A prominent English newspaper recently reported that the government has paid US$ 2.4 million to a British PR firm to promote its candidacy to host the 2018 Comonwealth Games in Hambanthota. This news item would definitely raise the eye brows of many Sri Lankans who constantly get beaten by the scourge of cost of living. For those who are not aware of international currency rates; 2.4 million US dollars means 264 million Rupees. The minimum salary of a state sector worker in Sri Lanka is Rs. 11000. The average monthly income of a middle class family in Sri Lanka is Rs. 20,000. But, the average monthly expenditure of an ordinary middle class family is way higher than that. As we all know, almost every one of us can feel the excessive pressure, generated by the soaring cost of living. Everyone in this country, including the government of Sri Lanka, has adopted a “hand to mouth” policy when it comes to the ‘income’ and ‘expenditure’. In this context; the government has paid 264 million rupees to a British PR firm in order to promote its bid to host Commonwealth Games in HAMBANTHOTA.
It is not a hidden fact that the government is engaged in a secret love affair with British PR firms over the past several months. The British PR company named “Bell Potinger” was its most trusted partner when it comes to international relations with United Kingdom and European Union. Millions and billions of tax payers’ money has been paid for this PR firm in order to enhance Sri Lankan government’s image and strengthen its relationship with aforesaid countries. In other words, the Foreign Ministry and this particular PR firm exchanged their duties with pleasure and from there onwards Foreign Ministry was operated as a PR firm and this company was harnessed with the duties of Foreign Ministry.
But unfortunately, this PR firm could not provide desired results. They were not able to strengthen the relationships and interactions between the government and EU parliamentarians and on many occasions Sri Lanka was bruised and battered by the European Union. GSP Plus tax concession was removed and all the secret missions which the government carried out in order to get it restored were failed. President Mahinda Rajapakshe’s Oxford visit was another fiasco which ended up with nothing but humour. At the same time, the relationships between Sri Lanka and European Union countries were strained due to many reasons. But ‘Bell Potinger’, the company which was tasked to make these ruptures fixed, did not come out with any good results. So, quite obviously, all the money which was spent on this company was an utter waste.
There are some allegations that a powerful UPFA MP, who represents Southern Province, is the hidden hand behind all these deals with British PR companies. The notorious politician, who’s closely linked with the top leaders of the government, is considered as the person who is responsible for the staggering losses generated by the budget air line ‘Mihin Lanka’. But, as we all know, this sort of huge deals cannot be taken place without the endorsement of the very top people in the government. Therefore, none of them can wash their hands off and claim “I am clean”.
This, I believe, lays the foundation to discuss about the ‘unprecedented’ international policies carried out by the present government. These policies have already created a diplomatic muddle and Sri Lanka is still struggling to come out of it. These inefficacious PR deals are merely a small part of this huge muddle. This kind of deals finally produces nothing but a heavy damage to the exchequer. The exchequer, on the other hand, is not made of cash that has been harvested from trees in Medamulana. It belongs to the poor and innocent tax payers in the country and the government is answerable to the public about the way this money is being spent.In this context; we, as citizens, can ask some important questions from the government. Can a government develop its international relations by wasting millions of tax payers’ money in an imprudent manner? Is this the way they expect to implement Sri Lanka’s foreign policy in the future?
Policies and strategies related to external affairs of a country are nothing but a sheer reflection of its internal policies. If a country has poor internal policies within its own territory it is impossible to expect better external policies or strategies in the international domain. This reality is common to Sri Lanka as well. No one can deny the fact that Sri Lanka was trapped in a diplomatic muddle over the past 36 months and it caused a heavy damage to the country in many ways. They might say that Sri Lanka was ill-treated in International domain since President Rajapakse refused to follow the advices and instructions given by the international community, during the battle against Tamil Tigers. This is partly true. But beyond this, the government was not able to handle the delicate diplomatic issues about Sri Lanka in the international domain plus the leaders of the government were happily lost in political rhetoric. They did not worry about the factor called “International Community”. And, that is why the problems got deteriorated and the government was trapped in many troubles. ‘Way-out’ diplomatic policies and friends did not help President Rajapakse to get rid of this situation. That’s how they lost the support of many influential elements in the international community. No one can put each and every fault, in the account named ” War Against Terrorism”.
It is apparent that the government is eager to host the Commonwealth Games in Hambanthota as an international level image building programme about post-war Sri Lanka. (Regardless of large scale money deals connected to it) This is not the first image building campaign of that caliber. When they hosted IIFA – the Indian Film Festival last year, they came up with the same slogans about “image building” and “tourism”. But what was the outcome? IIFA ended up as another Tamasha which caused a huge loss to the country’s economy. There are many allegations about several dirty money deals linked to Cricket World Cup 2011 in which Sri Lanka took part as a co-host nation. No investigation has been made into these allegations so far. Therefore, we are not permitted by the history to forget this past about the “International Level Image Building Programmes” carried out by the government in recent times. On the other hand, there is a big question mark about the efficacy and productivity of those large scale development projects which took place in Hambanthota such as “Maagampura Harbour”. Therefore, it gives a clear-cut answer about the ‘innocence’ of such deals.
However, the common public must be aware of these developments. Because, at the end of the day, they will have to pay the price for everything from their wallets. In simple words, people are the victims of this jugglery; not the politicians.If the people are happy to be victimized in this manner, that is the most tragic part of the entire story.
