Friday 19th April, 2024

One wonders whether the Parliament of Sri Lanka, which is full of self-righteous members who moralise to the point of queasiness, has taken upon itself the task of serving as a moral compass of sorts for the nation. Its sessions are characterised by endless tub-thumping.

During the past several weeks, Parliament has torn some public officials to shreds over matters related to their salaries and perks, which have since been put on hold pending downward revisions on the grounds that the country is facing its worst-ever economic crisis, and the people are undergoing untold suffering. It has sought to win brownie points with the irate public by censuring the Central Bank officials for ‘misusing their authority’ to grant themselves huge pay hikes. But that is exactly what the MPs themselves usually do; they increase their salaries and allowances and enhance their perks, according to their whims and fancies. Worse, while probing salary issues in the state sector and setting guidelines, Parliament has admitted that it is in the dark about ministerial salaries!

The holier-than-thou MPs are now demanding duty-free vehicle permits, of all things. Who guards the guards? This is the question one asks oneself on reading media reports that the MPs are cranking up pressure on the Speaker and others to issue them with duty-free vehicle permits post-haste.

The government MPs and their Opposition counterparts seldom see eye to eye on virtually anything. They turn parliamentary debates into slanging matches, trade insults and abuse liberally, and, at times, even tuck up their sarongs and set upon one another during stormy debates, but they are always united when they further their interests. They speak with one voice when they demand duty-free vehicle permits, etc., and safeguard their privileges.

Earlier, the MPs who were entitled to duty concessions had to wait for five years to sell their duty-free vehicles. Most of them did not abide by that law, and sold their duty-free permits on the sly, but they did so at the risk of facing legal action in case of being found out. Instead of having that law strictly enforced to prevent the abuse of duty concessions for the MP and others, the Mahinda Rajapaksa government amended it, allowing duty-free vehicle permits to be sold immediately after their issuance! Thus, an unlawful practice came to be legalised.

There is no way Parliament can absolve itself of responsibility for the current economic crisis. It did precious little to prevent the economy from going into a tailspin. Now, it preposterously claims that nobody informed it of the deterioration of the economy! The members of both sides of the House, who bluster ad nauseam, are accountable for what has befallen the economy, which is receiving ICU treatment, so to speak. They must be ashamed of demanding duty-free vehicle permits at this juncture, while asking state workers and the public to be mindful of the country’s economic woes.

The least that the members of the current Parliament can do to assuage public anger, which is welling up and likely to find expression in another mega uprising sooner than expected, is to empathise with the people and share in their suffering. These worthies need to be told that the numerous luxuries they are enjoying at the expense of the public will make their counterparts in the developed world turn green with envy.

As we have pointed out in a previous comment, in Sweden, one of the richest countries in the world, only the Prime Minister is entitled to an official car. The MPs including ministers are given only bus and train passes; they are free to use cars but at their own expense without being a burden on the public. Never do they make demands like the ones the Sri Lankan MPs put forth. It is only in backward countries that politicians are deified and pampered.

Thursday 18th April, 2024

Tourist arrivals are on the increase, according to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. Prestigious international travel guides are very generously promoting Sri Lanka as a must-visit tourist destination. Lonely Planet says ‘endless beaches, timeless ruins, welcoming people, oodles of elephants, rolling surf, cheap prices, fun trains, famous tea and flavourful food make Sri Lanka irresistible’. The New York Times has ranked Negombo as one of the ‘52 Places to Go in 2024’. There have been numerous rave reviews, in international travel publications, about tourist attractions in Sri Lanka. But all it takes to spoil a pot of milk is said to be a smidgeon of cow dung.

A couple of videos doing the rounds on the Internet have exposed some eatery owners’ unspeakably exploitative practices such as overcharging foreign tourists and verbally abusing them. One of them is seen threatening a foreign tourist, who refuses to pay as much as Rs. 1,900 for a kottu roti, in Colombo. He was arrested on Tuesday and released on bail yesterday. The police deserve praise for prompt action.

Eatery owners are not alone in exploiting foreign tourists and hurling abuse at them; some taxi operators also exact exorbitant amounts as fare from unsuspecting foreigners, who are without anyone to turn to. Numerically insignificant as such uncivilised, greedy elements who turn aggressive and abusive at the drop of a hat may be, their sordid operations tarnish the image of the country. This is something that the state institutions tasked with promoting tourism, and all those who are engaged in the hospitality industry ought to take cognizance of.

It must be made mandatory for prices to be prominently displayed in all business places to prevent customers, including foreign tourists, from falling prey to unscrupulous businesspersons. Taxis must not be allowed to operate unless they are equipped with tamper-proof fare meters, and information about their drivers is displayed, as in countries like Singapore. The need for all taxies including trishaws to be strictly regulated to protect the rights of commuters cannot be overemphasised. Ride-hailing companies may be the best option for foreign tourists, who seek hassle-free travel.

