Features

How confidence has been eroded

Published

4 years ago

2021/04/12

By Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha

On the threshold of the vote in Geneva, with disaster looming, I began to wonder at how Gotabaya Rajapaksa managed so soon to lose the confidence of the country when there was so much hope when he was elected. The Sugar Fiasco, if not quite in the league of the Bond Scam, suggests that corruption is beyond control. After the satisfactory control, initially, of the coronavirus danger, it burst forth through what seems confused reactions, including the preposterous flood of Ukranian tourists. Contradictory messages, with regard to cremation and burqas and even ages for vaccination, seem the hallmark of this government.

In the end, I think the President has to take responsibility for this mess, and I am sure, unless he is totally surrounded by sycophants, that he must realize where he could have done better. But at the same time, I do feel very sorry for him. As he must know, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and he seems to have a chain where there are hardly any links with any bearing capacity whatsoever.

I was struck by this the more when writing the series, I am now producing about the Lost Generations of the United National Party. I have been dealing for the last couple of months with those who came to prominence in the period of the long UNP government of 1977 to 1994, in terms of how and why they did not fulfil their promise.

Contrasting them with those given prominence in the current government, one realizes that now there is no promise at all. To take perhaps the most vital portfolio today we have Pavithra Wanniarachchi, a pleasant enough person but known best for her utter obsequiousness to Chandrika Kumaratunga to begin with, and then Mahinda Rajapaksa and now Gotabaya. One contrasts this with the independent integrity of Gamini Jayasuriya, the first Minister of Health in the Jayewardene government, who resigned from his ministerial position when he disagreed with government policy.

That will not happen with Pavithra, not only because she will not give up her position but also because she cannot understand what it means to disagree about policy. And as for the tremendous innovations Ranjith Atapattu, the Minister of Health who followed, engaged in, his building up of Primary Health Centres and the role of midwives, it is absurd to think of Pavithra having any ideas, let alone such good ones.

That contrast alone makes clear the pitiful position the current President is in. But it is also true that he does not seem to have tried to rise above it. This becomes clear when we consider one of the saddest elements in today’s politics, the enormous responsibilities entrusted to the Prime Minister.

Mahinda Rajapaksa was 74 when assumed the role which he had first occupied when he was 58. Now we all love and respect him, even my sister who scolded him roundly the last time she met him, when he was still President. But it is unfair to expect him now to be a creative Minister and, even if the President needs him as Prime Minister for reasons I need not go into now, to entrust Finance to him as well as Urban Development and Housing is just plain silly.

It is of course true that Ranasinghe Premadasa did have a couple of important portfolios when he became Prime Minister under JR, but he was in his early 50 s at the time. These included Housing and Construction, where he made his mark though he also did much in the field of Local Government. And he did not have the vital portfolio of Finance which was in the hands of Ronnie de Mel, another of those I wrote about, who achieved much for the country, though also sadly for himself. But he too was in his early 50 s at the time, and when he came back into executive office when he was in his seventies he did nothing of consequence.

I am not for a moment suggesting that 70 is too old for office. J R Jayewardene did do much when he became President at 71, and his ultimate failure had to do with his vindictive delusions of grandeur, not his age. But Mahinda Rajapaksa, having done wonders during his first term as President, showed that he was no longer capable of constructive measures when he was in his mid-sixties. To expect more from him a decade later is just plain silly.

There is no need to labour the point, for it is crystal clear we are dealing now with satyrs to the Hyperions of an earlier generation. But it is worth nothing also the contrast between Lalith Athulathmudali, whom I have also written about, and those who now have been entrusted with the responsibilities he fulfilled so well in Jayewardene’s government.

He was in charge of trade which has now been handed over to Bandula Gunawardena. He was in charge of Shipping which is now with Rohitha Abeyagunawardena. And six years after he was first a Minister he was entrusted with National Security whereas now, with the President in charge of Defence, we have Chamal Rajapaksa as State Minister of National Security and Sarath Weerasekera in his first Cabinet appointment, a few months after this Cabinet took over, being Minister of Public Security. The latter seems to be the front man for burqa policy at present.

I don’t suppose anyone will question Lalith Athulathmudali’s intelligence and efficiency, whereas the four Ministers inclusive of one State Minister who now fulfil the functions he managed on his own have between them not an iota of this skills and competence. But this is the material which Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has to work with.

Of course, wonderful material is not a guarantee of success, for we know that, though today’s leading politicians are not a patch on those whom J R Jayewardene had in his Cabinet, that government too brought the country to disaster, with dissent bursting into violence on all sides.

We know too that Ranasinghe Premadasa did very well in some particulars though he worked without some of the brightest stars of the preceding period. And then Mahinda Rajapaksa did a great job in his first term, again without many effective workers. So ultimately it is a question of leadership, and what is so very sad is that Gotabaya, whom one anticipated would be a great leader, has shown himself quite incapable of taking the country forward.