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Photo courtesy www.facebook.com/battipeople
Over the last two days, torrential rainstorms in the Central and Eastern province have caused severe flooding, landslides and an overwhelming humanitarian crisis with 758,000 people affected island-wide (according to the latest update at 7:14AM today from the Disaster Mangement Centre [via JNW]) 809 houses have been fully damaged and 2948 houses have been partially damaged. There have been nine deaths; nine injuries and four people are still missing (last update Sunday evening.)
An article in the Daily Mirror details the extent of the crisis,
According to the Centre (Disaster Management) some 55,936 families belonging to 14,519 families have been displaced and had been housed at 138 camps that have been opened. Several Divisional Secretariat offices in the East were also reportedly under water while Badulla District Secretary Keerthi Disasnayake was also reportedly marooned as a result of a land slide which occurred along the Badulla-Mahinyangana Road.
The following areas in the country have been affected by the floods: Batticaloa, Polonnaruwa, Nuwara Eliya, Moneragala, Badulla, Kegalle and Kandy.
The Sri Lankan Army, Air Force and Navy have deployed teams for immediate rescue and relief operations. The latest update by Daily Mirror reveals that the Air Force has rescued 22 people that were stranded in the Thoppigala area and 1500 SLA troops have been deployed in the east to assist with rescue operations:
An SLAF MI-17 helicopter was also engaged in distributing dry rations and other needs in the Thoppigala area in Batticaloa that was severely affected by rains. The SLAF was using MI-17 and Bell 212 helicopters to assist the flood victims, he said. The Sri Lanka Army has set up four camps in Wellaveli, Maduru Oya, Dehiaththakandiya and Valaichchenai to assist flood victims while 1500 troops have being deployed to the east to assist the ongoing distribution of dry rations and provide medical assistance, Military spokesman Major General Ubaya Medawala said.
In Wellaveli 1000 persons, in Maduru Oya 25 families, in Dehiaththakandiya 17 families and in Valaichchenai 2000 persons were provided with medical assistance, clothes and dry rations by the army.
Update: The Air Force and Army have stepped up rescue and relief operations. As of 11:00 AM today, the Air Force delivered 2.5 tonnes of dry rations in Batticaloa.
Update at 4:40 PM (via Daily Mirror Mobile Alert): “Three more bodies of landslide victims from Gatambe found bringing total to seven. Bad weather destroyed 132,000 acres of paddy in the East and NCP.”
There has been no confirmation on the exact death toll as yet.
Update at 4:45PM: Seven people have been rescued by the Air Force in Rambakanoya, Ampara (via Ada Derana.) The Daily Mirror has published aerial photographs of terrain affected by the floods and photographs from an air rescue by the Air Force.
The Editors of Groundviews received the following images of the flooding and damages to roads in Batticaloa.
Courtesy of www.facebook.com/battipeople More images can be viewed on that page.
The Disaster Management Centre and the Department of Meteorology issued a rather late ‘early warning’ message last night on their website, which points to the issue of the effectiveness of early warning mechanisms in place and how information concerning public safety can be disseminated to the public immediately in order to minimise possible risks. It is also the responsibility of the Ministry of Disaster Management for Safer Communities and Sustainable Development to issue road travel warnings and to ensure that police departments and other institutions have the capacity to deal with emergencies. After the severe flooding in the Western Province that affected over 70,000 people last year, one would have hoped that the Ministry had set about planning a more effective early warning system and emergency response system. With over 750,000 people affected, it is quite clear that the Ministry needs to focus more on the methods of disaster management and public safety.
Similar Posts:]]>All elections are important and these will be no exception. It is worth reminding that we are still in a post-war situation and far from the post-conflict one we ought to be in. What this requires is the prioritization of peace, reconciliation and unity and the firm commitment to ensure that the causes of ethnic conflict are not reproduced and sustained. This means at least the rights of the IDPs as the litmus test for all else, a political settlement of the conflict and a reversal of the culture of impunity in respect of human rights along with facing up to the questions of whether there can be unity without reconciliation and reconciliation without accountability. This is not all. There are serious questions to be considered on the economic front with regard to employment and indebtedness – the real consequences of the fate of GSP Plus and the IMF loan – and most importantly in light of recent demonstrations, the ability of the system of education to meet the requirements of the economy. And given Angulana, what happened to Nipuna Ratnayake and the Bambalapitiya drowning, the overarching issues of the Rule of Law, the supremacy of Constitution and the intentional violation of the Seventeenth Amendment.
Constitutional reform, at least in terms of the abolition or reform of the executive presidency will be on the agenda, as a consequence not so much of the requirements of governance but the emerging imperatives of regime survival and stability. There is the danger that on this score, what is in store is the abolition of the form and title of the executive presidency with the transfer of its substantive powers to an “executive prime minister”.  The electoral system too, could be up for debate with the virtues of the ‘first-past –the post’ system and constituency MPs being eulogized to discredit proportional representation.
There is a crying need for a national debate on the future of the country and the issues on which the next presidential and general elections are to be fought. The challenges ahead are far too serious to treat these elections merely as opportunities to register electoral approval, appreciation, admiration and gratitude for the defeat of the LTTE. There has to be a tomorrow and a time when the war is truly behind us. We need a plan to move towards that time and in order to design one, as many of us as willing and able must be part of that process. An agenda for change and reform is critically needed and it will not come from the politicians who are trapped in fighting yesterday’s battles.
The island wide debate, discussion or conversation on change and reform is a vital and integral part of this. Where however, through or on what medium or channel or site can it be conducted?
