Freedom tarnished by corrupt politicians
NSUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 2017
ext weekend, Sri Lanka marks its 69th anniversary of Independence. There is, no doubt, much to celebrate, none more significant than the fact that the citizenry are a free people, and masters of their own destiny.
Many still say that Sri Lanka’s freedom was achieved without a struggle; that it was a by-product of India’s freedom struggle and World War II that weakened the British Empire which was grateful to its subjects (now the Commonwealth) who fought shoulder-to-shoulder with them to defeat Nazi Germany – and that such an easy path to Independence is never fully appreciated by the people. That is not entirely so. Sri Lanka had its own struggles in 400 years of colonial domination. Recently, the President re-gazetted the names of several Kandyan ‘heroes’ who were termed ‘traitors’ by the British rulers. 1915 saw race riots triggered by the ‘Divide and Rule’ policy that is still perpetrated by Western powers in relatively newly independent nation-states. This is part and parcel of neo-colonialism.
Many advances have taken place since Independence in 1948, especially in the health and education fields. The political leaders of the newly sovereign Sri Lanka felt the long oppressed people deserved these benefits, but the growing welfare state, with free rice also given to the people, ran up big bills that had to be paid for these giveaways.
Exports did not bring in sufficient funds and today Sri Lanka, like many other economically developing countries, has the dubious distinction of balancing most of its budget with the remittances of exported labour. Funds for infrastructure development have had to be obtained through foreign loans, riddled with corruption allegations that have now reached epic proportions building up to a debt trap that is going to implode in 2019 when the loans have to be paid back. This week’s Parliamentary debate on the Central Bank scandal of 2015 and 2016 is a compelling story of our times. The debate itself was a cacophony of accusations across the floor of the House, but the overall theme that political leaders are corrupt, was crystal clear.
The Opposition Leader arguably made the best contribution of the day saying that all Governments, past and present, defend corruption. If only he can speak out more on national affairs other than confining himself to regional matters. His simple message was that both the SLFP and the UNP that have ruled this country alternatively since 1948 – and are now ruling together -- accuse each other but protect rogues, and that the people were getting sick of them. More so, he said, democracy was at stake with this kind of behaviour by both mainstream parties.
Corruption is endemic in Sri Lanka, trickling down from the Cabinet of Ministers to the traffic cop. Bloomberg, the world renowned economic data company, this week ranked Sri Lanka as one of the highest risk countries for foreign investors based on economic, financial and political risks. This, when the country is desperately trying to attract foreign investment.
As Sri Lanka celebrates its 69th year of Freedom, it is time the political leaders re-evaluate and re-calibrate their roles and ensures their tattered credibility is restored, both locally and overseas and that this is not a country where politics and political patronage is the last refuge of the scoundrel.