Was the previous parliament a failure?

7 July 2015 04:40 am Views - 2318

As a last resort, let us unitedly resolve the complex problems we are faced with



Parliament consists of elected representatives who have been given a mandate by the people to perform certain important functions.  These functions can be broadly classified as representation,  lawmaking and oversight in a democracy. The question that arises is about the performance of the previous set of parliamentarians. The citizens,   no doubt will agree that our parliamentarians failed to meet the desired standards as expected by the voters.   The concerns of the people had not been adequately represented or addressed by them in parliament. 
 

"As in the case of former CJ,   some double-tongued politicians too openly apologized to the people for the serious mistake they did by voting in favour of the 18th Amendment.  However,   some of them have already changed their allegiance"

Parliament was under severe pressure during the thirty-year armed conflict and it did not assert its responsibility as the people’s representatives by playing its key supervisory function as the overseer of the executive even after the conflict ended.  Hence parliament became a mere rubber stamp in the governing process without representing the interests and opinions of the citizens.

 Unlike in other third-world countries,   parliamentarians in Sri Lanka have been provided with the necessary support and facilities described below to enable them to perform their parliamentary duties efficiently and effectively at an enormous cost to the people:

• Necessary staff to provide support/assistance in all the areas 
• A comprehensive,  well equipped library in parliament 
• Fully equipped research and information service with a dedicated staff 
• All the office facilities with the necessary secretarial and research support 
• A dedicated office for the Main Opposition and other parties 
• Salaries,  allowances together with perks and benefits
• Restaurants where even guests could be entertained at subsidized rates 
• Separate rooms/offices for Ministers  An attractive insurance cover
• A handsome pension scheme
• Parliamentary privileges by an act of Parliament
• Duty free permits

It appeared that our representatives were bent only on making money and winning elections. “Corruption in the state sector has eaten into the core of the social fabric of our society. Decadence in financial control and the deleterious effect of it on the economy are mainly due to the abdication of the powers of parliament, in particular the arrogation of legislative powers of parliament by the executive and the bureaucrats.  Overall,   there was and there is no political will to establish and implement a system of accountability and transparency.  As a result,   corruption has spread from the public to the private sector too by eliminating all democratic values and democratic ethos,” said Minster Wijedasa Rajapakshe as a member of the then opposition.

We must never forget the fact that it was the former president who gave the political leadership to win the war. He thereafter failed to lead the country towards rapid economic growth,   industrialization,  poverty alleviation,  national unity,  ethnic harmony,  equitable distribution of wealth and resources, steps to democratise,   depoliticise and the establishment of good governance to ensure civic rights,   minority rights,   political rights,  media freedom, and the right to information.

This has become necessary because good governance means: “The transparent and accountable management of the country’s wealth and resources for a balanced and sustainable economic and social development.” This was seriously lacking in our country during the former regime.

The incumbent President took the necessary steps to enact the 19th Amendment as a pre-requisite for good governance and the rule of law after the Rajapaksa regime had reversed good governance and the rule of law through the 18th Amendment.

I firmly believe that the new parliament must devote its time to understand the implications of making and changing laws in the interest of the country and for the benefit of the people. The promises made at the January 8 presidential elections should be fulfilled.  Sri Lankans should be happy that the President will continue even after the next parliamentary elections as head of state,  head of government,   commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the defence minister. The President has assured he would head the environmental ministry too,   which is a crucial decision for the benefit of future generations.  After the upcoming elections,  parliamentarians will necessarily be compelled to contribute towards sustainable economic growth,    poverty alleviation and the improvement of the quality of life of the masses.  

It appears that people have lost faith in the system of governance and the judiciary   owing to scandalous crossovers and with former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva tendering his unreserved apology for the numerous omissions and commissions during his tenure in office. His judgements brought immense pressure on the system by making a total mess of representative governance in an elected parliament.  I must also remind readers that former Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera was thrown out by CJ Silva while the same Supreme Court reversed the decision under a different CJ and re-appointed Jayasundera as the Treasury Secretary. We also have a Supreme Court judge whom the BASL demanded should resign without disgracing the legal profession. I would leave it to the readers to imagine how difficult it could be to undo these matters unless we elect the right type of representatives in our next parliament.

We must not forget that there had been reports of several VAT scams and other frauds that had taken place in the Department of Inland Revenue. The VAT scam alone as I recall had gone on for nearly a decade.  Our rulers kept tight-lipped continuously.  The government lost billions of rupees in the controversial hedging deals.  Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera accused the former regime stating that corruption became a social norm and a menace which had spread to every sector because of state patronage and cited examples of importing low-quality crude oil,  medicine,   fertilizer, etc.
 The President rightly enlightened the country that one of the main causes for increased corruption is that the electoral system and the conduct of politicians has become a pustule to the people. At a rally in Colombo, he assured the country that his party would therefore support the 20th Amendment.   It was approved at a special Cabinet meeting convened by the President and this particular cabinet meeting was attended by the Commissioner of Elections as well.
The country should not forget the fact that having received the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers,  it failed to receive the two-thirds majority,   when in fact the SLFP had the required number of votes in parliament.  We must also never forget the fact that the 18th Amendment and the 19th Amendment were passed in the same Parliament.  The SLFP which voted in favour of the 18th Amendment failed to extend support to the 20th Amendment and paved the way for the sudden dissolution of parliament. 