The obvious answer is the mainstream print and electronic media. For a variety of reasons, very real and crucial constraints ranging from official displeasure, threat and sanction to self censorship, ideological disposition, market demands and problems of professionalism, the robust exchange of ideas called for will not happen here and not beyond the efforts of a persistent few, as required. Moreover, since it is an exchange of ideas – a discussion, debate or conversation- that is called for, many voices need to he heard. This is not about letters to the editor, about comment and observation alone but about participation and engagement with passion and conviction about the Sri Lanka of the future, we desire and deserve.
Citizens’ journalism and given its record as a forum for quality debate, Groundviews is ideally positioned to make a major contribution to this exercise in national rejuvenation and renaissance. Is it not possible in the lead up to the elections that citizens use Groundviews to canvass their ideas for constitutional reform, governance, human rights and the economy and whatever else they see as constituting essential elements of an agenda for change and reform? The exchange could, but need not be time bound. As in the nature of a conversation it should be ongoing and active.
This would be a convincing demonstration of the strength and value of citizens’ journalism and its substantial utility in empowerment for peace, governance and human rights – An enabling facility for a functioning democracy.
It was Velupillai Prabhakaran the late Tamil Tiger leader who once said the Sinhala people have only a short memory. Perhaps it is so and it seems quite in order at this elections, where the war against the Tamil Tigers with Prabhakaran projected as the icon of “terrorism” was turned into a glorifying victorious vote puller.
While the war was being waged with only State witnesses to the battle allowed to get on the dock, the Rajapaksa regime started screwing the opposition with provincial council elections, beginning with the bifurcated Eastern province in 2008 May. The going was good for the Rajapaksas, with the main opposition UNP stuck with a fear psychosis of loosing Sinhala votes, but unable to compete with the ruling UPFA headed by the Rajapaksas to be the owners of the Sinhala psyche. The JVP was also left in a dilemma, the Rajapaksas stealing their shares of the war and leaving them with no clear path to campaign at elections.
The ruling UPFA that began with a 55.3% and 56.4% vote popularity in Sabaragamuwa and NCP respectively when elections were held in August 2008 and the war was being hyped as a winning war, moved to 59.5% and 69.4% in Central and NWP (Wayamba) when elections were held in February 2009, after the military moved into Kilinochchi on January 02nd and the capture of Paranthan and Elephant pass. The decline of the UNP was evident without any clear idea as to how they should position themselves against the war and the JVP was drained out of their patriotism with 4.9% reduced to a meagre 2.1%.
Rajapaksas kept Uva and Southern Province elections till the last, on the premise that Uva and South would play as their bastion in elections. The early August 2009 Uva PC elections held in less than a month after the war was declared over and the LTTE accepted as decimated, left the main opposition UNP and the JVP flabbergasted. The Rajapaksas, projecting their family image through Sasheendra Rajapaksa as the would be Chief Minister, rode home with a stunning 74.6% and in Moneragala district where young Rajapaksa contested, the popular vote was unbelievably high as 81.3%, reminding one of the old Soviet day elections in Russia.
The UNP reeking with internal squabbles, defeats at every PC elections and with no idea as to how they should face the Rajapaksa steam roller, slumped to a pauperish 21%. Meanwhile the JVP, which avoided “talk the war” and took the Rajapaksas on high handed corruption and an economy that was going haywire, managed to improve, gaining 4.2% this time.
The indications were clear. Within one month and with all the hype of a glorious war victory that was wholly accrued with the Rajapaksa brothers leaving even the Army Commander Fonseka out, the Uva Sinhala majority paid their gratitude as asked for with a resounding 74% and the young Rajapaksa made Chief Minister. Yet with economic hardships snaking out of the ant hill, the JVP got credited with an improved per centage. The UNP that was neither here nor there, could not gain anything from any platform and thus declined further.
The Southern PC election was thus brought in to crown their glory, but 04 months and 20 days after the war was declared won, it wasn’t turning out that easy and that popular. That was too long a period for the Sinhala South to hold on to the memory of a war victory. Human societies perhaps can not live in the past. They have to move on. They would, or they probably would keep a margin for past achievements, if that pays enough for the future. What has the war victory provided for the Sinhala South ?
Despite a massive war victory exhibition held at the BMICH that was given prime time publicity by not only State media channels but by some private channels as well and the whole of the media still made to go hard and bang with glorifying the war victory, the people who live on the ground still has not received any “peace dividend”. Not even the peace in moving about, with the same high security barriers clamped every where.
Worst was, the election campaign in the South brought home for the first time an avalanche of security boulders that wasn’t there even during the war. With high profile ministers and other personalities including some UPFA candidates going round electoral districts, every kerb and corner of villages and towns were plastered with security personnel. Those who came to buy their grocery, the 3wheeler that went for refuelling, the youth who stayed at bus stands going or coming from school or afternoon classes were all treated as “possible” security threats and checked, when the President was on a special campaign trail in Sooriyaweva in Hambantota.
Previously projected Southern PC election scenario against the Results
All election data source – Election department website
I for one, did not take all that as factors that could play negative on the ruling UPFA, especially with all the State resources, power play, media blitzkriegs and the mega cabinet, all taking the South by almost force. Deducting a reasonable percentage for the economic fall, projections showed, the UPFA would not do as well as in Uva, but would still hover close to 70% in the province, starting with 65% in Galle, and improving through Matara with 70% and doing the best in Hambantota with 72% as it is after all the birth place of both the war heroes and the modern day public monarch. That was based on the assumption that Rajapaksa’s performance at his 2005 presidential elections at 63.3%, would improve with the war victory, though not to the extent of the most poor and ignorant district Moneragala.
