If things were a bit slow in the political world before the Sinhala and Tamil New year, a series of events that happened at a dizzying pace right after the New Year galvanized political figures representing every hue to point fingers at each other. The blame game began in earnest after the Meethotamulla tragedy, which grabbed the headlines for nearly two weeks.
It was undoubtedly one of the biggest tragedies that Sri Lanka experienced in peacetime apart from the Indian Ocean Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 (technically, this happened when there was a ceasefire in effect). While the two death tolls cannot be compared, there was a certain sense of déjà vu in that. We were essentially not prepared for the two disasters despite having some knowledge of what could happen.
Former President and Kurunegala District MP Mahinda Rajapaksa was naturally one of the first to criticize the Government over the Meethotamulla tragedy. He berated the Government for not following up on his Government’s plan to use the clinker quarry craters of Puttalam for storing garbage. This drew heavy flak from the Government side, with the question as to why he could not do it during his tenure. The former President responded that he could not go ahead with the garbage disposal issue as he concentrated more on the war. However, many commentators have since pointed out that he went ahead with many less important projects in spite of the war.
In fact, it was pointed out that dumping garbage in Meethotamulla actually commenced during his tenure in 2009 after the closure of the Bloemendhal Road garbage dump. This Government too continued the practice. Experts had already warned that the garbage dump could give way due to simple laws of physics coming into play, but these warnings were ignored. Just last month, a similar garbage dump in Ethiopia gave way, killing a number of people. At least this incident should have propelled the authorities to take action on Meethotamulla.
It is an undeniable fact that many politicians profited from the goings-on at Meethotamulla. Most houses around the garbage dump were unauthorized constructions undertaken with political patronage. Many politicians had also hired tippers and trucks for garbage transport, from which they apparently earned handsomely.
The time has come now to end the political bickering over the matter. Meethotamulla should be cleaned up and a new method should be found for garbage disposal. We do not have to look far – several local bodies, including an award-winning initiative in Balangoda, already turn trash into compost or other useful articles. Some countries already import garbage from nearby countries to power their waste-to-electricity facilities. We can learn from those experiences. In the meantime, the President has declared garbage disposal as an essential service. This also means that no one can disrupt the disposal of garbage, as we witnessed in several areas.
Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka too weighed in, saying no politician should be allowed to make use of the tragedy to score political goals. The Government, which initially came in for criticism due to what many said was a slow response, sprang into action. Several houses had already been distributed and compensation arrangements were fast-tracked. A group of Japanese experts have surveyed the site and already produced a preliminary report in addition to reports by the National Building Research Organization (NBRO). However, there is a lot more to be done in terms of responding to the tragedy as well as finding a solution to the garbage problem.
Forthcoming May Day celebrations
Meethotamulla is likely to be a hot topic at the forthcoming May Day, although it is not a workers’ problem per se. This is because the May Day has been highly politicized in this country, veering away from its focus on the working class. All parties consider it as a Mid-year occasion to show their might and woo the electorate. This year looks rather interesting due to the combination of venues selected by and for the various parties.
The biggest headache is faced by the Joint Opposition, which has the daunting task of filling Galle Face Green. They probably never expected the Government to accede to their request, but now that it has been given, filling it is no easy task as many parties have discovered earlier. MP Bandula Gunawardane was lampooned by cartoonists over this comment of filling the Galle Face with two million people. Without probably knowing about this blunder, his colleague from the Flower Bud party MP Basil Rajapaksa gave a much saner figure of around 120,000 after calculating the size of the Galle Face Green. As one political commentator noted, the organisers will need around 20,000 buses (with each bus carrying 100) to reach the two million mark.
It must be an excruciating experience for those MPs and others “sitting on the fence” thinking whether they should go the SLFP May Day Rally at Getambe or to the Joint Opposition’s one at Galle Face. The SLFP has made it clear that stern action would be taken against SLFP MPs who go to Galle Face. Political circles were abuzz with a rumor that at least three prominent members of the JO would get on to the SLFP stage at Getambe. On its part, the JO too expects a new face or two at their own rally.
Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, addressing a recent political rally, said no true SLFPer could desert the party at this crucial time. They should extend their fullest cooperation to President Maithripala Sirisena who is also the leader of the SLFP, he said. The Minister said he expected a record crowd to Getambe. Organisers say they have planned for only two processions, but if the crowd is above their expectations, a third procession could be in order.
The UNP, led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, has stuck with the traditional Campbell Park for its May Day rally. Last year’s rally there was a huge success and the organisers are confident of pulling off an even better show this time. Several other parties are set to join the UNP tomorrow. The JVP too has not shown any inclination to move away from their traditional May Day location, but face intense competition from the breakaway Peratugamis, led by Kumar Gunaratnam, now a Sri Lankan citizen.