As in the case of former CJ,   some double-tongued politicians too openly apologized to the people for the serious mistake they did by voting in favour of the 18th Amendment.  However,   some of them have already changed their allegiance because they do not in fact want good governance.  They had never wanted to consider constitutional amendments as a method of conflict resolution,  if it did not suit their own agenda.

The country and the citizen must always be mindful about the total expenditure to maintain an over-sized parliament,   a large cabinet unlike in other democracies (the then biggest Cabinet in the world) and a provincial council system.  We have 225 parliamentarians,   427 provincial councillors and 4,486 local councillors. 

 We need to remember that the salaries,   allowances and other perks and benefits are paid to these elected representatives with the people’s money. The voters expect them to do a good job and attain sustainable growth,   and economic development.   A country like Sri Lanka cannot afford more parliamentarians because a large chunk of these monies is collected by way of taxes from our day to day essential commodities causing unnecessary burden to the poor,  when in fact other countries earn their tax revenue from the wealthy. It is indeed a sin that the people are at the receiving end while politicians enjoy themselves.

Transparency International Sri Lanka in its latest report “ELECTORAL INTEGRITY” has mentioned,  I quote, “Public resources are built and maintained through taxes collected mainly from the public,  foreign sources of financial aid, and expatriate remittances.  Such collected public money is strictly expected to be used for the good and interest of the public without exceptions.”

It is no doubt interesting to quote the provision enshrined in the Constitution, Article 28 (d) which states that, “It is the duty of every person in Sri Lanka to preserve and protect public property to combat misuse and waste of public property.” This article casts a general duty on all of us to protect public property and in my view this does not seem to be legally enforceable because based on my personal experience such people are not legally protected.  In my capacity as the then Director (Administration) in Parliament,   I was dealt with and,  however,   escaped unhurt thanks to the then Deputy Speaker Gitanjana Gunawardena (whom I gratefully remember),  who stood by me and protected me,  as I had done no fault. 

Corruption imposes massive costs on ordinary citizens.  It affects stability and encourages wasteful and ineffective government expenditures causing obstructions to economic growth and development.  It is a pity that the majority of Sri Lankans do not seem to understand why they should totally refuse corrupt,  fraudulent politicians/bureaucrats who seek bribes,  commissions,  or kickbacks.  

On a proposal made by me some years ago,   the Speaker (Chamal Rajapaksa) in the previous parliament directed that the Annual Reports which were printed at an exorbitant cost should be in future given to the MPs in a CD.  Most MPs do not even bother to read the reports to make a useful contribution when they speak in parliament.  There are vast improvements needed such as establishing an electronic parliament and these could eventually contribute to save tons of paper annually, which cost billions of rupees, while increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the members. This is imperative now that we are ready to take the country forward in a new direction.

 I must add that the electronic voting system was installed in parliament without even amending the Standing Orders and this had cost the Treasury millions of rupees over a decade ago.  It is sad the electronic voting system in our parliament has not been used at all until now.  This is a glaring example of how the Sri Lankan government bust up huge sums of money under the guise of serving the people and increasing efficiency.  

In Korea,  when they started a similar project to re-invent their chamber as a digital chamber,  they produced results I quote, “After the completion of the digital chamber,  then a great deal of legislative process has been digitalised,  including proposing and deliberating bills,  making decisions through electronic ballots,  and delivering them to the government,  which had brought some positive effects of curbing costs and time by simplifying and removing papers from the process.  Moreover,   law makers are able to search real-time information on various bills as they sit through the meetings and also effectively question Cabinet Ministers and discuss bills,  or make five-minute speeches to citizens through parliament’s website”.

In our parliament too we must ensure that we elect MPs who are computer savvy without electing the type of people whom we had sent to the previous parliament.  They should be knowledgeable,   educated and competent people,  with honesty,  integrity and  dedication  with a vision to take the country forward.  They should no doubt be able to perform the key functions of providing oversight of the government policies,   administration and accountability on behalf of the people.

According to the mandate given by the people MPs are required to represent the people. The MPs in the previous parliament have not been successful in articulating the concerns of the general public with regard to numerous hot topics.The allegation is that all what they did was to look after themselves and nothing else.  The Executive Presidential system too was another reason how the parliament and the parliamentarians became devalued,   weak,   ineffective,   and less representative. We have national list and elected MPs who have not spoken a word in parliament. Most of them do not attend committee meetings and the House is adjourned for want of a quorum.  They do not know the Standing Orders and do not respect parliamentary practices and procedures. 

 In a first-of-a-kind drama a group of MPs spent the night demanding that the Director General should not have asked the former President to appear before the CIABOC and shouted that the fast would continue until the summons were withdrawn. The MPs shouted     slogans,which should not have been tolerated.  Their behaviour was so demeaning the Speaker had to draw their attention that there were schoolchildren in the galleries.