Rotten fish and other stinky matters

Tuesday 6th September, 2022

Prime Minister and Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Dinesh Gunawardena, has reportedly undertaken to ensure that the local government institutions will be given more powers, and take action to expedite electoral reforms—a mixed representation system. There is much more to be done. Will the government care to rid the local councils of bribery and corruption and make them people-friendly? They are characterised by indiscipline, inordinate delays and various malpractices. Rotten to the core, they have also become dens of misogynists who do not allow female councillors to speak during council meetings.

Many are the unproductive state institutions that are a drain on the state coffers. They frequently figure in parliamentary debates, and the government is planning to restructure some of them, we are told. But neither the government nor the Opposition ever talks about the biggest liabilities the people are burdened with—the Parliament, the Provincial Councils and the local government institutions.

How does the Prime Minister as well as the government propose to straighten up Parliament? Don’t political party leaders think they have to sort out their errant MPs and put their house in order before undertaking to solve problems at other institutions?

A fish is said to rot from the head down. The national legislature exemplifies this truism. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with Parliament, which has to be strengthened, but the performance of its members has been appalling. The only thing they do efficiently and unitedly is to feather their nests. The standards of parliamentary debates have deteriorated so much so that one thinks it is a posthumous affront to the legendary parliamentarians of yore, who were known for their integrity, erudition, vision, and debating skills, to use their pictures to adorn the walls of Parliament, which has become an ambalama for political dregs of all sorts. Parliamentary sessions, more often than not, are inquorate even though the MPs are paid for attendance. What is this world coming to when at least 20 out of 225 MPs cannot be present in the House during crucial debates? While the country is burning and people are crying out for relief, the MPs indulge in slanging matches instead of discussing the current crisis and exploring ways and means of resolving it collectively. Of course, there are some conscientious lawmakers who conduct themselves in an exemplary manner, but sadly they are a microscopic minority.

The electoral reform experiment at the local government level became a disaster. Therefore, let the government be urged to tread cautiously in introducing further electoral reforms, without repeating the past blunders.

The current electoral system has caused the number of local councillors to double. Now, we are burdened with more than 8,000 members of Pradeshiya Sabhas, Urban Councils and Municipal Councils. The public receives virtually nothing in return for maintaining these politicians, who are an asset only to their political bosses. The SLPP had its local councillors carry out the Galle Face attack on 09 May, triggering a wave of violence across the country.

The local government institutions have to be downsized. There are many wards that can be merged to bring down the number of councillors elected to represent them while action is taken to reduce the number of slots allocated under the Proportional Representation system.

The less said about the Provincial Councils (PCs), the better. They have been functioning without elected representatives for a long time, and nobody has felt their absence. Ironically, the TNA, which is demanding more devolution, helped the Yahapalana government amend the Provincial Elections Act, in 2017, to postpone the PC polls indefinitely on some flimsy pretext.

One may not question Prime Minister Gunawardena’s intentions, where his efforts to introduce electoral reforms, and revitalise the local government bodies, etc., are concerned, but he has his work cut out to carry out his pledges, for he will be able to achieve his goal only if the SLPP leadership gives him his head on his grand plans. Besides, all political institutions will be beyond redemption unless the main political parties discontinue the deplorable practice of fielding undesirables to contest elections. There’s the rub.