{"id":120583,"date":"2021-11-23T18:12:58","date_gmt":"2021-11-24T01:12:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=120583"},"modified":"2021-11-23T18:12:58","modified_gmt":"2021-11-24T01:12:58","slug":"members-of-parliament-mp-have-to-serve-10-years-to-qualify-for-pension-as-opposed-to-five-years-at-present-2022-budget-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/11\/23\/members-of-parliament-mp-have-to-serve-10-years-to-qualify-for-pension-as-opposed-to-five-years-at-present-2022-budget-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"Members of Parliament (MP) have to serve 10 years to qualify for pension as opposed to five years at present. (2022 Budget speech)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr Sudath Gunasekara. Mahanuwara.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

While welcoming that policy decision of\nthe Government who can say that this is not another election gundu to deceive\nthe people aimed at the proposed Provincial Council Elections? If the\nGovernment was really honest and concerned about public good it should have\nabolished this joke as Canada had done it in 1995, without continuing an\nunwanted bonanza to trap politicians cunningly used as bait by party leaders, that\nblead the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mike Harris government eliminated\nMPPs\u2019 pension plans following the 1995 provincial election. Even it is allowed\nin exceptional cases like in Canada a pension to a politician should be paid\nonly after 65 years when they are disabled to earn a living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why pay pensions to politicians at\nall who volunteer and swear to serve the people at elections and rob and\ndestroy the entire nation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Government in its Budget speech\nhas proposed that MPP will be eligible for a pension only after completing 10\nyears continuous service\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My question is why pay a pension at\nall to any politician in this country Because paying a pension to any\npolitician is contrary to all basic principles related to the principle of\npaying pensions accepted all over the world. Because the origin of the idea of\npaying a pension has begun in the world first for people over 70 years in old\nage for the continuous service, they have rendered to the nation who are\ndisabled to make their living, as a mark of gratitude for the devoted service\nthey have rendered to the nation or the company for life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man behind the initiative called\nThe Old Age and Disability Bill\u201d was Otto von Bismarck.  of the German Empire. Germany was thus the\nfirst European country to establish a fully-fledged pensions system for workers\naged 70 or more. The limit was lowered to 65 in 1916.June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1875, The American Express Co.\ncreated the first private pension plan in the U.S. for the elderly and workers\nwith disabilities. Early pension benefits were designed to pay out a relatively\nlow percentage of the employee’s pay at retirement and were not designed to\nreplace the employee’s full final income. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this country it was started by the\ncolonial Government to make a payment in their old age for the dedicated\nservice they had rendered to the Empire. Subsequently it was extended to\nretired public servant who had completed 35 years of satisfactory service in\nthe public service. As such there was full justification for a man or a woman\nwho has devoted his or her service to the nation in her or his whole life while\ndebarring any other job while one is in engaged in public service as his or her\nonly income for living comes to an end the day he\/she retires. But it should be\nnoted that to get that benefit they had also to contribute a certain percentage\nmonthly from their salary for which the Government contributed a certain\npercentage. Therefore, in fact they are paid from a reserve fund maintained by\nthe Government out of funds they have contributed throughout their service.\nWhat is more is they have to complete 35 years of service to get qualified to\nget that pension. When someone retires prematurely the pension is freeze until\nhe reaches the age of 55. This clearly shows that there is a very sound\nrationale for paying a pension to a retired public servant and it is fully\njustified both rationally and ethically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Now let us\nexamine the rationale of paying a pension to a politician in this country.