Expansion of Presidential Duties
Posted on January 18th, 2012
Prof. Hudson McLean
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The recent Presidential Decree of enforcing a minimum US$100.00/night/room for incoming foreign tourists have antoganized many foreign tourists. Many have compared this un-Democratic Decree to the old Soviet system, and to Cuba.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This certainly is a negative backword, self-defeating move by the President, who might look at other serious affairs of governing the country.
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Hotel Rates should be left alone and should be flexible on a Supply & Demand as dictated by the market forces.
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Criminality is on the rise. And Bribery & Corruption is rampant as ever before. Tamil LTTE rump is on the move. Might it reach a point like “Nero was playing his fiddle (or fiddling around) whilst Rome burnt”?
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Whilst we are on the Tourist Trail, the President might instruct some of his “Mandarins” to check out the Observation Wagon which used to be a Tourist attraction. Last week several tourists known to me who travelled in the Observation Wagon complained of Cockroaches Dead & Alive, in the compartment.
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The President might enforce a Decree to maintain hygiene and cleanliness in all government owned property as well as in all the Star Hotels which now force the tourists to a Fixed Rate.
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In a single Term in Office, President Rajapaksa has achieved what no other global leader has achieved in a life-time. By listening to advice of nincompoops, HE might lose all the Credits HE has gained over a difficult but triumphant period.
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In many instances, Great Men have lost “an arm & a leg” by getting involved in matters which should have been left to experts!
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January 18th, 2012 at 2:59 pm
**In a single Term in Office, President Rajapaksa has achieved what no other global leader has achieved in a life-time. By listening to advice of nincompoops, HE might lose all the Credits HE has gained over a difficult but triumphant period.**
Well said Prof! If only HE The President would realize this before it is too late.
January 18th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
What goes up must come down theory applies here. The honeymoon is over. As an independent observer, it looks to me as if MR’s popularity is on the decline. Once it starts to decend it will be a very hard job to accend. However GR’s popularity remains unchanged. MR is losing the touch with the people who supported him. The people who gave him the 2/3rd seem to have been forgotten and caving in to the Indian and TNA pressure which is very detremental to MR’s political survival. Every leader of the country except Premadasa were scared of the Indians. No leader of the country had the guts to tell the bloody Indians to F… off.
January 18th, 2012 at 5:18 pm
Tourism should be handle by the experienced staff and it seems some idiots want to kill the golden goose with out knowing how market forces works in this field.
I get Cisco rates in Hilton Colombo at US$100 and when I landed they always put me to expensive suits that cost US$300+ and I have never complain about this practice ..
Hotel bar staff pocket the money at the ground floor area as well.
Spore lost quite a lot of business since they have doubled their hotel rates… Grand Hyatt is Spore Cisco rates were $S180 and now they are asking $S520… I just go to Swiss hotel at Raffles since they do care about their business customers.
People around the president are mostly incompetent and does not look after the bigger picture and only ministry that I can trust is defence ministry since Gotha is approachable and listen to the concerns.
January 18th, 2012 at 8:42 pm
I do not know the motive. Few years back they slashed the car taxes and now back to original. What people say is they lowered this for MR’s son or a relative to import a lot of cars quickly and earn well. I cannot disagree, how can I explain these stupid acts ?
One thing good is those private house accomodation that are mushrooming will have a better demand.
January 18th, 2012 at 9:15 pm
India gave GoSL a credit line of $500 million. The rumour is such that all that line of credit was used up by NR to import 5000 Maruti cars that are lying by the side of Kelaniya bridge at Orugodawatte. In addition to that NR air lifted a Maserati and was cleared in 30 minutes.
January 19th, 2012 at 1:19 am
Stanley,
I am still a supporter of MR. But I am very sad the way thing proceeding.
Now I feel suddenly that everything falling into place.
Few months ago I heard NR is building hotels ( I almost frogot and now suddenly remember).
I don’t have even a slightest problem of NR importing a Maserati ( they are lousy cars anyway – Nissan GTR is better) or even better. But paga acts that affted the whole economy cannot be tolerated.
Enough is enough and I too have to join the opposition. But there is no opposition. Only a bunch of worst jokers.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:17 pm
Since of late, things seem to go out of hand and everything end up in some turmoil. Don’t you see that some mysterious, and invisible hands are operating in a very mysterious way.The people entrusted with responsibilities are acting in such a way, that the day to day acts of administration are neglected in such a way, that HE the President is called upon to intervene and give directions. For instance, the visa requirement for visitors or foreign passport holders has been introduced, postponed, amended and again postponed, reintroduced and still with questions left to be answered. Similarly the latest the A Level results – still debating and left with questions. The worse, HE the President arriving at a STF raid in Negambo of the Local Politico’s private resident in a helicopter to intervene in an ivestigation, even though he is the Commander-in-Chief of that Unit is more than a mockery. The next worse, a local politician who has been investigated by the independent Bribary Commission and successfully convicted of the crime and confirmed the punishment by the Higher Courts in appeal, to be pardoned by the HE is somethig unimaginable.
How can we explain these events? Prof. your last statement in the above presentation is the most obvious.