Voting in the South nevertheless point in a different direction. With all the fire power used in Hambantota, with numerous projects earmarked as “development” of Hambantota, people had not been convinced enough to vote for the UPFA in Hambantota the best, even in the presence of President Rajapaksa, coming at the bottom of the popular list with only 66.9%. Galle did the best again with a 68.3% vote, while Matara came in between with 67.9%. The government could not come any where near their targeted 75 – 80%. The war glamour and its hope of a more promising future as projected by the Rajapaksa regime and its media have not been taken by the people as true or possible under this regime.
The vote gained by the JVP, considered the underdog or the “nonentity” with the war victory totally hijacked by the Rajapaksas, proved their campaign on economic issues, was what the people understood best. They have improved tremendously with 5.5% in Matara and over 11% in Hambantota, where they were bashed and bumped.
The failure of the Rajapaksa regime in delivering any substantial hope for the economic life of the people is evident in how it plays up over their war victory hype at this Southern elections. There is apparently a drop in consumer buying by about 20% which speaks of a reducing buying power in semi urbanised South, than in the peasant Moneragala. But would it remain outside rural life ?
Clearly the war frenzy can not be hyped beyond what it was hyped to. On the war front, the Rajapaksas can not show anything more bigger and more glorious than this defeat of the LTTE and the death of Prabhakaran. Four months and 3 weeks gone and with nothing else seen down the line for a fair living, the government is now being challenged on its economic performance.
The inability of the Rajapaksa regime to even plan on how they would get their money to spend on the estimated expenses, became quite evident before the close of elections, when the government had to announce they would only have a 04 month “vote on account” expenditure plan presented to parliament instead of the usual 2010 budget, without any indication as to how the revenue would be planned and budgeted. What ever the government’s argument is on such escapism and the next parliament that would have to be elected by April this year, the fact remains this government which argues it would continue with more elected power, is unable to put forward its development plan with a budget for 2010.
Can it then survive another few months with high security, threats on opposition voices and media hype on the war victory alone, to win another election? Within an economy that is fast crumbling and the people willing to forget the war to focus on their day to day living, the Rajapaksa strategy seems to be giving way to more opposition.
The brutal campaign against the JVP in Hambantota gave it a new life with 11% votes. Everywhere in this region, extreme repression has given way to more opposition and more stronger voices. It happened during the 30 year war when the LTTE grew with every repressive measure adopted by successive governments that had no answers for the conflict. It is happening in Afghanistan, in the N-E provinces in India and in places like Jammu & Kashmir, Chattisgarh and Lalgarh, in the absence of answers for the conflicts and core issues of their societies.
Here the Rajapaksa regime is also slipping into a similar relapse, after a short, freak popularity. Here the Rajapaksa regime is being rejected by the same people who came on the streets 04 months and 03 weeks ago to crown them as glorious victors. There could be only one other option for this regime now. Go for a quicker elections before it could be too late. One they could still manipulate, when the popularity is a waning 60% plus for now. Unfortunately for them, the fall seems far worse if delayed than Humpty’s fall, with no king’s soldiers any more to put them together.
Similar Posts:]]>At least one government department has been pro active and is now making use of SMS for communication with media. The Media Centre for National Security obtained an application to send out SMS to journalists from a four-digit number. They started on Dec 5th, as far as I know.
What I hope now is that the Met Department, Disaster Management Center and other central authorities follow suit and send out quick SMS messages to reporters during an impending or occurring natural disaster. The message could also guide reporters towards a detailed announcement on a website.
It could be a short line such as “New announcement posted by Disaster Management Center on website www.xyz.lk” and a detailed message posted in all three languages on this site. This is fast, detailed and saves officials from being stuck on phone lines talking to the media during a crisis.
Such postings are vital for news organizations to save time disseminating key information to their audiences as well as to be accurate and not convey badly-sourced information while doing so. Use of fax, email or telephone would be far less efficient, but could be used as secondary means.
More on why such a system would be important was posted here.
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Nearly three years have passed since the devastation of Boxing Day 2004. Those three years should have sufficed for grief to transform into resolve, for shock to become measured response and for altruism to become tangible benefit. It is impossible to quantify, despite the diverse and often varied reports available, how much has been done, and by whom. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile considering the societal impact that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), and the good and/or evil that has been precipitated by their presence.
The aftermath of the tsunami saw a global outpouring of shock and dollars. The amount of tourists and expatriates affected in the South Asian region saw the world unite in its reaction to one of the worst natural disasters in mankind’s history. South Asia, and specifically Sri Lanka was flooded with aid from various donors. Well meaning individuals sacrificed their beer money and larger organisations mobilised their vast resources – both human and financial – to assist the recovery process. Despite the swiftness of the disaster itself, the repair of damage caused in little over half an hour, has been sluggish. To say the least. The immediate cries for help from the entire region were almost too well received. A horde of (sometimes inappropriate) items found themselves into the country as aid. Money was being transferred feverishly to accounts belonging to individuals, companies and charity organisations. The Tsunami Evaluation Coalition (TEC) report under the patronage of Bill Clinton, suggests that Sri Lanka was over-aided in the allocations made to affected countries. Consequently, Sri Lanka should necessarily be the best and most efficiently reconstructed country.
The government stepped in – as they do – to take charge of the situation. The President immediately set up TAFREN (Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation), the Task For for Relief (TAFOR) and the Transitional Accommodation Project (TAP). All the catchy acronyms were succeeded by RADA (Reconstruction and Development Agency). By all accounts TAFREN was staffed by some of the sharper tools in the shed and actually came up with a workable plan to rebuild the coastline from Jaffna to Kalutara. RADA was also staffed by younger, qualified technocrats. Much money it seems, was spent in setting up these bodies but the tangible work carried out by them leaves room for improvement.