\nPaying pensions to politicians in this country was started in 1977 by the JR\nJayawardhana Government. Curiously it was the first legal enactment of the\nso-called Democratic Socialist Government of JR. passed by Act No 1 of his government\nas if it was the most burning public issue his government had to solve. Doesn\u2019t\nthis show the degree of concern and commitment our politicians have towards the\nwelfare of the people who elevate them to high position by electing them with a\n5\/6th<\/sup> majority in 1977 hoping to get a better deal than from the\nprevious Government of Mrs Bandaranayaka. What is more hilarious and despicable\nis this piece of legislation marked the turning point in Sri Lankan political\nculture where the interests of the politicians overtook that of the subjects in\na country that inherited a rich legacy of public goo enshrined in the concept\nof the Buddhist teaching Bahujana hitaaya Bahujana sukhaaya\u201d (for the good of\nthe many and for their happiness at large) for 2500 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is even more despicable is that it was awarded to\nall politicians who complete 5 years service\u201d irrespective of whether they\nserved the people or not. The funniest part of it was the payment of that\npension to his \/her spouse after the death of the MP. Further his family will\nget another pension if his or her son or daughter had been appointed as the\nPrivate Secretary a tradition that had come to stay as a political privilege. Payment\nof pensions under this scheme was made with retrospective effect and it was\npayable even to politicians who served in the State Council if they were living\nwith arrears. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only one man refused to accept this blood money in the\nhistory of Parliament. He returned it to Speaker. The man mentioned here was my\ngood friend M.S. Themis the 3rd<\/sup> MP for Colombo Central in 1956.He\nwas the first person and perhaps the only man to return it. I know it for\ncertain as I was the one who prepared the covering letter to the Speaker.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This piece of legislation was also a complete\nviolation   of the Pension minute which\nnobody dared to challenge or even question up to date either in a court of law\nor Parliament that is said to be the Supreme lawmaking body in the country.\nIsn\u2019t it interesting to note how our Law makers make laws and for whose benefit\nthey make them in this so-called supreme legislature of the country expected to\nmake laws for good governance for the good of the people and the good of the\ncountry at large? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

JR did not stop at that. He did\neverything to enhance the fabulous benefit package to MPP with immediate effect.\nHe dramatically increased salaries, increase payments for attending Parliament,\nofficial vehicles with duty free vehicle permits were also provided, which they\ncould sell in the open market and make a fabulous fortune. Official quarters in\nColombo were also given where as they had to be in Colombo only for 8 days a\nmonth. Unlimited job permits for MPP to give employment for their party\nsupporters only, monopoly of tavern license, business permits and government\ncontracts, LRC land nationalized by Mrs B for a song and government Import\npermits.  The sky was the limit to such\nprivileges. Here I stop the list for brevity and lack of space. All this was\ndone to buy over the MPP to maintain the majority in Parliament to embellish\nand consolidate his dictatorial position as the Executive President which\nperhaps he thought is a lifetime job, but unfortunately not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The same corrupt and highway robbery situation\nstill continues in incremental scale without being openly questioned or\nchallenged by anyone in the \u2018People\u2019s Parliament. So much so today the whole\nsystem of governance in this country has become a veritable national liability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 JR also increased the number of MPP in\nParliament from 196 to 225 by introducing a thing called a National list to\nprovide a place in Parliament for their kith and kin and family friends as\nbackdoor MPP bypassing the elections and thus making Representative Parliament\na \u201dNon-representative thereby making representative democracy a big fast and a hilarious\njoke. Instead of reducing it to 165 the previous number that would have save\nbillions for national development and reduced IMF and other foreign loans\nthereby reducing the annual budget deficits and avoiding bankruptcy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the top of this JR also signed an\nAgreement with Rajiv Ghandi completely handing over the North and East\ncomprising 1\/3 of the land of the country and 2\/3rd<\/sup> of the coastal\nbelt together with the maritime territory adjacent to it as the Traditional\nHistorical Homeland of the Tamil people completely forgetting the fact that the\nonly Traditional Historical Homeland of Tamil people on earth exists only in Tamilnadu\nSouth India. (See Rajiv \/JR Indo Lanka Accord of 29th<\/sup> July 1987 for\na full list of JR\u2019S betrayal ) Thereby he committed an unpardonable criminal\noffence against the Sinhala Buddhist nation by selling 1\/3 of the homeland of\nthe Sinhala nation that had been their motherland from the inception of known\nhuman history and also thereby making the way for annihilating the Sinhala\nnation and the Mother  land of the\nSinhala nation as he had once predicted in his public speeches where he said\nthe Sinhala nation will be extinct  in\nanother 25 years.