Conversely, though one does sympathize when looking at the material through which he has to work, one does feel too that he is not using the few capable people he has to the full. With regard for instance to Foreign Relations, Dinesh Gunawardena does seem to me a cut above JR’s Foreign Minister, ACS Hameed. And though Dinesh would not claim to be intellectually in the class of G L Peiris, he has a solid base of principle which should hold the country in good stead, which doubtless is why Uditha Devapriya, one of the brightest of our young journalists, characterizes him as the best Foreign Minister we have had in years.

It is tragic therefore that he seems to be floundering, not least because, as so many papers have highlighted in recent weeks, there seems to be no clear sense of direction in the Foreign Ministry. So what we have now is ridiculous efforts by a range of government commentators, including Dinesh and G L Peiris, to prove that we did not in fact suffer defeat in Geneva at the recent vote, a folly Devapriya duly chastizes.

So much verbiage that does not convince anyone is not the way forward for the country. What is needed now is concerted action to ensure that we do not suffer in the way the West has planned for us. But there are no signs of such planning, indeed there are no signs of anyone in authority with the capacity to engage in such planning. Jayantha Colombage, from the little I know of him, seems a decent man with some thinking capacity, but certainly not the thinking capacity or the experience to plan alone as say Lakshman Kadirgamar was capable of, or even Ravinatha Ariyasinha, constrained though the latter was by a host of silly or scheming Ministers. But there are no signs that he is talking to people who know better.

There are two obvious examples of people he and Dinesh together should consult. The most obvious is Dayan Jayatilleka, but since government is wary of him, I will talk first about Tamara Kunanayagam who understands the UN system backwards. Why Dinesh has not consulted her on how to cope with the next stage, which is the discussion in the General Assembly on the budget requested to destroy us, is beyond me. She has excellent relations with the Latin Americans, and indeed Mahinda Rajapaksa, when he sacked her, wanted to use her in Latin America but the mafia that then ran foreign relations stopped him. But even now it may not be too late to use the intelligence and experience she possesses, while also working out guidelines on how to do better in Africa, which too we have woefully neglected unlike in the glory days in Geneva from 2007 to 2009.

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Features

SL urged to use GSP+ to the fullest to promote export development

Published

17 hours ago

2025/04/10

Sahan Weerasooriya

Ambassador of the EU to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Carmen Moreno and Chairman, Pathfinder Foundation Ambassador Bernard Goonetilleke

Sri Lanka needs to take full stock of its current economic situation and use to the maximum the potential in its GSP+ facility for export sector growth. In the process, it should ensure that it cooperates fully with the European Union. The urgency of undertaking these responsibilities is underscored by the issues growing out of the recent US decision to sweepingly hike tariffs on its imports, though differentially.

These were principal ‘takes’ for participants in the Pathfinder Foundation’s Ambassadors’ Roundtable forum held on April 8th at the Colombo Club of the Taj Samudra. The main presenter at the event was Ms. Carmen Moreno Raymundo, Ambassador of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The forum was chaired by Ambassador Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman, Pathfinder Foundation. The event brought together a cross-section of the local public, including the media.

Ms. Moreno drew attention to the fact Sri Lanka is at present severely under utilizing its GSP+ facility, which is the main means for Sri Lanka to enter the very vast EU market of 450 million people. In fact the EU has been Sri Lanka’s biggest trading partner. In 2023, for instance, total trade between the partners stood at Euros 3.84 billion. There is no greater market but the EU region for Sri Lanka.

‘However, only Sri Lanka’s apparel sector has seen considerable growth over the years. It is the only export sector in Sri Lanka which could be said to be fully developed. However, wider ranging export growth is possible provided Sri Lanka exploits to the fullest the opportunities presented by GSP+.’

Moreno added, among other things: ‘Sri Lanka is one among only eight countries that have been granted the EU’s GSP+ facility. The wide-ranging export possibilities opened by the facility are waiting to be utilized. In the process, the country needs to participate in world trade in a dynamic way. It cannot opt for a closed economy. As long as economic vibrancy remains unachieved, Sri Lanka cannot enter into world trading arrangements from a strong position. Among other things, Sri Lanka must access the tools that will enable it to spot and make full use of export opportunities.

‘Sri Lanka must facilitate the private sector in a major way and make it possible for foreign investors to enter the local economy with no hassle and compete for local business opportunities unfettered. At present, Lanka lacks the relevant legal framework to make all this happen satisfactorily.

‘Sri Lanka cannot opt for what could be seen as opaque arrangements with bilateral economic partners. Transparency must be made to prevail in its dealings with investors and other relevant quarters. It’s the public good that must be ensured. The EU would like to see the local economy further opening up for foreign investment.