That improvement however, is unlikely to be seen. In researching this piece it was attempted to access the information available on the TAFREN and RADA websites. Much like the organisations themselves, the websites too have died a slow bureaucratic death having been strangled by a red tape. As such, information about their work either past or present is not available to the public. Both TAFREN and RADA reached the bill stage in parliament. Strangely though, neither were ever passed. It would seem that a national need of this nature would urge legislators to ensure that projects of this nature were provided for. However, the necessary approvals never came. Instead an act to establish the National Disaster Management Council was established as the was the Tsunami Act to streamline the documentation process for those who had lost their legal documents.
According to a report published at this time last year by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and its Development Partners, the estimated damage in terms of loss of human life stood at 35,322 with 21,441 people injured. The report estimates 100,000 houses destroyed. Furthermore, over half a million people were displaced while 150,000 persons lost their livelihoods. These are official figures. While human life cannot be monetarily replaced the houses and livelihoods were the immediate target for reconstruction. The initial expenditure estimate made in 2005 stood at US$ 2.2 billion to complete this rebuilding. The amounts pledged at the Donor Forum held in that same year amounted to US$ 3.3 billion with commitments of US$2.99. However, the government reported in December of 2006 that there remained a funding gap of US$ 252 million. The initial mathematics make this hard to stomach. With almost a billion dollars extra pledged to the country, we still manage to have a deficit. This of course without calculating the debt relief and trade benefits also granted to Sri Lanka to ease its financial burden at the time. This shortfall is attributed to the sharply increased cost of goods in the last two years coupled with the inability to accurately calculate operating costs in the tsunami affected areas. Much of these areas largely remain in war-torn parts of the country.
The report goes on to say that the total expenditure in relation to foreign commitment in December 2006 was 35%, while government loan expenditure performance was at 40%. Once again the report attributes this slow disbursement to the ‘need to balance legitimate demands for speedy reconstruction with the more time consuming processes to ensure quality work; bottlenecks created by lack of capacity; poor management and bureaucratic delays’. This admission by the GOSL itself is a sad reflection on the response to probably the one national issue that does not involve ethnicity and/or party lines. To acknowledge its failings is probably half a step in the right direction. To remedy them is yet another matter. Hopefully the report of 2007 will make for better reading.
The revisions to the buffer zones on the coastal belt led to a revision of the initial housing plans. This reportedly raised the requirement for housing from 98,525 to 114, 069. This remarkable increase is more than slightly due to the exploitative nature of the true Sri Lanka resurfacing after the initial trauma of the tsunami. Anecdotal evidence speaks of instances where members of some families received a house each. Cronyism and corruption in the handling of beneficiary lists have contributed vastly to this unconscionable rape of the system.
The GOSL report states that 61,019 houses which were either fully or partially damaged have been reconstructed while 47,995 are in progress under the owner driven and donor driven housing projects. These numbers too are from last year and more recent official figures are not readily available. One of the main problems is the perceived inadequacy of the funds provided by the GOSL for the owner driven housing schemes. Many families have found it difficult to reconstruct based on the amounts received. Whether this is due to their squandering of the capital or due to legitimate hardship and improper infrastructure is impossible to quantify due to the vastly divergent phenomena in the different districts. The district level progress also makes for interesting reading. The gap between required and completed/in progress houses is erratic. In Hambantota for instance, the celebrated hometown of His Excellency the President (and this maybe just a coincidence) the amount of houses reconstructed vastly exceeds the number of houses initially damaged. The overflow is less apparent but still existent in Galle, Matara and Kalutara, largely Sinhala areas which are relatively unaffected by the war and the traditional voter bases of many parliamentary kingpins. Similarly Batticaloa and Mullaitivu (which also is coincidentally the abode of another moustachioed madman) the provision to requirement ratio is 1:1 although Mullaitivu too, shows an excess.
The influx of aid organisations in the aftermath of the tsunami was unprecedented. The I/NGOs mushroomed both in Colombo and in the affected areas. Existing I/NGOs such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS), Sarvodaya and the United Nations (UN) enhanced their operations and made housing the primary focus of their longer term relief efforts. All I/NGOs do not have the same structure and accountability processes to their donors. As a result the system is ripe for corruption regardless of whether the corruption actually takes place. While it functioned optimally RADA was the unifying body which co-ordinated the reconstruction efforts. However, with it being de facto inoperative, the I/NGOs are left with little guidance and even less places to turn to if things go horribly wrong.
It is fair to say that the common perception of I/NGOs and their officers is not complimentary. Whether this perception is deserved is a different matter altogether. The GOSL never had the resources to conduct the reconstruction effort independently. Foreign aid had to be mobilised and naturally foreign donors would like to know what is happening with their money. The only feasible means of meeting those two these two ends would be to channel the funds through I/NGOs accountable to a larger governing body or state. That is the matchbox version of I/NGOs have become necessary. However, whether it is also necessary to spend donor funds on housing their staff in 5 star hotels is another matter altogether.
