The Opaque side of the Transparency
International Sri Lanka
C. Wijeyawickrema, LL.B.,
Ph.D.
"and... Who shall watch the watchers?"
The Island feature (Position paper on mega cabinets, Jan 19, 2006) by
the Executive Director of TISL deserves some comment. I support the
TI for its noble work in a highly corrupt world. I also want to support
TISL. But the position paper on mega cabinets at this moment of time
appears like another anti-Mahinda Chintanaya project like the sudden
interest to invite the Dalai Lama for the 2050 Vesak celebrations (Dalai
Lama should be a private pilgrim and not a public Vesak invitee). This
suspicion is increased by the fact that Mr. S Paikiasothy is a director
of TISL. He is a member of a network of other anti-Mahavamsa NGOs and
NGO funded Colombo peace mudalalis including the Marga Institute of
Mr. Godfrey Gunatilaka.
I do not wish to brand TISL workers as black whites. Even if there
is one person who is innocent, it would be unfair and unreasonable for
me to cast doubts on this public organization. But I hope that the office
bearers of this organization disclose in what other organizations they
hold membership and whether or not they support a federal state or a
unitary state in Sri Lanka. To take a public stand on this subject is
not a crime in Sri Lanka and the people of Sri Lanka has a right to
know this from TISL officers. I think such disclosure will also serve
the larger transparency goals of the world TI. If TISL officers could
also release data on whether they receive any other payments form any
NGO as salaries or other expenses that would make them more transparent.
As it is we are in the dark if not opaque. I presume that they are doing
voluntary work at TISL.
The reason why I think this mega cabinet project of TISL is anti-Mahinda
Chintanaya (MC) is not because I support MC. We must always encourage
constructive criticism and keep political leaders and government officers
accountable. But to blame president Rajapake for the defects in the
system, without talking about the defects in the system I think is not
one of the goals of the parent TI. The president himself is a victim
of the system who cannot come out of it the way TISL proposes. It will
take time and this president has a proven record of beating and defeating
the system.
The 1978 constitution is identified by the fourth SL president as a
joke (bahu bootha). The first president under this constitution had
to appeal to Indian ambassador Dixit to arrange for a ship in case he
had to escape Colombo. The second president had to apply black magic
oil on the seats of MPs to stop a no confidence motion against him.
The fifth president who came to power with the support of the Five Great
Forces of Sri Lanka (second time after 1956 change) is also a prisoner
like the others. But he is a double prisoner due a different reason.
He wants to get rid of the system and he cannot implement his MC program
under this system.
The cabinets are mega not because he wanted to. It was because the
1978 constitution and the new electoral system, has become a death trap
for Sri Lanka, a country with a unique civilization of 2600 years. It
is destroying our heritage which I think deserves recognition as a UNESCO
heritage site (island). The system is such that unless he feeds each
MP with a bone all his plans will be defeated in the parliament, despite
the publicity given to the world that Sri Lanka's president can do any
thing except changing a man to a woman or woman to a man. Unless we
and the TISL work on to remove this root cause of the illness, it is
unfair, and it looks as if there is a hidden agenda behind TISL project.
TISL officers know that this president did not get support from so
many in his own party. TISL knows that the former president and her
brother tried to "Kobbakaduwize" this president at the Nov
2005 polls. This necessitated him to create new bones as a pragmatic
politician with 40 years of patience. TISL should have room for pragmatism,
and world level standards of TI may have to be modified by impartial
local actors in the Colombo office.
TISL should look at the glass, half full. He did not appoint four religious
ministers; he did not have so many regional ministers. He is like the
father who has so many daughters and so many in-laws demanding hefty
dowries. TISL should give him breathing space (and time).
His situation is no different from that of Abraham Lincoln who was
surrounded by his opponents in the cabinet. He is the only elected president
who could pass the famous kamatha test of the urbanite R Premadasa.
I wonder how many TISL officers can pass this test. This president is
now reaping the "collective benefits" of the blunders of all
the former presidents except D.B. Wijetunga.
He has the former UNP finance minister as an advisor hence I do not
think he is missing the "Colombo" expertise he needed. Article
151 of the constitution is insignificant when one thinks of the need
to dump the entire constitution-all the Articles lock stock and barrel,
including the 13th amendment. As explained in detail in A. T. Ariyaratne's
Sarvodaya book "Power Pyramid and Wheel of Justice," the 1978
constitution destroyed everything democratic and moral in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka's near-death of democracy has happened on three fronts.
(1) Destruction of Structural Democracy
Since the 1960s UNP and SLFP Colombo ruling families (black whites)
took away democratic rules one by one. The funny thing was that they
abused the Westminster constitution for their family gain and then complained
that it was not working. What one party did in power was used by the
opposition against that party when the opposition came to power!
The removal of rule of law, separation of powers and the ultimate subjection
of the judiciary to the executive was completed in 1978. The Supreme
Court justices were asked submit letters of resignation by the son of
a former Supreme Court justice!
(2) Destruction of Territorial Democracy
By a new electoral system the voter was removed from the representative.
The new electoral system discouraged honest people coming forward and
crooks appointed from Colombo party offices became people's representatives.
This ugly method was extended to local government system in the villages.
We had a VC system since the1870s.
(3) Government officer became the spy of the party
In the 1980s during a short time period Sri Lanka's grama sevaka niladhari
(GSN) units increased from 4,000 to a staggering 14,000. This was a
crime. It was done to give jobs to party (UNP) loyalists. Each villager
is under an unprofessional, party agent's constant control, if you are
not rich and influential.
In Sri Lanka each GSN unit has about 3 full-time government officers.
If you take an AGA unit (there are some 340 such units) there are about
300-400 government officers in such geographical unit (This is excluding
government teachers, whom we should utilize in some outside school public
service). What are they doing? Is there any accountability or performance
assessment?
I propose that TISL develop three projects jointly with the National
Science Foundation's social science research unit:
(1) Survey how many government officers per AGA unit and GSN unit
(2) Undertake a project to seek/collect people's views on how a new
constitution should be prepared.
(3) Explore the feasibility of moving the capital of Sri Lanka to the
Raja Rata.
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