Appropriating unto the Rajapaksas what is due to the people

Spend in haste, repent at leisure. That is exactly what the majority of Sri Lankans will have to do over the next 12 months, not because they are directly responsible for the Government’s extravagant expenditures in 2013, but because they have little, or no say in where their tax money goes.

And spend indeed the Government did in 2013, with billions of rupees disbursed for the recently held Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), in addition to expending on massive infrastructure development viz, port, airport, highways, recreational areas, development projects etc.

While there are mixed views, for example, on whether Sri Lanka should have hosted the CHOGM or not, the problem lies with the fact that the Government has, to date, failed to reveal to the country, how much the event cost the State coffers.

This was one of the main issues that came up during last week’s debate on the Second Reading of the Appropriation Bill. Many Opposition MPs queried about the expenses incurred for the CHOGM, but none of the Government members including the Prime minister or Ministers who spoke were able to reveal the figure.UNP Matara District MP Mangala Samaraweera who has not made a secret of his opposition to the holding of the CHOGM in Sri Lanka, said that around Rs 15.5 billion had been spent on the event. “Millions were spent on this “enthroning ceremony,” but soon he (the President) may realize that what he has got is a crown of thorns. While the Government pays lip service to its commitment to alleviating poverty, what it does is spend extravagantly and then present a Budget that further burdens the people who are reeling due to the high cost of living,” Mr Samaraweera said.

Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardena had diametrically opposed views to that of his UNP colleague. “The fact that Sri Lanka was able to host an important international event of this magnitude, without any shortcomings, is something we should all be proud of as Sri Lankans. Many conspiracies were hatched to stop the CHOGM being held in Sri Lanka, but the President overcame all those challenges successfully,” the Minister said.

The CHOGM aside, several Opposition MPs criticised the Budget of being heavily in favor of members of the Rajapaksa family.

“Nearly 50 per cent of the allocations in the 2014 Budget has been given to institutions coming under the President and his brothers. This Budget serves the people with an ear pick (kan henda), the Ministers with a teaspoon (thay henda) and the Rajapaksa family with a shovel,” UNP Galle District MP Gayantha Karunatillake charged.

Democratic National Alliance (DNA) MP Anura Dissanayaka too criticized the Budget, saying, what has been presented is more like an election manifesto and not a Budget. “The government did not tell us that they plan to turn this country into a casino paradise in the last Budget, and that is exactly what it is doing now. The Government did not tell us it would increase electricity rates in 2013, but that is what it did. So how can we believe this document which has been presented to Parliament, because what this Government does is outside what is promised to this House and the people,” the DNA MP charged.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentary group leader R. Sampanthan chose to speak on the problems faced by the Tamil community in postwar Sri Lanka, saying that the Tamil people were being treated worse than ever before.

“Since the LTTE’s defeat, anything can be done to the Tamil people in whatever field, and they have to accept it, however unjust such actions may be. This is the attitude currently prevalent,” the TNA MP said.

By the time Mr Sampanthan spoke on the debate, another TNA MP S. Sridharan had caused a stir in the House by comparing slain LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran to a freedom fighter. While those sections of his speech were expunged from Hansard for being contrary to Standing Orders of Parliament, it’s likely, that similar sentiments will arise as the Committee Stage of the Budget gets under way this week.

Meanwhile, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa who wound up the Budget debate, devoted a great deal of time outlining the challenges the Government had had to overcome to destroy the LTTE. “Some of the foreign countries shedding crocodile tears for the LTTE now, are the ones who wanted us to destroy them,” the Minister said.

He also outlined the various development activities that the Government had undertaken in the past year; but it sounded more like the class teacher reading out a report card written by him, which gave full marks to all the subjects.

Without transparency and accountability, without telling the people of this country exactly where their tax money is going, and without placing the accounts of expenditure for their scrutiny, however good a report card may read, it is unlikely to be accepted by the people.

This government has shied away time and again from introducing Right to Information (RTI) legislation for the country, which would compel it to lay open its accounts of expenditure to public scrutiny. 2014 is a good year for the Government to demonstrate that it is genuinely committed to good governance, transparency and accountability in public matters by introducing RTI for its citizens.