No doubt the system is replete with bugs. However, to use an everyday office analogy – is it prudent to not use your computer because it crashes occasionally? The UN – Habitat report for September 2007 confirms completion of 75% of the housing requirement. The figures are slightly at divergence with the GOSL reports cited earlier but not by much. However, even those figures seem slightly incredible as the fluctuations between occupied and unoccupied houses change monthly. The report mentions an excess of 4,531 houses – 75% of which is in Hambantota. A shortfall of 11, 702 houses exists overall mostly in Colombo, Trincomalee and Jaffna. The report also states that over 12,000 families are in limbo. It can only be inferred that houses are not permanently occupied or that more than one house is being occupied by one family. Even so, if I/NGOs are aware of this obvious deviousness of the beneficiaries they are powerless to make any sanctions without the same being legally enforceable via the state. Especially if the said houses have gone to the benefit of henchmen. This though, is a mere speculation.
I/NGOs lament that the owner driven schemes are also faulty, with several beneficiaries claiming the money due to them and squandering it, thereby giving the impression – deliberately or unwittingly – that the I/NGOs are at fault for not completing the housing requirements as promised. Instances like these are cannon fodder for the opponents of I/NGOs. Instantly labelled as ‘peaceniks’ the I/NGOs have taken their fair share of flak for ‘helping’ the Tigers. From a different point of view however, I/NGOs by their very definition are non-aligned, and according to most of their charters are bound to provide assistance to whomsoever it is needed. Both sides, namely the GOSL and the LTTE, are aggrieved by this. The desire to claim the greater piece of the I/NGO was certainly exacerbated by the scuttling of the P-TOMS. It was widely believed that the P-TOMS was the only chance of some togetherness brought out via adversity. That too die a natural political death.
It is no secret that I/NGO staff travel in petrol guzzling jeeps, occupy exhorbitant office spaces and are generally spendthrift. Or at least this is the image that sections of the media would portray. Due to the lack of first hand evidence either way it is difficult to opine as to which version is most accurate. Nevertheless, it is also a fact that far more money than is allegedly wasted by these I/NGOs, is actually spent on the projects for which the monies are donated. Some I/NGOs also have restrictions on the disbursements of funds. If a project becomes unfeasible, the money allocated to the project is frozen and cannot be disbursed in any other way. This is a fine safeguard, but in a country such as Sri Lanka where the needs of the populace are fluid, it could operate as a counter productive safeguard. Be that as it may the chances of siphoning off money is difficult if not remote.
Litigation with regards to land already divested to the I/NGOs by the government is another huge problem. Large projects have shuddered to a halt in the face of enjoining orders and injunctions granted ex parte by Court. Title to land and various possessory problems have left a large swathe of the affected areas unsheltered. Who grants land? Why don’t they grant it properly?
The main area of concern however, is the spiralling construction costs. Contractors are making the proverbial killing while some I/NGOs are also reportedly being paid huge kick backs for allocating projects to specific contractors. There is a sore lack of checks and balances to ensure the discontinuance of these age old practices, thus necessarily equating a humanitarian response effort to an ordinary third world industry. While small scale inexperienced NGOs may not be able to prevent corruption of this nature, the more established, experienced actors must necessarily put in place a system which makes the disbursement of funds more transparent. There is no doubt whatsoever that pockets are being lined due to the gullibility or lack of circumspection on the part of the I/NGOs. Fast recruitment and inappropriate recruitment criteria, have meant that undesirables have embedded themselves in authoritative positions in most of these organisations. The fallout is obvious. The TEC report mentioned above condemns the ad-hoc allocation of funds and states that local NGOs may not have been the best vehicles for funds to be channelled through.
Having received these funds and put themselves in almost a fiduciary position to those affected by the tsunami, the lack of proactivity on the part of I/NGOs is apparent. Whether they like it or not, their assumption of responsibility for donor money has meant that the I/NGOs have a ‘duty of care’ toward their beneficiaries. Are they doing enough to discharge it? It is easy, and sometimes inevitable, to blame the renewed war efforts for the stopping of relief operations. The indiscriminate shelling has also further destroyed houses that were partially or fully constructed, thereby playing havoc with the numbers of houses accounted for in various reports. The TEC also abhors the lack of financial reporting by I/NGOs. It is virtually impossible, the report says, to trace back what proportion of a pledge has ultimately found its way to the ultimate beneficiary. In a financial environment where billions of VAT rupees go missing in a regulated government departments, it boggles the mind to imagine the possibilities in an unregulated non-governmental sphere.
As it stands, the people in the East – which is the area mainly affected – have a shortfall in housing, they have an uneasy relationship with the sea which is a source of life, and not too long ago a source of untold misery. In addition they live in constant apprehension of shelling by either side which may destroy their newly constructed home. The plight of these people does not seem to fuel the altruism of the GOSL or I/NGOs. The impossibility of actually carrying out any sort of work is hampered by the obvious need for survival in a war zone. I/NGOs are not generous to the point of self sacrifice and cannot be expected to work in their hard hats among falling mortars. Life is tough.
Tragedy after tragedy strikes the non-combatants that must wonder what plethora of sins they have committed in a past life. I/NGOs parade themselves as doers of good. While it must be admitted that some good has come of their existence, it also needs to be acknowledged that there is enormous room for improvement. GOSL also needs to look at humanitarian assistance as something more than a vote buying tool. After all they are the only ones with any sort of direct democratic accountability towards the electorate. And while people tend to forget…the tsunami affected are part of electorate too.
Similar Posts:]]>This article written for Montage, published by Counterpoint. To get in touch with or to subscribe to Montage, please email montagesrilanka [at] gmail.com
The coverage by the media of yesterday’s earthquake near Indonesia might be of interest to some readers, and as the editor of JNW, Sri Lanka’s first SMS news agency, I thought of penning my personal opinion and raising some issues that could be discussed further.