‘However, it is important that Sri Lanka cooperates with the EU in the latter’s efforts to bring about beneficial outcomes for Sri Lankans. Cooperation could be ensured by Sri Lanka fully abiding by the EU conditions that are attendant on the granting of GSP+. There are, for example, a number of commitments and international conventions that Sri Lanka signed up to and had promised to implement on its receipt of GSP+ which have hitherto not been complied with. Some of these relate to human rights and labour regulations.

‘Successive governments have pledged to implement these conventions but thus far nothing has happened by way of compliance. GSP+ must be seen as an opportunity and not a threat and by complying with EU conditions the best fruits could be reaped from GSP+. It is relevant to remember that GSP+ was granted to Sri Lanka in 2005. It was suspended five years later and restored in 2017.

‘The importance of compliance with EU conditions is greatly enhanced at present in view of the fact that Sri Lanka is currently being monitored by the EU with regard to compliance ahead of extending GSP+ next year. A report on Sri Lanka is due next year wherein the country’s performance with regard to cooperating with the EU would be assessed. The continuation of the facility depends on the degree of cooperation.

‘A few statistics would bear out the importance of Sri Lanka’s partnership with the EU. For example, under the facility Sri Lanka benefits from duty free access in over 66% of EU tariff lines. The highest number of tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka in 2023 was from the EU’s 27 member states. Likewise, the EU’s 27 member states rank second in the origin of inflows of foreign exchange to Sri Lanka; with Italy, France and Germany figuring as the main countries of origin. Eighty five percent of Sri Lanka’s exports to the EU market benefits from GSP+. Thus, the stakes for the country are high.’

Meanwhile, President, In-house Counsel & Legal Advisor, The European Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, John Wilson said: ‘GSP+ should be seen as not only an opportunity but also as a necessity by Sri Lanka in the current international economic climate. ‘Implementation of local laws is what is needed. Considering the pressures growing out of the US imposed new tariff regime, a good dialogue with the EU is needed.

‘Sri Lanka’s level of business readiness must be upped. Among the imperatives are: An electronic procurement process, Customs reforms, a ‘National Single Window’, stepped-up access to land by investors, for example, a clear policy framework on PPPs and reform of the work permits system.’

It ought to be plain to see from the foregoing that Sri Lanka cannot afford to lose the GSP+ facility if it is stepped-up economic growth that is aimed at. It would be in Sri Lanka’s best interests to remain linked with the EU, considering the aggravated material hardships that could come in the wake of the imposition of the US’ new tariff regime. Sri Lanka would need to remain in a dialogue process with the EU, voice its reservations on matters growing out of GSP+, if any, iron out differences and ensure that its national interest is secured.

Features

SENSITIVE AND PASSIONATE…

Published

17 hours ago

2025/04/10

Sahan Weerasooriya

Chit-Chat
Chiara Tissera

Mrs. Queen of the World Sri Lanka 2024, Chiara Tissera, leaves for the finals, in the USA, next month

I had a very interesting chat with her and this is how it all went:

1. How would you describe yourself?

I am a sensitive and passionate individual who deeply cares about the things that matter most to me. I approach life with a heart full of enthusiasm and a desire to make meaningful connections.

2. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Actually, I wouldn’t change a thing about myself because the person I am today, both inside and out, is the result of everything I’ve experienced. Every part of me has shaped who I am, so I embrace both my strengths and imperfections as they make me uniquely me.

3. If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?

If there’s one thing I could change about my family, it would be having my father back with us. Losing him six years ago left a void that can never be filled, but his memory continues to guide and inspire us every day.

4. School?

I went to St. Jude’s College, Kurana, and I’m really proud to say that the lessons I gained during my time there have shaped who I am today. My school and teachers instilled in me values of hard work, perseverance and the importance of community, and I carry those lessons with me every day. I was a senior prefect and was selected the Deputy Head Prefect of our college during my tenure.

5. Happiest moment?

The happiest moment of my life so far has been winning the Mrs. Sri Lanka 2024 for Queen of the World. It was a dream come true and a truly unforgettable experience, one that fills me with pride and gratitude every time I reflect on it.

6. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Happiness is a deeply personal and multifaceted feeling that often comes from a sense of contentment, fulfillment and well-being. For me, perfect happiness is in moments of joy, peace and accomplishments … and also being surrounded by my loved ones.

7. Are you religious?

Yes, I’m a very religious person. And I’m a firm believer in God. My faith guides me through life, providing strength, dedication and a sense of peace in every situation. I live by the quote, ‘Do your best, and God will do the rest.’

8. Are you superstitious?

I’m not superstitious. I believe in making my own decisions and relying on logic and faith rather than following superstitions.

