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How Old Fox's Constitution Gave Way to a Corruption Mess

ASOKA S.

British Raj left Ceylon relatively poor but UN-corrupt. Civil Service was highly respected and civil servants were in demand on Matrimonial columns. Roads were a few but well kept. The local government functioned well with the Gramasevaka, DRO, GA system. Everybody knew their lawmaker who represented them in the parliament. To put in a nutshell, things looked decent and well streamlined for our small, beautiful, scerene pearl of the Indian Ocean. Yes, there was poverty but the country in general was honorable.

With the anti-colonial fever sweeping the region we were a proud and independent nation immediately following India. So at least we felt. Contemporary firebrand politicians like SWRD were swept into power keeping in line with prevailing anti imperialistic winds. While being a huge upper class beneficiary of the British Raj and a product of the Great Oxford University SWRD quickly moved to implement his own agenda. His decisions were mostly based on his Anti British sentiments which he never feared to make public. Ports, Tea Estates, Bus companies, Shipping companies, Trading Houses and many other well run privately owned major economic enterprises quickly became so called people owned.

The subsequent two decades bore the fruit of these short sighted economic agenda based on a mix of vendetta and economic stupidity. Wife of SWRD who walked right from the kitchen lamathani's desk to the Executive Office with Lamthani's experience saw to it that her husband's socialist march would be accelerated. Every conceivable privately owned profitable business was nationalized in the name of people's ownership. Government sponsored corporations took their place headed by a whole army of ill qualified "yes" men. Sirimavo created Kaju Corporation and Type Writer Ribbon Corporation to name a few jocularly funny establishments.

After 7 years of mismanagement Sri Lanka was reduced to nearly a beggar state, Daily staples like bread, butter, dhal, sugar, flour all became luxuries except for the top notch leaders. Everybody except them had a quota based on a card system including infant milk and an everyday cheetta cloth. Mothers sold their infant milk quotas to others for money. The only government owned few newspapers were reduced to four pages and most of the front page articles were censored off by the so called "Competent Authority." Even to leave this madness to another country to escape hunger was made difficult as one needed a so called "exit permit"

30 years after the British Raj packed their bags, too much socialism of Bandaranaike's were showing results. We became the poorest of the poor.

JR was swept into office with more than a landslide. TULF became the opposition leader as SLFP was reduced to single digit seats. Lankan people were well and truly tired of Bandaranaike brand Socialism. JR wasted no time in bringing a common sense market economy back. He created a free Trade zone, Tax Holidays, Free Flow of Capital, and gave the rightful place for good old capitalism. Yankee Dickey was living upto his reputation. Lankan people felt as if the country was reborn with a miracle shot. Taking a cue from FDR, JR. launched gigantic infrastructure projects. Bulldozers got rolling, Lankan people got back to work by tens of thousands. A new capital city was being created with hitherto unknown areas becoming tomorrow's new cities. A partnership of private business acumen and a business friendly aggressive government was revitalizing Lanka's lost economy.

But Old FOX JR also blundered big time. In the name of a stable government he bid farewell to the Westminister style and brought in an executive presidency. To spruce it he added immense powers to this office. He also allowed a few prominent people to be law makers along the lines of a Senate. He also saw to it that the President cannot be sued. In short the President became a tad less than a king.

While capitalism world over has led to rapid economic growth, inadequate checks and balances within a capitalist structure in Lanka spelt disaster. Added to this was a non answerable executive to anybody till the next election The ugly head of corruption was winning the day. Law makers were helping themselves to commissions and omissions at their will. When Leaders steal their next in line steal too. Hence the civil service followed. Soon the entire government mechanism became one hell of a corrupt mess. It was no longer a democracy of the people, by the people and for the people. It became one of the people by the people and for the leaders and their henchmen.

So today, a very influential and super rich 1/4 percent of the Lankan population headed by corrupt politicians are in charge. It is their party 24 x 7. BMW's, Ferrari's, Lomboginis, Mercedes and expensive SUV's all drive in and out of Colombo Hilton and the like. While the rest of the country is pawning their wedding rings to merely survive. It is very common to see your local minister's wife walking into a posh huge Prada accompanied by government paid bodyguards and drivers with a cart load of groceries pushed by a 20 year old advanced level student acting as a porter while a dozen impoverished people are at the bottom of the steps begging for five rupees. She hardly sees them or bother to look at them.She is busy enjoying her God given right for a fee ride.

The unending war has made it possible bundle up and hide all the stealing as the war dominate the daily headlines and the news. Emergency powers make it that much easier to make people disappear if you don't shut up.

Prez Rajapakha has demonstrated to be a clever individual by taking the war to Prabhakaran's door step and hopefully might even eliminate the LTTE menace. If he does not act fast to address the massive social injustice for the average Lankan, we will surely deteriorate into anarchy thanks to all the so called "Leaders" since Independence.

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