My biggest concern at the moment, as a journalist, is getting access to the initial tip off from authorities on an impending disaster and the subsequent official news messages in a timely manner so that they can be passed on to the public as fast as possible.
There isn’t an email or SMS alert system in place, that I know of, that could easily meet this need. I know of the Met Dept website (http://www.meteo.slt.lk/Tswarn.html) which goes some way towards improving access to information, but I wouldn’t know when its updated.
An SMS or email by the Met Dept or Disaster Management Centre would go a long way towards helping the media pass on the message faster and more efficiently to the public saving valuable minutes in news delivery.
Yesterday, telephone access to the Met Dept and Disaster Mgt Centre was available and officials were available to tell us what was going, though it wasn’t always easy to phone in to these centres.
On the actual coverage by JNW via SMS, we thought it went pretty smoothly and SMS news delivery, which is a new and evolving format for breaking news, seems to be a very effective means of news delivery at the initial stages of a disaster warning.
I didn’t notice SMS congestion on any network during the first 2 hours. Though there was SMS congestion on one network in Colombo after those first 2 hours, but it cleared in under an hour.
In my opinion SMS news alerts are one of a number of methods of disseminating breaking news and one of several methods that authorities can use to inform the public. If not to reach 100,000 SMS subscribers, then at least 30,000 subscribers.
This number can include all media institutions reporters and local government officials, relief officials etc who want to be on the list (looking at delivery times of under 5-10 minutes).
From what I have gathered about SMS delivery, operators can increase capacity to deliver messages faster and to more people if they invest more, but current capacity/delivery times may be what I mentioned above.
SMS has now become one layer of disaster news dissemination which gets built on very quickly by TV, radio and web media leading to millions of people being made aware in minutes.
I am pretty sure that SMS alerts make news dissemination by TV, Radio and the web so much more faster, effective and efficient increasing reaction times of people involved in the process.
(Feedback from readers who received SMS news would be most welcome)
If breaking news by SMS came from the Met Dept or the Disaster Management Centre itself everyone’s reaction times would be so much more faster, which is what someone needs to seriously look at.
I heard that at least one radio station was talking about no threat after the Disaster Management Centre had warned the public on the coast to evacuate to safe areas, so it wasn’t a smooth coverage by any means.
I will be interested to know if Dialog experienced news delivery delays yesterday for their Reuters alerts but we delivered fine for our list of subscribers on all the networks.
Similar Posts:]]>Source: Reuters
COLOMBO, Sept 12 (Reuters) – Sri Lanka issued a tsunami alert on Wednesday for its north, south and eastern districts following a major earthquake in Indonesia, the National Disaster Management Centre said.
“We have issued a warning for the south, north and east after the quake,” Keerthi Ekanayake, an official at the centre told Reuters. Sri Lanka was battered by the 2004 tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean rim.
- Reuters story ends -
Update #1 (7.00pm): Read the alerts issued on JNW and also visit their site for updates.
Update #2 (7.15pm): Reuters news alert SMS thru Dialog says “Small tsunami hit Indonesia’s Padang, Sri Lanka expects small tsunami by 7.30 – Disaster Management Centre”
Update #3: (7.34pm): Reuters news alert SMS thru Dialog says “Disaster management center lifts tsunami warning, says no effect; US Geological Survey increase earthquake magnitude to 8.2″ Also see Reuters web update here.
Similar Posts:- SMS news alerts during emergencies – The experience of JNW and the tsunami warning of 13th September 2007
- On Flooding and Disaster Management
- New censorship of SMS news in Sri Lanka
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In the wake of numerous interpretations and reinterpretation of the present political situation as a result of the recent crossover by the political elites, the authors of this article attempt to discuss how citizens perceive the crossover. The results of the latest poll, that was conducted by Social Indicator – Centre for Policy Alternatives are used to discuss the public views in this article. This survey was conducted amongst 1300 individuals residing in 17 districts using the interview technique. It should be noted that this survey was conducted Islandwide with the exception of the North & East and therefore does not capture the opinion of the Sri Lankan Tamil community.
Who’s hurt the most: UNPers or JVPers
Despite the justifying rationales put forward by the MPs who have crossed over, the present political accusations and counter accusations indicate that the crossover has hurt many parties who lost their MPs as well as who lost their political positions. If we were to look at the UNP itself, it lost a group of heavy weights including its deputy leader as a result of the recent crossover. Also it led the opposition leader Mr. Wickramasinghe to a new battle in order to retain the opposition leadership from the JVP; a party that has shown a remarkable capacity in mobilizing the masses against any ruling party. The present government too, is faced with issues resulting from the crossover. President Rajapakse’s main electoral ally, the JVP, permanently walked into the opposition while vowing to topple the Government, accusing the government of going against the electoral mandate, it received in November 2005. Not only that, but this parliamentarian exodus triggered a battle between the president and the two ministers, Mr. Mangala Samaraweera and Mr. Sripathi Suriarachchi, who have done tremendous work in bringing President Mahinda Rajapakse into office. On one hand the crossovers shook the status quo of the government while on the other hand it annulled the memorandum of understanding signed between the SLFP and the UNP even before its ink dried up. In addition, this disappointed the groups who were optimistic and overjoyed about the rare opportunity of a southern consensus.