9. Your ideal guy?

My ideal guy is my husband. He is compassionate, understanding and is always there to support me, no matter what. He’s my rock and my best friend – truly everything I could ever want in a partner.

10. Which living person do you most admire?

The living person I admire the most is definitely my mummy. Her strength, love and unwavering support has shaped me into who I am today. She is my role model and she inspires me every day with her wisdom and kindness.

11. Your most treasured possession?

My most treasured possession is my family. They are the heart of my life, providing me with love, support and strength. Their presence is my greatest blessing.

12. If you were marooned on a desert island, who would you like as your companion?

I would like to have my spouse as my companion. Together, we could make the best of the situation, supporting each other, sharing moments of laughter and finding creative ways to survive and thrive.

13. Your most embarrassing moment?

There’s quite a few, for sure, but nothing is really coming to mind right now.

14. Done anything daring?

Yes, stepping out of my comfort zone and taking part in a pageant. I had no experience and was nervous about putting myself out there, but I decided to challenge myself and go for it. It pushed me to grow in so many ways—learning to embrace confidence, handle pressure, and appreciate my own uniqueness. The experience not only boosted my self-esteem but also taught me the value of taking risks and embracing new opportunities, even when they feel intimidating.”

15. Your ideal vacation?

It would be to Paris. The city has such a magical vibe and, of course, exploring the magical Eiffel Tower is in my bucket list. Especially the city being a mix of history culture and modern life in a way that feels timeless, I find it to be the ideal vacation spot for me.

16. What kind of music are you into?

I love romantic songs. I’m drawn to its emotional depth and the way they express love, longing a connection. Whether it’s a slow ballad, a classic love song or a more modern romantic tune these songs speak to my heart.

17. Favourite radio station?

I don’t have a specific radio station that I like, but I tend to enjoy a variety of stations, depending on my mood. Sometimes I’ll tune into one for a mix of popular hits, other times I might go for something more relaxing, or a station with a certain vibe. So I just like to keep it flexible and switch it up.

18. Favourite TV station?

I hardly find the time to sit down and watch TV. But, whenever I do find a little spare time, I tend to do some spontaneous binge – watching, catching whatever interesting show is on at that moment.

19 What would you like to be born as in your next life?

Mmmm, I’ve actually not thought about it, but I’d love to be born as someone who gets to explore the world freely – perhaps a bird soaring across continents.

20. Any major plans for the future?

Let’s say preparing and participating in the international pageant happening in the USA this May. It’s an exciting opportunity to represent myself and my country on a global stage. Alongside this, I am dedicated to continuing my social service work as a title holder, striving to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others through my platform.

Features

Fresher looking skin …

Published

17 hours ago

2025/04/10

Sahan Weerasooriya

The formation of wrinkles and fine lines is part of our ageing process. However, if these wrinkles negatively impact appearance, making one look older than they actually are, then trying out some homemade remedies, I’ve listed for you, this week, may help in giving your skin a fresher look.

* Banana:

Bananas are considered to be our skin’s best friend. They contain natural oils and vitamins that work very perfectly to boost our skin health. Skincare experts recommend applying the banana paste to the skin.

Take a ripe banana and mash a quarter of it until it becomes a smooth paste. Apply a thin layer of the banana paste on your skin and allow it to sit for 15 to 20 minutes before washing it off with warm water.

* Olive Oil:

Olive oil works as a great skin protector and many types of research suggest that even consuming olive oil may protect the skin from developing more wrinkles. Olive oil contains compounds that can increase the skin’s collagen levels. Yes, olive oil can be used as a dressing on your salads, or other food, if you want to consume it, otherwise, you can apply a thin layer of olive oil on your face, neck and hands and let it stay overnight.

* Ginger:

Ginger serves to be a brilliant anti-wrinkle remedy because of the high content of antioxidants in it. Ginger helps in breaking down elastin, which is one of the main reasons for wrinkles. You can have ginger tea or grate ginger and have it with honey, on a regular basis.

* Aloe Vera:

The malic acid present in Aloe Vera helps in improving your skin’s elasticity, which helps in reducing your wrinkles. Apply the gel once you extract it from the plant, and leave it on for 15-20 minutes. You can wash it off with warm water.

* Lemons:

Lemons contain citric acid, which is a strong exfoliant that can help you get rid of your dead skin cells and wrinkles. Also, as an astringent and a cleansing agent, it helps to fade your wrinkles and fine lines. You can gently rub a lemon slice in your wrinkled skin and leave it on for 10-15 minutes. Rinse afterwards and repeat this process two to three times a day.

* Coconut Oil:

Coconut oil contains essential fatty acid that moisturises the skin and helps to retain its elasticity. You can directly apply the coconut oil, and leave it overnight, after gently massaging it, for the best results.