Weerawansa’s “fast” theatrics
Amidst all this, many have forgotten about MP Wimal Weerawansa, whose “fast” theatrics have not apparently gone down well with his party seniors and rank and file. He has been unusually silent since his release on bail, apart from an interview to a Sinhala newspaper where he has denied that he engaged in a fast in order to secure bail. This comment was widely ridiculed on social media and even in some sections of the mainstream media. However, Weerawansa is expected to make a May Day appearance. Even as the Government was somewhat relieved after the hue and cry created over SAITM and the garbage mountain died down a bit, it faced another crisis. Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Workers launched a strike demanding a halt to the alleged sale of the Trinco Oil Tank farm to India, with many under the impression that Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was leaving for India to finalise such a deal. This was a classic case of the Government’s message not having the right effect – the Prime Minister has earlier explicitly stated that there would be tripartite cooperation (Sri Lanka-Japan-India) on this site and that there would be no sale of the facility to any party. However, this message did not reach the workers and the public in a correct way and thus a wrong interpretation took the upper hand. The strike was grossly unfair given the true situation. Long queues at the filling stations did not do the Government any good, but sanity finally prevailed as the union leaders accepted the Government’s stance. This should be an eye-opener to the Government that it should be more articulate, transparent and communicative on crucial matters such as power and energy.
Prime Minister’s India visit
The Prime Minister’s main purpose of going to India is to make the initial preparations for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka for the UN Vesak Day celebrations next month. However, his proposed visit has already run into a storm with the hardline party Hindu Makkal Katchi protesting against it, saying that Hindus are being discriminated against in Sri Lanka. The leader of Hindu Makkal Katchi, Arjun Sampath, on Saturday accused the Sri Lankan government of suppressing Hinduism and following a policy of Buddhist chauvinism. Unlike Superstar Rajinikanth’s volte-face on his proposed trip to Sri Lanka, Indo-Lanka relations are so good at Head of State level that there is no likelihood of a cancellation. Modi, a great admirer of Buddhism, has already confirmed his participation in the Vesak events in Colombo.
The two weeks leading up to Vesak will not be pleasant for many who fear that President Sirisena will keep his promise of making changes at the top in many Government institutions before Vesak. Many say his reference is to a Cabinet reshuffle as well. A Cabinet reshuffle was speculated on several previous instances, but has so far not materialized.
Latest reports from Siri Kotha say that there is stiff opposition in the UNP to any Cabinet reshuffle. They fear that only UNP ministers would be targeted in a Cabinet reshuffle, leaving the SLFP portfolios intact. However, the President has given no such indication. He has previously warned all ministers found wanting that their portfolios could be on the line. In any case, further discussions between the President and the Prime Minister are likely on this issue once the latter returns from India, before any concrete decision is taken. They will have to take into account the widespread feelings in society about the lethargic attitudes of certain ministers and their institutions. Corruption allegations too have been levelled against some ministers.
There was good news for the Government on the economic front, after all the gloomy predictions made by the Joint Opposition. The IMF, which just concluded its annual meetings in Washington, had encouraging words for Sri Lanka and so did the World Bank. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake led the Sri Lankan delegation to the meetings. (Incidentally, the World Bank and the IMF have pledged to send a team of solid waste management experts to Sri Lanka in the wake of the Meethotamulla tragedy). The American Chamber of Commerce has also agreed to further expand investment in Sri Lanka due to the country's economic transparency, Finance Minister Karunanayake said. The Minister addressed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC on April 21.
The IMF praise followed a surge in the Colombo Bourse spurred by foreign activity. The Benchmark All Share Price Index (ASPI) recorded consistent gains over the month of April, crossing the 6,500 mark on Thursday the 20th. Consistent foreign inflows have been a standout feature of the performance of the market in recent weeks, with net foreign inflows for 21 consecutive trading days by the end of trading on April 21. Foreign investor activity in 2017 so far, has marked a net foreign inflow of 14.3 Billion Rupees. Non-CSE foreign direct investments too are improving. The authorities are hoping that this trend will continue.
The agitation for the local body election seems to have faded, but expect this demand to figure at May Day meetings of every party. Three provincial councils will also reach an end to their terms, so there could potentially be two types of election this year. All political parties are gearing up for the Local Government elections which could be called at any moment. May Day could well turn out to be the start of a long election-oriented campaign trail for all the major parties which have not been tested at the hustings since 2015. Local elections will enable them to read the pulse of the people accurately and prepare for 2020.
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