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was even more traitorous was the\nAgreement to establish 9 Provincial Councils co-terminus with the British made\nProvinces to divide the country in to nine independent governing units making\nthe way for the establishment of Future EELAM -the dream land of Prabhaharan to\nerase the 2500 year old Sinhala Kingdom from the surface of this earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of these Provinces to be\ngoverned by a Governor, a board of 5 Ministers headed by a Chief Minister and\nan army of Provincial councilors  of\nabout 700 low grade politicians supported by a some 14,000 Pradesiya Sabha\n(double the number that was there before. Politically this system lead to quasi-Federal\nstatus leading to a Federal state to begin with, with (1) a Tamilnadu\ncomprising the North, East, Central, Sabaragamuwa and Uva only for Tamils, amalgamated\nunder the provisions in the Rajiv\/JR Accord \nfor amalgamation  2 or more\nProvinces comprising 2\/3 of the area of the Island, a mono Tamil state and the\nbalance 1\/3 for a multi racial community including Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims\nand all others, leading to a virtual pickle and an eternal battle ground of ethnic,\nreligious and social crises that will finally lead to the extinction of\nthe  2500 year old Sinhala Buddhist\ncivilization from the surface of this earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is more depressing is already\nthis provincial council system has wasted trillions (Koti- Prakoti) of public\nfunds for the upkeep  of new political\ncreations for no benefit to the country but benefiting only the politicians,\nfrom 1987 to date . It has been said that 85% of national tax collection is spent\nfor the upkeep of politicians and so-called public officials in this country leaving\nonly 15 % left for all other work concerning the country and 21millions\ncitizens. I do not propose to say a word about the lawlessness, corruption and\ninternational debts to the tune of 56 billion US $ as at present dragging the\ncountry to the bottom of abject poverty and bankruptcy converting this once\nproud nation and second richest country in South East Asia second only to Japan\nby 1948 but now to a nation with a begging bowl going round the world and have\nalready taken loans even from Bangladesh and Maldives the latest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the pathetic situation in to\nwhich this proud and rich nation which gave Sterling loans even to the British\nEmpire in early 1950s has been put by our politicians who are supposed to have\nruled this Island nation from 1948 up to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And mind you it is to this kind of\npoliticians who have robbed the nation hook, line and sinker and also those who\ncontinue to do the same game and jointly responsible for making this country a\ndebt ridden and begging country this peracetic and good for nothing governments\ncontinue to give a fat pension extracting from the beggar\u2019s bowl<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this back drop as for me, I\nstrongly oppose a single scent been given to any politician as a pension. In addition,\nI also suggest that all extraordinary benefits like palatial official mansions\nand all other benefits like official vehicles, security and other benefits be\nwithdrawn forthwith before the masses march in thousands and forcibly take over\nall these public assets as a protest against what they have done to this\ncountry and the Sinhala nation over the past 73 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 This includes all politicians including the\nex-Presidents and their rich widows. However, I am not against for paying a\npension to an honest politician like C W.W Kannangara who has devoted his\nentire life for the service to the people and the country and who had done an\nindelible and memorable service to the nation, after passing a resolution in\nParliament to that effect. That will definitely prevent self- seeking wealth\nmongering people doing politics and limit it to men and women of outstanding character,\ndignity and commitment to the service of people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally I propose first, the immediate\nabolition of the pension scheme to all politicians and second, appointment of a\npowerful Presidential or a public Commission to enquire in to the illicit and\nillegitimate earnings of all politicians at all levels starting from 1977 up to\ndate and confiscate all illicitly earned assets proved, both at home and abroad\nsuch as Pandora assets and credit all that wealth to the General Treasury\nAccount so that people will get back all their wealth robbed by politicians at\nleast from 1977 onwards so that all those who aspire to be politicians in\nfuture in this country will begin with a new political vision opening the doors\nto a new political culture setting a Sri Lankan model for the entire world and\nonce again restore the ancient glory of this Island nation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr Sudath Gunasekara. Mahanuwara.\u00a0 While welcoming that policy decision of the Government who can say that this is not another election gundu to deceive the people aimed at the proposed Provincial Council Elections? If the Government was really honest and concerned about public good it should have abolished this joke as Canada had done it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-sudath-gunasekara"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120583\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}