The disapproval of the crossover is highest amongst the JVP loyalists – 68% disapprove while 15% approve of it. Perhaps this could be a reflection of the feeling of humiliation that they are undergoing after the SLFP sidelined them ignoring the crucial role they performed at the elections. Amongst the UNPers, only 48% disapprove of its own party members crossing to the SLFP while 34% of them could not decide whether to approve or disapprove of it. However, 18% of the UNPers approve the crossover. While on one hand this reflects the frustration of the UNPers with their leadership on the party reforms, on the other hand this is a clear indication of the confused status of the UNPers in the aftermath of losing a group of the most senior members of the party. Interestingly, this survey does not indicate that the SLFPers are over-jubilant about the newly captured elephant herd. This is apparent as only 50% of them approve of the crossover while 30% disapprove.
Crossover for Democracy or Vise Versa:
In the present electoral system, more primacy has been given to the parties than to the MPs. When selecting candidates for an election, most members are at the mercy of the party leaders. Even after being elected to the parliament, MPs will have to support the party decision rather than acting on their conscience. In this context, MPs do not have much option other than crossing over to another party that allows them to voice the concerns of their communities or adhere to one’s conscience. Therefore, MPs crossing over to another party can be considered as an expression of democracy that one may want to practice. This was not the first time where MPs crossed over to another party in the parliament and neither, we suppose, the last time. However, when analyzing the history of crossing over, usually it has been the opposition MPs who crossover to the ruling party instead of otherwise. Some get cabinet portfolios with other privileges while others allegedly receive huge sums of money. Therefore, it is very difficult to decide whether it is principle or perks that matter when deciding to crossover.
It is interesting see on what grounds people have approved or disapproved of the recent MP drain from the opposition to the ruling party. Amongst the people who approve of the recent crossover, 50% think that the move strengthens the Government and the President while 24% think that it would help the Government’s present war with the LTTE. Only 6% approve of the crossover on the basis that it is an expression of democracy. Interestingly, more SLFP loyalists than UNP loyalists approve of the recent crossover as it strengthens the Government and the president. Nevertheless, even for UNPers who support the crossover, the main reason for their approval is that it strengthens the Government and the president.
Amongst the people who disapprove of the recent crossover, 46% disapprove on the basis that it adds a bigger burden to the public due to the the increased number of ministerial posts. However, 9% disapprove on the basis that it damages democracy while 7% and 6% reject the crossover as it goes against the ‘Mahinda Chinthanaya’ and as it will lead to the abrogation of the SLFP- UNP MOU, respectively. It is interesting to see the varying reasons on which different party loyalists disapprove of the recent crossover. The primary reason for the SLFP and UNP loyalists to disapprove of the crossover is the fact that this will become a bigger burden for the already suffering Sri Lankans. However, JVP loyalists who disapprove of the crossover seem to have two main arguments. They think this is a clear violation of the ‘Mahinda Chinthanaya’ that they successfully advocated during the presidential elections and that the large number of present ministerial posts would (will?) increase the burden on the citizens. 29% of JVPers see the recent crossover as against the ‘Mahinda Chinthanaya’, while only 9% of SLFPers think that way.
Hence, when looking at the rationales for approvals and disapprovals, it seems that it is based on three arguments, namely forming a national government, waste of public funds and betraying the mandate received for the ‘Mahinda Chinthanaya’. According to Mr. Karu Jayasuriya, his motive of crossing over was the dire need to join the two main parties in the South, in order to solve the ethnic conflict and establish good governance. When analyzing the (often vague) interviews of President Rajapakse in the wake of the crossover, it seems that both the President and Mr. Jayasuriya are trying to voice that they have the same objectives. If it is the case we do not think anyone would disagree with such a noble objective. Nevertheless, unfortunately what we see in the government today does not reflect the stated objectives.
If the recent cross over means to assist the Government in solving the protracted ethnic conflict, then the Government must be keen on a negotiated settlement on the basis of a federal structure, because, the heavy weights of the reformists who crossed over were the individuals who led the UNP Government’s peace process that insisted on a solution within a federal united Sri Lanka. However, having had their cabinet portfolios, they have not yet shown any active engagement in such activities. Therefore, Minister Thissa Vitharana has to be engaged in a solo battle at the APRC, in bringing forward a constitutional transformation. Given the SLFP’s negative stand on the CFA and the passive commitment to constitutional arrangement, it is not clear what the role of UNP reformist is in transforming SLFPers to perceive for the federal solution that has been agreed in the Oslo Communique in 2003.
Given the wastage of public funds in maintaining the large number of ministries, which was the primary result of the crossover and the prevailing impunity that has high potential to worsen in months to come, do not show a rosy picture on good governance that Mr. Rajapakse and Mr. Jayasuriya are dreaming about. Therefore, the rationales given as the basis for the crossover are difficult for people to stomach.
However, it is undeniable that this recent crossover has made President Rajapakse stronger – a personage whose popularity is anyway on the boom in the context of the recent military victory in the East. Therefore, we believe President Rajapakse enjoys a stronger political position, empowering him to make drastic political decisions in order to solve the country’s ethnic conflict even if he is unable to clean the office of corrupt officials and politicians.
Therefore, in next few months public can witness the real impact of the cross over on the Sri Lankan society and how distance the reality from the claimed motives of the UNP reformists.
Authors:
Pradeep Peiris and Rangani Ranasinghe are researchers of the Social Indicator, the survey research unit of the Centre for Policy Alternatives.
I my column for Ravaya & Groundviews this week I explore the killing of a citizen, a priest, in Jaffna. The manner in which it which it was reported in the Sinhala media, and the occurrence of similar killings elsewhere in the country, I argue is indicative of the dire peril we are facing with regard to human rights and human dignity in Sri Lanka.
Read the full article here - The Death of a Priest
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