LANKA'S NEED FOR A DIFFERENT BREED OF LEADERS

ASOKA SENEVIRATNE

Every five or six years Sri Lankans vote in and out a bunch of leaders from the SLFP or the UNP sometimes with the help of a kingmaker party like the JVP from recent times. They all promise a prosperous and just Sri Lanka upon their assumption to power. They all get wealthy and powerful during their tenor and for generations of Lankans the promises these politicians make at election times just end up being just what they are; promises! For these generations the dream of a better tomorrow also is also what they are ; a dream only !!

So how is it that a country honored to have Adult Universal Suffrage in Asia only second to Japan, that enjoyed some of the highest living Standards in Asia at Independence and more importantly considered one of the most peaceful and beautiful countries in the world even in the 1970s ended up being totally opposite in all these social factors by the first decade of the 21st century. The answer is pure and simple. Total mismanagement by its leaders starting from SWRD to Mahinda Rajapaksha. One don't need to be a rocket scientist to immediately notice the obvious injustices and malpractices by the leaders that can be corrected relatively easily.

90% of Lanka roads are in disrepair, even more so in small towns. But scores of Politicians travel in super luxury Motor cars and many of them with huge motorcades. The average citizen Silva has to get into the ditch to allow these highnesses to travel fast enough for their tour of duties; God knows what?
Why not mid size Sedans with just a driver only instead?

At an average cost of about $60000 for a mid range Mercedes the government can open an IT training Centers in every town to help young people get training. Remember Lanka has well over 100 ministers of all shapes and forms. If you add the official bungalows, Security and Support personnel and the Pajeros the picture become so unbearably ugly for this poor country of ours.

Government run agencies like DMV, Passport office, Pradeshiya Sabha bureaus, etc., dot even have a decent toilet for one to ease himself let alone any orderly fashion to obtain the passport, drivers license or similar. These are monuments to inefficiency, overstaffing and corruption in this 21st century high tech world. Why not computerese these very messy document and idle labor super stores. For God sake copy from another country if you have to.

Hundred of thousands of Lanka's poor girls end up as servants to arrogant Arabs who treat these harmless but decent young girls nothing but 21st century slaves for mere $100 or so. Psychological damage to little kids growing up with broken families is immeasurable. How come our former leaders dragged this country of ours to such low levels that the word Sri Lankan has becomes synonymous with servants in the Arab world.

Scores of sons and daughters of once powerful ministers are joining the current ranks as ministers and junior ministers with hardly doing a days work for a living and having no clue what it takes for a person to toil to support their families. But they will be making the future decisions for nearly 20 million people who daily struggle to make ends meet. Some of these young ministers are more familiar with what the Taj Samudra night club looks like than the laborer carrying 100 bricks on his shoulder to make RS. 200 a day.

India, Vietnam, China, Thailand and many other developing countries are attracting billions of dollars worth of business through globalization by industry leaders like Microsoft, GE, IBM, etc., by pure outsourcing of low skilled work like call centers and IT assembly lines. Why not Lanka has just one Minister totally dedicated to bring some of the call centers to Lanka. The other day IBM committed $3 billion to be invested in India while Sri Lanka has a 92% literacy rate compared to India's 60%. Out of our over 100 ministers not one is assigned just to do this and set a target as an investment goal or be fired. Every minister who get paid with public money need to be given a target to achieve or get fired. This will be the President's job or else he will get fired at the next (fair) elections.

One can go on and on....

The truth of the matter is that whether it is Bandaranaika or Rajapasksha the thinking and attitudes have not kept up with the ever changing world. The sad fact also is that the average Lankan is deprived of opportunity and life free of poverty at the expense of these apprentice leaders who get very well paid to learn their job; we can think of a former president or two who was so fortunate.

I honestly believe it is opportune time for a fesh Political Party to take the reigns. A party built with common sense ideology, void of old fashioned feudal mentality and one geared and dedicated totally for the upliftment of the average Lankan. Motorcades, Luxury cars, Arm Chair management styles, henchman power and thuggery, nonsensical layers and layers of bureaucracy and most importantly leaders who have been professionals of masters of their trade (and worked for a living) has to rule; not idle hamoos from Walauwas for whom Poilics is all they can do in the absenmce of any other skill.

Lee Kwan you took over a very small worthless soggy piece of land called Singapore in the 1960s and built it into an economic and social powerhouse within two decades. Even some of the mighty western nations try to copy its model. Upon taking over power in the 60's LeeKwan Yoo promised one thing to his people; opportunity, jobs and prosperity and also a very clean and result driven government. Indeed he more than delivered on his promise. So it is indeed possible to change countries by smart leaders and leaderships.

Sri Lanka will remain a melting pot until our so called leaders come to their senses and do what is just and right for this land of 20 million very educated and enterprising people who yearn for opportunity to get out of poverty. The reforms have to come from the top down; not the other way around... You cannot fool all the people all the time as Abe Lincoln once said.