. So when it was announced that there would be no more overcrowding on buses but only half the number of seated passengers would be allowed to go standing, it was greeted with a sigh of relief by harassed commuters. But like most good news, it was another bubble that burst no sooner than it was announced. Then there was the women’s only buses that were launched with much fanfare that too seems to have come to a screeching halt.

The promise for better roads was also made and one was to construct 20 fly overs within three years to ease the traffic congestion in Colombo but within this year not even one has been done. Steps to reuse all existing canals for transport facilities and construct bicycle lanes within town areas were also promised but when they would start is not known.

There were promises made to women in particular in the Mahinda Chintanaya, one of which was to enact a Women’s Charter of Rights which would provide protection and equality for women with in year. Another was to increase the number of nominations of women to a minimum of 25 per cent in respect of Provincial Councils and Local Government institutions but the women are still waiting for these promises to be fulfilled.

The cost of living remains a problem throughout the year and the government announced several steps that were supposed to the burden on the people. One was the appointment of a COL committee early this year. But committee or no committee, prices continue to soar and there has been little relief for consumers.

This year the country celebrated the 2500 Buddha Jayanthi and with it came the announcement that starting on Vesak Day, 2006 no meat could be sold in the open but only in an enclosed area. Many moons later, the sight of carcasses of animals being openly displayed can be seen on many a road side.

In March the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRC) announced it would reduce tariffs by April but that too died a natural death due to protests from Sri Lanka Telecom. There was also the announcement that bidding would start in July for the exploration of oil deposits in Sri Lankan waters but that too did not happen.

In the area of posts and telecommunication, there were also the promises of a more efficient postal delivery system in the remote villages with the provision of free bicycles to postmen before the end of this year but this has not been implemented.

Politically there were the usual gaffes from political parties. The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) promised to tear down all bill boards advertising cigarettes and alcohol products once the Tobacco and Alcohol Authority Bill become law but despite that many of the billboards are still standing although the law is in operation. The much hyped about Authority is also yet to be formed.

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuma (JVP) said it would not support a salary increase for MPs but when the motion was brought to Parliament, JVP MPs stayed away from the Legislature, to avoid opposing the passage of the motion which would benefit them as well.

Animals too were at the receiving end of many a new plan for their welfare. First a new conservation policy for elephants was announced but no progress has been made since them. There was also the announcement of new legislation for the welfare of dogs but the necessary legislation is still in the draft stage and stagnating without being brought to Parliament.

For the public servants, there was the announcement that they need no longer confine themselves to the stuffy shirt and tie as formal office wear .They could don more casual clothes for office work. But strangely, some officials who went without coat to formal places were told they needed a coat to get in even after this announcement was made.

Electoral reforms, the appointment of the Constitutional Council were two other topics that figured prominently with all political parties saying, “we must act to the to resolve them” but till little has been done to resolve these contentious issues. In fact both are being thrashed out in two separate parliamentary elect committees and may drag on for many more months as is the case with most such committees.

The promise in the Mahinda Chintanaya to resettle the displaced Muslim people in the northern province has also been another broken promise. Sri Lankans can look forward to yet another brand new year with one certainty – that many of the promises will remain just that, promises.