Thursday Nov 07, 2024
FT
Thursday Nov 07, 2024
Wednesday, 1 May 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
As it always happens, the politicians have started giving excuses and passing the buck.
I believe it’s time we (the general public) without keeping quiet think of a democratic manner how we could expose the present set of politicians (every one of them in the parliament) for “indifference”, “negligence” and “inefficiency” specially the senior officers working under them. Due to the above lapses 300 innocent people have lost their lives with many children amongst them.
They are all talking of remedial action to prevent future attacks. This is “simply not enough”. The public including those who lost their loved ones have to be given acceptable reasons for the failure of the politicians to take prior preventive action having been warned well before hand.
To put the situation in a realistic context we saw dozens of young and teenage children stranded due to loss of their elders. Please bear in mind that these children though “poor” and/or “asarana” would have up to now been provided with the basic needs for their education, health and other essentials by their parents/elders.
Although most of them have now probably been taken to “children’s homes” they will be “a forgotten lot” when the dust settles.
As we know these children in the “orphanages” although well looked after will always miss the parental love and affection which they got used to in their normal lives.
It is absolutely necessary that those responsible starting from the top two leaders and all others holding political office be compelled by law to face appropriate penalties for their indifference and negligence.
I propose that a law be brought in immediately for all 225 members in the Parliament and the President to contribute 50% of allowances paid to them out of taxpayers’ money to a fund to be set up through an act of parliament. This fund should have a minimum life span of right to 10 years.
I have no doubt that the corporate and private sector will also contribute lavishly towards this fund considering the seriousness of the national disaster.
The whole world has been amused and we as Sri Lankans “embarrassed” of the comment made by the outgoing Defence Secretary when he said that he did not know that there were so many Sunday masses being held and the hotels should have had their own security.
If this is the class of people who get handpicked for appointments under political authorities, we can well imagine what our country’s short to medium future will be.
