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Personal agenda of politicians submerge the vision of the Chintana

Two incidents which have taken place recently have had their impact on the people in this country , one is the Uva Provincial Council has been dissolved, the other is the exquisite new Arcade at the Independence Square.

In fact both, in a sense, show the disparity in the reality that exists in this so-called Paradise island of ours.
On the one hand the election will be held in one of the most marginalised provinces in Sri Lanka where people in the interior of these provinces scarcely have the money to have a square meal.

Many of their houses are wattle and daub and little children run around because the parents don’t have the wherewithal to send them to pre-schools or perhaps preschools do not exist in these areas!

I met a teenager who was seeking a labourer’s job and when I asked him why he was not in school he said “I have to wear longs to go to school because I was promoted to Grade Nine and my mother does not have the money to give me to have the trousers made, she also will not have the money to give me for bus fare.”
I persisted further in inquiring why he does not enter one of the vocational Colleges in Moneragala or Badulla and his answer was the same.
It appears that all politicians and bureaucrats in governance whether in the Provincial Council, in the jumbo Cabinet or senior state officials are unaware or blissfully ignore the disparity that exists with regard to incomes.

"Perhaps what we really need is an economic plan, at least for a period of five years where the priorities of development are set out, budgets are allocated, the jumbo Cabinet reduced to a manageable and credible number and it would be the responsibility of each particular minister to see that the goals in the plan are achieved."

Their incomes are governed often by the positions they hold in the Cabinet or in the Government sector and the various perks and incentives they get.  They seem to be blinded by their own importance to see the very realities that exist in the constituencies they represent or in the ministries they serve.
Perhaps they are awed by the infrastructural development, the expressways and the highways and the beautification of Colombo city with Arcades within walking distance of each other, arcades perhaps where they can purchase designer items and their children can spend their leisure time.

We seem to be as a country catering only for the leisure and pleasure industry but not far from these many have no monies to give their children the numerous goodies they see on the electronic media or to have three square meals with all the nutritions that nutritionists preach about .
Development must spread out from the cities if it has to have any meaningful impact on bettering the lives of the people.
We see on TV so many protests and demonstrations of people asking for the very basic amenities of pure drinking water, proper roads and bridges.
Surely a fraction of the millions spent on beautifying Colombo could have been spent on attending to the needs of the people as promised by the politicians both in the centre and the provinces, such as the construction of a bridge or the repair of a culvert.

Politicians and their families may use the beautiful constructed walkways we see on the electronic media but perhaps they should turn the searchlight inwards and ask themselves whether that is what they promised in their political mandates to the people who voted them in.
This searchlight also should be used by those who crossed over to the Government from Opposition ranks thereby giving the much needed two third majority to the government. Since life is so very transient they should ask themselves how true they have been to themselves and the citizens who voted for them from a different political parties.

"Recently it was mentioned that youth expatriates are increasing in number as many of the young, especially those with labour skills are seeking greener and safer pastures."

Really what we need now is not bloated data figures from Departments and institutions which have lost their independence and so very often manipulate what they present to collaborate with the vision of development.

We need politicians who will pursue the dream enunciated by principals of good governance, transparency and accountability. None of which seems prevailing now.
It is strange how priorities have changed so much that even the motorcycles bought for traffic police cost millions of rupees whereas the fishermen’s subsidies are yet to be met, anomalies in the State sector pensioners have not yet been sorted out neither have the anomalies in various salary structures been resolved.
The Central Bank directions regarding interest rates have drastically reduced the interest on fixed deposits and this has had a very adverse impact on the lives of many senior citizens who lived on the interest they received.

Recently it was mentioned that youth expatriates are increasing in number as many of the young, especially those with labour skills are seeking greener and safer pastures.

Perhaps what we really need is an economic plan, at least for a period of five years where the priorities of development are set out, budgets are allocated, the jumbo Cabinet reduced to a manageable and credible number and it would be the responsibility of each particular minister to see that the goals in the plan are achieved.
The Mahinda Chintana was acclaimed with so much enthusiasm and joy by the marginalised and those in middle income groups but somehow it appears that someway along the line it lost its vitality to achieve what it promised, instead it became an avenue of seeking excuses for the failure of achievement and the promises of accountability, responsibility and transparency of governance have been forgotten. The Chintana has been submerged amidst the personal agendas of politicians.