21A and Ranil

It is no secret that Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe is adept at “buying time” when confronted with any important issue. He appoints committees for that purpose. Unlike most politicians, he treads very cautiously until the time is conducive for an apparent solution.

Hence one should not be surprised if the draft 21A Amendment receives the same response at the first meeting of the new Cabinet scheduled for T24 May. Already the foremost item vis-a-vis stripping the President of executive authority has been put on the shelf. And taking into consideration that among those to be discussed is the provision for dual citizenship, one could see that the need for a committee to study deeper into it is a foregone conclusion.

Sri Lanka has a reputation of putting off for tomorrow what should be done today.

WILLIAM OPP