Opinion
Mother Lanka weeps for you

The Public Service
By I. P. C. MENDIS
In the melee, the people of this country find themselves today, it is quite evident that there is an instant need for the country’s Public Service to return to its pristine glory. It could be said without contradiction, that the Public Service has lost its honour and independence and the rot set in with the introduction of the Republican Constitution of 1972., the provisions of which were re-affirmed in the Constitution of 1978, tightening the screws further and paving the way for politicisation. . The appointment, transfer, dismissal and disciplinary control of public officers are vested with the Cabinet of Ministers and all public officers hold office at pleasure. ( Article.55). The Cabinet of Ministers is empowered to delegate such powers to the Public Service Commission, other than in respect of Heads of Departments. Provided that the Cabinet of Ministers is enabled to delegate powers of transfer to any Minister in respect of any category specified. The PSC or Committee thereof, is powerless to intervene. An aggrieved party has no recourse to any court, or tribunal, except to the Supreme Court, under para 1 of Article 126 (Fundamental Rights). Indeed, servility and politicisation of the Public Service has been consciously enshrined constitutionally ! Independence can only be ensured at personal cost and only where conscience, principle, integrity and public estimation can play an integral part for such considerations to provide a turbo boost to moral,. Other pieces in the jigsaw puzzle, have necessarily to fit in. One has to provide for some leeway for special circumstances and unenviable situations considered personal . but certainly not when national interests are at stake or any issue cuts across principle, integrity or the very grain of minimum standards expected of a “homo sapiens” .in the service of the nation. ! Indeed, the country witnessed recently how a lady officer stood her ground single-handedly, against various odds. However, it often happens that news reports are distorted, mis-reported or based on hearsay/mis-representation, in which case, it behoves on the powers-that-be to come to the officer’s defence or assume responsibility. – (perhaps too much to ask).
Recent Instances
One is the case of the Secretary to the Treasury who was reported to have signed the Kerawalapitya Agreement. Both the Minister of Finance and the Secretary are silent and it is still anybody’s guess as to who signed it. Why, Oh Why ? If there is nothing intrinsically wrong, why the secrecy ? To brush off queries saying that there are two more Agreements to complete the transaction is to dodge and imply there is no finality. That is not what is expected of quarters that have the purse strings with them and are endowed with sacred trust to safeguard national assets as Trustees.
Cheek by jowl write it is the serious allegation made by Minister Wimal Weerawansa that
the Kerawalapitya proposal was not in the Agenda of the particular Cabinet meeting, even quoting the Secretary to the Cabinet as having told the Minister concerned that he had not even read it , having received it a while earlier, Minister Weerawansa maintained, that there was no discussion on the Cabinet Paper , corroborated by certain others in the ” group of eleven”. However, the relevant. Cabinet minutes allegedly reflect a position which showed that the Cabinet proposals had been approved by the Cabinet. The situation is as far as media reports go confusing as some Cabinet Ministers (outside the group) claim that the ” group of eleven” had every opportunity of expressing their views at the meeting which implies that the proposal was presented for discussion. Nevertheless , if there has been any opposing view on the part of the Minister or Cabinet Secretary,in regard to the allegations made by Minister Weerawansa, the country has
had no information so far. Such serious allegations without the slightest doubt qualify to be furiously challenged and suitably dealt with, yet their apparent continued silence is deafening and does no good either for the govenrnent or those concerned. .The Secretary to the President in a separate incident has set the precedent in initiating steps for seeking legal remedy for what he considers as an affront to his integrity, I believe. Similarly, the allegation against the Cabinet Secretary is serious enough for him to pursue action not only to vindicate himself but also to uphold the honour and dignity of the Public Service.
Moreover, in the context of the fast depreciating and deteriorating confidence and mis-trust in the Public Service, it is very essential for top public officers to lead by example, particularly where the Secretary to the Treasury was once considered as “primus inter pares” ( the first among equals) in the category of Secretaries which honour as far as could be remembered was later passed on to the Secretary/ Defence, and the Cabinet Secretary too enjoying a close relationship in the hierarchy. Mother Lanka mourns the present predicament and weeps for a speedy restoration of the pristine glory of the Public Service for which a return to the pre- 1972 era is undoubtedly a “sine qua non”.
Opinion
HW Cave saw Nanu Oya – Nuwara rail track as “exquisite”

Plans to resurrect the Nanu Oya – Nuwara Eliya rail track are welcome. The magnificent views from the train have been described by H W Cave in his book The Ceylon Government Railway (1910):
‘The pass by which Nuwara Eliya is reached is one of the most exquisite things in Ceylon. In traversing its length, the line makes a further ascent of one thousand feet in six miles. The curves and windings necessary to accomplish this are the most intricate on the whole railway and frequently have a radius of only eighty feet. On the right side of the deep mountain gorge we ascend amongst the tea bushes of the Edinburgh estate, and at length emerge upon a road, which the line shares with the cart traffic for about a mile. In the depths of the defile flows the Nanuoya river, foaming amongst huge boulders of rock that have descended from the sides of the mountains, and bordered by tree ferns, innumerable and brilliant trees of the primeval forest which clothe the face of the heights. In this land of no seasons their stages of growth are denoted by the varying tints of scarlet, gold, crimson, sallow green, and most strikingly of all, a rich claret colour, the chief glory of the Keena tree’.
However, as in colonial times, the railway should be available for both tourists and locals so that splendid vista can be enjoyed by all.
Dr R P Fernando
Epsom,
UK
Opinion
LG polls, what a waste of money!