Sri Lankans themselves suffer savage exploitation at the hands of rapacious businesses. There are various organisations representing the interests of the business community. They are making multiple demands ranging from debt moratoriums to the suspension of parate executions. They, no doubt, deserve relief and a leg-up to regain stability in these hard times, but they must be mindful of their responsibilities.

It is incumbent upon them to ensure that their members refrain from unethical practices that bring the entire business community into disrepute. They are responsible for the so-called ‘greedflation’, which has caused the prices of commodities and services to remain extremely high despite a significant decrease in the inflation rate.

Business leaders never miss an opportunity to pontificate to politicians about the virtues of transparency, integrity, etc., but shouldn’t they put their house in order before being critical of others. The rupee has been rallying against the US dollar, during the past several weeks, and the cost of production has decreased significantly, but the prices of essential commodities are increasing. Eatery owners and bakers are among those who are making a killing at the expense of the public.

The Consumer Affairs Authority is in a deep slumber, as is its wont, and it must be shaken awake and made to carry out its duties and functions diligently. It needs a radical shake-up, for some of its officials are believed to be compromised. Its much-publicised raids have stopped and traders are exploiting the public with impunity. The victims of fleecing have no alternative but to suffer in silence, and foreign travellers’ predicament is even worse for obvious reasons.

The government spends colossal amounts of state funds on tourism promotion events overseas. While such gimmicks may be necessary to attract tourists, many issues remain unaddressed at home. There is a pressing need to take stringent action against the rapacious rogues preying on foreign tourists and Sri Lankans alike.

Wednesday 17th April, 2024

The SJB and the JVP-led NPP have been challenging each other to a debate on the economy, for the past several weeks. They are like two boisterous tipplers engaged in a shebeen brawl. The NPP is said to be trying to drag President Ranil Wickremesinghe also into the debate, which is not likely to take place before the next presidential election.

President Wickremesinghe has already unveiled his economic recovery plan for all practical purposes. In fact, he is implementing it and has shown some tangible results. He has made quite a few unpopular decisions to straighten up the economy; the political fallout thereof has become grist for the mill where the Opposition is concerned.

The SJB and the NPP have been shedding copious tears for the public and promising to deliver them from their suffering. It looks as if they were competing with each other to make the highest number of promises in the shortest possible time. Both of them have pledged to bring the cost of living down, and grant relief to the public. But they will not reveal how they are going to do so without derailing the ongoing efforts to rebuild the economy. They are blowing hot and cold on the IMF bailout programme, which hurts the public but is a prerequisite for economic recovery. They would have us believe that they will renegotiate the IMF programme, if they are voted into office, but there is no guarantee that they will succeed in their endeavour. They have stopped short of revealing what they intend to do in case the IMF refuses to renegotiate bailout terms.

There is no gainsaying that the SLPP-UNP government has become a metaphor for corruption and ineptitude, and it will have to rid itself of the corrupt elements in its ranks and mend its ways if it is to be able to revitalise the economy. But that does not mean its rivals are paragons of virtue and mavens capable of turning the economy around overnight.

The Yahapalana government (2015-2019) failed mainly because its ministers could not run their ministries properly, much less live up to the people’s expectations. Many of them are currently in the SJB, whose seniors also have a history of defending the corrupt; they unflinchingly backed the Treasury bond racketeers to the hilt. They are also responsible for the reckless borrowing during the Yahapalana government, in which they were Cabinet ministers. That regime issued International Sovereign Bonds to the tune of more than USD 10 billion, according to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Thus, the SJB worthies, too, have made a huge contribution to the country’s debt burden.

The JVP claims to be able to govern the country and manage the economy better than any other party. But it is caught up in a duality of socialism and capitalism. It has not abandoned its original Revolutionary Policy Declaration based on Marxist ideals. It will have to sort out its economic policy contradictions and explain why it failed to retain control over the Tissamaharama Pradeshiya Sabha (PS), which it won more than two decades ago by promising to turn it into a model local government authority. If it had run that PS to the satisfaction of the public, it would have been able to remain unbeaten therein. So, the biggest challenge before the JVP will be to convince the public that it is equal to the much bigger task of governing the country and resolving the economic crisis. Talking the talk is one thing, but walking the walk is quite another.

Political parties are notorious for infusing the public with false hopes ahead of elections. The SLFP once went to the extent of promising ‘rice from the moon’ to win elections. So, the season of promises has dawned with only a few months to go before the next presidential election.

One can only hope that the people, who are usually easy prey for crafty politicians, will act wisely and make rational decisions when they vote next time. But this is a country where tens of thousand of people, including the so-called educated ones, flocked to a faraway village, a few years ago, and jostled and shoved to secure bottles of Dhammika peniya, a kind of herbal syrup, produced by a carpenter-turned shaman, and touted as a cure for Covid-19. There’s the rub.