Herath alleges Budget Office part of flawed political strategy

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Civil society activist Sirithunga Jayasuriya Tuesday (26) said that those genuinely concerned about political strategies of the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government should be wary of possible moves to put off the presidential election scheduled for next year.

Pointing out that both Provincial Councils and Local Government polls hadn’t been held in violation of the supreme law of the land, Jayasuriya asserted that the possibility of the government resorting to delaying tactics couldn’t be ruled out.

Jayasuriya said so at a meeting called by PAFFREL at Mandarina Hotel, on Galle Road, to discuss how political parties, represented in Parliament, and outside, could be encouraged to take the process of releasing manifestos seriously instead of deceiving the electorate.

Recently, UNP Chairman Wajira Abeywardena, MP, suggested that the presidential election should be put off as it could undermine ongoing economic recovery measures.

The veteran political activist told the Opposition not to be so sure the Constitution would be a hindrance to the government strategy. Jayasuriya didn’t mince his words when he explained how major political parties brazenly used manifestos to deceive the gullible.

At the onset of the programme, Executive Director of PAFFREL Rohana Hettiarachchi explained how Sri Lanka could benefit from similar exercises in other countries. Several parliamentarians, including Mano Ganesan (SJB), Buddhika Pathirana (SJB), Prof. Charitha Herath (SLPP rebel group) and Tissa Attanayake (SJB) participated in the programme.

One-time head of Election Commission and Chairman of the Delimitation Committee Mahinda Deshapriya was among the invitees. Polls monitoring groups, civil society and the media, too, were represented. The gathering was told how over the years political parties cleverly used election manifestos as a propaganda tool meant to influence the electorate.

National List lawmaker Tissa Attanayake maintained that an SLPP assurance made in the run-up to the last presidential election contributed to the ruination of the national economy that led to the declaration of bankruptcy in April last year.

The former UNP General Secretary quoted the Finance Secretary as having told a parliamentary watchdog committee as the Finance Ministry announced the abolition of a slew of taxes in Nov. 2019 that it was in line with one of the SLPP manifesto pledges. MP Attanayake said that political parties should pay attention to the practicability of proposals made in their respective manifestos.

PAFFREL Chief Hettiarachchi as well as some members of the audience suggested that the Parliamentary Budget Office could play a vital role in clearing proposals made with an eye on the electorate. The Parliament recently endorsed the setting up of the Budget Office meant to clear programmes or action plans submitted by political parties ahead of elections.

Prof. Herath strongly opposed the concept of a Budget Office which the rebel MP claimed was meant to ensure manifestos of all political parties adhered to the thinking of powers that be. One-time Media Ministry Secretary emphasized that this was fundamentally wrong and could cause irreparable damage to the political party system. Prof. Herath said that proposals made by political parties could be simply rejected for want of the approval of the Budget Office. The MP declared that this sort of strategy was counterproductive and had no practice in any part of the world. In fact, lawmakers wouldn’t be in charge of this project, MP Herath said, adding that officials were to decide the practicability of proposals made by political parties.

Prof. Herath said that some propagated the idea that politicians didn’t know anything, but the civil society was much more knowledgeable. Acknowledging the shortcomings and the failures on the part of politicians, Prof. Herath said that there were serious issues at projects run by the civil society and other non-governmental enterprises. The MP cited Sri Lanka Cricket to highlight the growing crisis the non-state sector experienced and serious flaws in the accounting process in civil society projects. “Their balance sheets are not properly scrutinized,” the former COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises) Chairman said.

Prof. Herath alleged that the Budget Office was part of a flawed political strategy. If the Budget Office was in place now President Ranil Wickremesinghe couldn’t have done anything, MP Herath said, asserting that political projects should receive endorsement by the people not that of an Office manned by officials. The SLPP rebel spokesman questioned the validity of the Budget Office though Parliament approved it.

MP Herath stressed that democracy couldn’t be sustained only by conducting elections. According to Prof. Herath, the Budget Office was meant to control political parties that didn’t fall in line with their thinking. Their position with regard to proposals made by political parties could unduly influence the electorate, Prof. Herath alleged.

The gathering was also told that instead of new proposals political parties represented in Parliament and outside and other interested parties, including the civil society should press the powers that be to adhere to the Constitution. Instability caused by taking over of political parties through corrupt means and elected and appointed MPs switching sides particularly for personal rewards et al and deterioration of public faith in the executive, legislature and judiciary undermined the very basis of democracy, the group was told. Reference was made to the formation of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) in early 2020 and two members elected from that party forming their own political outfits.

Another issue that received attention was the circumstances of cases pending against sitting lawmakers as well as ex-MPs in certain instances had dragged on for years. The recent imposition of five-year jail term on Senior DIG Lalith Jayasinghe for interfering in the 2015 Kahawatta politics related killing probe against the backdrop of the main accused Premalal Jayasekera (SLPP, Ratnapura) being a State Minister underscored the need for reexamination of the political scene.

Their attention was also drawn to controversial arrangements that threatened the electoral process. The case of three presidential candidates contesting 2010, 2015 and 2019 polls under the symbol of a party that never had an elected member at any level underscored the need to examine the entire setup, the gathering was told.