If the people of this country were asked whether they want elections to the local government, majority of them would say no! How many years have elapsed since the local councils became defunct? And did not the country function without these councils that were labelled as ‘white elephants’?
If the present government’s wish is to do the will of the people, they should reconsider having local government elections. This way the government will not only save a considerable amount of money on holding elections, but also save even a greater amount by not having to maintain these local councils, which have become a bane on the country’s economy.
One would hope that the country will be able to get rid of these local councils and revert back to the days of having competent Government Agents and a team of dedicated government officials been tasked with the responsibility of attending to the needs of the people in those areas.
M. Joseph A. Nihal Perera
Opinion
What not to do

By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana
It is immaterial whether you like him or not but one thing is crystal clear; Donald Trump has shown, very clearly, who is the boss. Surely, presidents of two countries are equal; perhaps, that is the impression Volodymyr Zelensky had when he went to the White House to meet Trump but the hard reality, otherwise, would have dawned on him with his inglorious exit! True, the behaviour of President Trump and VP Vance were hardly praiseworthy but Zelensky did what exactly he should not do. Afterall, he was on a begging mission and beggars cannot be choosers! He behaved like professional beggars in Colombo who throw money back when you give a small amount!!
Despite the risk of belonging to the minority, perhaps of non-Americans, I must say that I quite like Trump and admire him as a straight-talking politician. He keeps to his words; however atrocious they sound! Unfortunately, most critics overlook the fact that what Trump is doing is exactly what he pledged during his election campaign and that the American voters elected him decisively. When he lost to Biden, all political commentators wrote him off, more so because of his refusal to admit defeat and non-condemnation of his supporters who rioted. When he announced his intention to contest, it only evoked pundits’ laughter as they concluded that the Republican Party would never nominate him. Undaunted, Trump got the party to rally round him and won a non-consecutive second term; a feat achieved only once before, by Grover Cleveland around the end of the nineteenth century. His victory, against all predictions, was more decisive as he got more collegiate votes and, even though it does not matter, won the popular vote too which he did not get when he got elected the first term. Even his bitterest critics should accept this fact.
Zelensky was elected the president of Ukraine after the elected pro-Soviet president was deposed by a ‘peoples revolution’ engineered by the EU with the support of USA. After this, the EU attempted to bring Ukraine to NATO, disregarding the Munich agreement which precipitated the Russian invasion. He should have realised that, if not for the air-defence system which Trump authorised for Ukraine during his first term, Russian invasion would have been complete. It may well be that he was not aware as when this happened Zelensky may still have been the comedian acting the part of the president! Very likely, Trump was referring to this when he accused Zelensky of being ungrateful.
Zelensky also should have remembered that he disregarded requests from Trump, after his defeat by Biden, to implicate Biden’s son in some shady deals in Ukraine and that one of the last acts of Biden was to pardon his son and grant immunity to cover the alleged period. Perhaps, actions of the European leaders who embrace him every time they see him, as a long-lost brother, and invitations to address their parliaments has induced an element of the superiority complex in Zelensky that he behaved so combative.
Trump wanted to be the mediator to stop the war and spoke to Putin first. Instead of waiting for Trump to speak to him, egged on by EU leaders Zelensky started criticising Trump for not involving him in the talks. His remark “He should be on our side” demonstrated clearly that Zelensky had not understood the role of a mediator. His lack of political experience was the major reason for the fiasco in the White House and the subsequent actions of Trump clearly showed Zelensky where he stands! PM Starmer and President Macron seem to have given some sensible advice and he seems to be eating humble pie. In the process Trump has ensured that the European nations pay for their defence than piggy-backing on the US, which I am sure would please the American voter. By the way, though Macron talks big about defence France spends less than 2% of GDP. Trump seems vindicated. Of course, Trump could be blamed for being undiplomatic but he can afford to be as he has the upper hand!

Ranil on Al Jazeera
Zelensky has shown what not to do: instead of being diplomatic being aggressive when you need favours! Meanwhile, Ranil has shown what not to do when it comes to TV interviews. God only knows who advised him, and why, for him to go ‘Head to Head’ with Mehdi Hasan on Al-Jazeera. Perhaps, he wanted to broadcast to the world that he was the saviour of Sri Lanka! The experienced politician he is, one would have expected Ranil to realise that he would be questioned about his role in making Sri Lanka bankrupt as well, in addition to raising other issues.
The interview itself was far from head to head; more likely heads to head! It turned out to be an inquisition by Tiger supporters and the only person who spoke sense being Niraj Deva, who demonstrated his maturity by being involved in British and EU politics. The worst was the compere who seems keen to listen his own voice, reminding me of a Sinhala interviewer on a YouTube channel whose interviews I have stopped watching!
Ranil claims, after the interview was broadcast, that it had been heavily edited reduced from a two-hour recording. Surely, despite whatever reason he agreed to, he should have laid ground rules. He could have insisted on unedited broadcast or his approval before broadcast, if it was edited. It was very naïve of Ranil to have walked in to a trap for no gain. Though his performance was not as bad as widely reported, he should have been more composed at the beginning as he turned out to be later. Overall, he gave another opportunity for the Tiger rump and its supporters to bash Sri Lanka, unfortunately.
Medhi Hasan should watch some of David Frost interviews, especially the one with Richard Nixon, and learn how to elicit crucial information in a gentle exploratory manner than shouting with repeated interruptions. He does not seem to think it is necessary to give time for the interviewee to respond to his questions. I will never watch Al-Jazeera’s “Head to Head” again!
Ranil’s best was his parting shot; when asked by Hasan whether he would contest the next presidential election, he said “No, I will retire and watch Al-Jazeera and hope to see you better mannered”!
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