I read with much interest the news item where Minister G.L. Pieris had stated "Involvement of professional community crucial in public issues." The Minister urged the professional and academic community not to leave it to the politicians alone. He was addressing members of the Institution of Engineers.
Today there is much corruption in most provincial councils. The provincial council engineers are in tow with the provincial councillors and contractors. Roads, hospitals, schools, irrigation works are badly neglected. Their excuse is that the Central Government has not given enough funds. Provincial council accounts are not audited.
If Minister G.L Pieris' regional councils are established with much more powers there will be more corruption and the Central Government will be confined to Colombo. Once the LTTE is militarily defeated more power can be devolved on the North-East provincial council to quickly develop the war torn-north and east. The other provinces can remain as they are but with close supervision by the central government
The present 'Pass System' is certainly a welcome measure, under all circumstances, both in times of war and peace.
In addition to the National Identity card, a citizen of Sri Lanka should possess a valid pass. This would act as a deterrent against criminals and subversives!
But what is wrong with the present set up, is the way it is being put to practice. The most important factor in this activity is to, once and for all, decide who ahould be the Chief Authority in the handling of this work!
At present, we do not know whether it is the Government Agent, the Superintendent of Police or the Army Co-ordinating Officer, who is in complete charge.
In Vavuniya, there is a collision course among the G.A, the Police and the Army, with the result that the innocent public are at the receiving end of terrible inconvenience and unnecessary harassment and ill-treatment!
Before the government enforces this system of passes, it should ensure correct issue and checking of the passes.
Furthermore, there is no justification in checking passes, without issuing passes to all concerned! What is the meaning of these periodical passes like One Day Pass, One Week Pass, One Month Pass, Three Months Pass and Permanent Pass? Why this mumbo jumbo! Why cannot permanent passes be issued straightaway if people are able to establish their bona fides? Has the government put the people back to school, to go from class to class every year? What a mess! It is true that the government is trying to prevent infiltration. But how far have they been successful in this exercise? An infiltrator does not have to pass through a check point to get in to a security area. Is it altogether fool proof? No, definitely not. Security can be best ensured by one hundred percent surveillance and observation by well trained educated men who can understand things.
Even innocent, timid people are being harassed at present, very badly by people posing as C.I.D officers, when passes are issued. They derive some kind of sadistic pleasure in tormenting the old and elderly people like this. It reminds one of small boys catching a dragon fly and torturing it.
The government could improve matters by appointing the Government Agent and his Grama Sevaka Officers to take full control of this work, with the Police and the Army to assist them, instead of vice versa! After all, what the Police and Army want is better surveillance to nab doubtful characters.
That, they must do by observation and physical check only, not by doing clerical or administrative work, for which they are not trained.
It is not too late to establish a new government department to do this work. It could function along with the Department of Registration of Persons, as an adjunct or independently. It should be manned by Civil List officers, Lawyers, Police, Army, with a Civil List officer to head the Department.
The ancient monarchs of Sri Lanka (earlier known by other names) built their own palaces- those under siege, in rocky or mountain fortresses, while the others in places accessible to the people, since the Kings themselves held court to give ear to the people's grievances.
These edifices were often large and sprawling as land was freely available and also to accommodate the many wives, concubines and the children of kings. This status quo was willingly accepted by the people since the king was the master and the people his vassals.
This Dynastic system has long ceased to exist. We now have a system euphemistically referred to as a Democracy, where the People are ostensibly the masters, (They are surely so, at least for the short pre-election period). However, after the elections, the roles are reversed and those elected to serve, often serve only themselves at the expense of those to be served!
This country at present is going through very turbulent and harrowing times. The very poorest of the people have been called upon to make sacrifices, often both in life and property. Thus it appears reasonable to accept that all possible resources should be marshalled to put an end to this disturbing and disquieting state. It is indeed a tragedy and travesty to know that some of the very people who are in a position to restore peace and order are the very ones often in high places who are resorting to most despicable unpatriotic practices to prolong this travestic situation, manifestly prompted by petty personal gain.
Still, it does come as a shock when it is announced that a colossal sum of money, more than twice that was utilised to set up the Parliamentary Complex at Sri Jayewardenepura is to be expended to provide a residence and other infrastructures for the incumbent Executive President. This, inter alia entails displacing of families who had been domiciled in that area for generations, the destruction of many well appointed houses, and causing a great deal of problems to the endemic people, when a huge area comes within a strict security blanket.
This issue no doubt, also raises many piquant questions. If the words of General Ratwatte are anything to go by, the war is due to end very soon. Being a General, people cannot be faulted if they believe that he knows at least something about wars. In addition, Professor Peiris (a Constitutional expert) has vehemently asserted that his Constitutional Package when put in place before the end of this year, will restore peace and harmony in this beautiful island. Then it will no doubt follow that very soon all these high security structures can be dismantled and that routine security procedures would suffice to protect the President, who could, like the present Prime Minister, who is causing no security problems, reside in the President's House without inconveniencing the public.
The Government's most avowed perspectives should be to expeditiously provide homes to the people. In fact, the people have tolerated the allocation of vast sums of monies for setting up a Ministry of Housing, etc., for the specific purpose of doing so. Hence to find the Government deciding to destroy houses built by people with their own sweat, will be too mind-boggling even to the most ingenuous person. The President has already spent a greater part of her tenure at the present residence. By the time the new residence is completed and the necessary furnishings, etc. completed, it would be timely for another Presidential election.
There are at present, hundreds and thousands of people who are languishing under almost inhuman conditions in refugee camps. One has only to visualise what their thoughts will be, when they are informed of the grand plans to provide the President with a new magnificent residence, for which even these refugees will have to make a contribution, albeit indirectly.
The intrepid soldiers sacrificing both life and limb in order to make it possible for us to live at least in relative peace, are spending uncountable hours in inhospitable terrain, devoid of even some of the very basic necessities. Is it not a crying need for every right-minded person to divert every possible cent to end this insurgency and make it possible for these patriotic soldiers to return to their families? Are we to believe that these soldiers will accept that the top priority of the day is for the Government to spend billions of rupees on such ventures?
Even if this thoroughly vexatious project is eventually jettisoned by adducing all manner of excuses, the scar it has caused in the psyche of all the poor suffering people of this country may not that easily be erased, especially about the Government on which they pinned so much hope and expectations.
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