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A Panacea Towards Resolving An Afflicted Nation Perhaps Through A New Order.

As Sri Lankans, we really are a complacent group of individuals all things considered, waiting patiently for the 'worm to turn' believing and accepting most of what's dished onto our plates and trusting in the hierarchy until once again it is time to dump them using Universal Suffrage.

Curiously enough the hierarchies which continue the cycle of Administrative Politics within Sri Lanka with the odd exception have been one or the other as the UNP and the SLFP have constantly been at the helm invariably as alternate representations of the majority party in Parliament and over the decades little has changed in their approaches towards solving the primary issues of the Nation and its people. The process of repetition of mistakes by way of policy is almost an idiosyncratic trait of Sri Lankan politics. However the rhetoric continues of assuranced far beyond their capacity to deliver and the Nation likened to the proverbial "Stork Waiting For The Ocean To Evaporate In Order To Catch The Fish! while its administrators continue their respective feeding frenzies whether it involves finances or the emotions of a gullible Nation swaying to the backdrop of LTTE drums in their frenzied 'Nagasalam Dance' celebrating the complicity of the UNF which of course is done behind closed door in order to distract attention with the possibility of their eventual participation!

Firstly there are the various patronage and favouritism based considerations which incorporate the banding together of caucases and predominantly the formation of the cabinet and those in charge of administrative authority regardless of merit, capability and the capacity of proper decision makers which outlines the pre-requisites for the ideal candidate and invariably a bunch of obstreperous greenhorns with no related background to their respective offices nor political acumen are juxtaposed and thrust into capacities beyond their comprehension and the ensuing confusion , contradictions and expressions of personal opinions with rank disregard to diplomacy and protocol are the end result and visibly displayed in the areas of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Internal Affairs together with their concoctions of promises and assurances comprising of blatant lies and innuendoes.

Secondly, there seems to be a popular belief amongst many elected to Parliament that they have been given a mandate towards excessive perks and the general area of lining their pockets without restrictions or considerations much to the chagrin of the taxpayer and the ordinary person struggling to eke out a meagre existence in their plain view with nothing they can do about it as 'the die has been cast' and the vote dropped into the ballot box and the beat goes on! The Politicians gad about in their late model chauffeur driven automobiles, clad in impeccable white attire, construct mansions and acquire megavolumes of wealth and prosperity before their tenure comes to an end and the cycle continues regardless of which party is in the seat of power.So what's in a ratio of 136 to 63 or whatever the right numbers are as they present the same aberration! relative to cabinet size.

The remarkable effects of excessive spending for their personal well being in other words run second only to military spending without which these modicums of the 'New Rich' which nomenclatures they invarible become entitled to, would have no security towards enjoying their personal existences and new found wealth without apprehension, so within a secure Nation their lives continue side by side with the majority of the impoverished of the Nation taking a financial beating in addition to the trepidations they face on a regular basis due to the LTTE threat which has carved major inroads into the lives of many ordinary folk.As a result of the lopsided expenditures set in place by an administrative accord there is very little by way of financial resources left for the real needs of the Nation and presto! the scramble begins in reaching out to the International Lending Agencies ever ready to shell out! to supplement their excesses.

There has never been a respite for the impoverished of the Nation and once again a bone crushing Budget has been presented by the Ministry of Finance and Mr Choksky which will hardly affect the hairs of the more affluent yet will impose severe aggravated restrictions on the lifestyles of the poor already scraping a meagre existence and regardless of the blame directed at the weakness of the G.D.P. and the Militay Expenditure there can be no excuses for the apathetic presentation of the current budget where once again the proportion of the Cabinet by way of sheer numbers cannot justify itself nor pre-empt the needs of the poor man as the overall spending program for the individuals who comprise the cabinet and various Ministries have far too many allocations for their personal benefits rather than that of the common good of the Nation.It may sound ungainly to call for a robbing of the rich to give to the poor (Uthuwankande Saradiel Eat Your Heart Out!) but if that is what it sounds like it may take more than downsizing the cabinet and restricting perks to placate a weary, penuried and hungry Nation.

There are no excuses for this scenario which has gone on for generations and does not augur well for any Administration as it is beginning to take on ominous undertones towards its future. The huge disparity between the rich and the poor of Sri Lanka must be narrowed to an almost even keel through a fortification of the Nation's Economy and Development which cannot be accomplished by the Administration through Rag Tag Budgets, Compromises to terrorists and Bleeding the Coffers White To Their Own Ends.

Yet 25,00 Square Miles is a sufficient surface area to accommodate job creations for a greater proportion of the Nation's Impoverished if creativity were utilized and the rich diversity of the land was taken into consideration (after eliminating the various threats and hurdles to the Nations Integrity and Security that is!!) and the various willing NGO Programmes were made accessible to many who presently have little access to them and one which at least is a start. Water Resources so wastefully squandered too play a major role in the Development of the Nation as proven by the Ancient Sinhala Kings and need to be re-harnessed to re vamp Sri Lanka's Agricultural Resources so rich in bygone eras where the integrity of how finaces were implemented to the various programmes was unquestionable, sadly untrue today. Perhaps many abandoned acres of barren paddy fields will once more burst into the magnificience of swaying green fronds of the life giving staple as a means to the existence of the population of our once Resplendent Mother Land together with the replenishment of many abandoned plantations of Tea, Rubber and Coconut and any the setting up of other introduced Cash Crops and the revitalizing of many now defunct Cottage Industries given the proper incentives and financial aid.

Perhaps A New Order Is Just Around The Corner and one Spearheaded by a Leadership which needs no Supplementary Incomes to better their Bank Accounts through devious means, and the skimming of Public Funds unthinkable, being ancestrally wealthy if it is the only deterrent yet dedicated to the core of Sri Lankas heartbeat represented by the Masses.

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