Friday, 8 August 2014 01:07
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Crippling politicisation of Sri Lanka’s Foreign Service entered Parliament this week with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) providing an exhaustive list of the appointments made by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. While the desire to see the world exerts its pull on everyone, the latest numbers of political positions are ridiculously high, with alarm bells ringing over its competency at the time when the country is facing unprecedented challenges to its international reputation.
Criticism from many quarters have flown in with increasing vehemence over appointment of friends and relatives to crucial missions as Sri Lanka battles to maintain its international reputation. With the consequences of the United Nations probe to battle with it is surely the wrong time to have 35 of the 48 missions being headed by political appointees.
Today, more than ever, loyalists are being rewarded with plum postings to overseas missions regardless of whether or not they can deliver. As with junior entrants, there is no testing procedure. They merely require Cabinet approval and, where top level appointments are concerned, the rubber stamp of the Parliamentary High Posts Committee.
Paradoxically, the MEA also continues to hold the open competitive exam for recruitment to Grade III of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service. This unequal treatment has raised hackles and is a further detriment to the Foreign Service’s future. As Sri Lanka readies to tackle a possible third consecutive resolution on it at the UN Human Rights Council in March, this sorry state of affairs could come to roost with serious detriment to the country.
The system has been exploited for so long that there is an almost unending list of people to blame. The Foreign Service has long been subject to suffocating politicisation with chicanery, corruption and unfair dealings being a normal occurrence. With the exception of former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, few others have actively supported the independence of the Foreign Service and withheld their power to make political appointments. The previous Foreign Minister was famous for his appointments of relatives and one of the key criticisms made against this Government was that it took no steps to prevent this from happening. It seems that the current office holder has done little to stem the tide, with the trend reaching new proportions under his leadership.
The 18th Amendment was tabled and passed in Parliament as an Emergency Bill because, the politicians assured the public, of its powers to empower the commissions, including the Public Service Commission – but the opposite is happening now. The Cabinet with its key powers to act in the best interests of the country is completely disregarding its duties and approving legislation that will undermine the effectiveness of the Foreign Service for decades to come. Appointing the right professionals to promote diplomatic ties is crucial for Sri Lanka to polish its rather shady reputation in the international limelight. Sri Lanka in its march for development needs to understand that the term means more than shiny roads. It means good governance, transparency, accountability and giving the right person the right job. None of these standards are being met in this ugly situation that has shown just how self-serving politicians are in Sri Lanka — a fact that the public knows but nonetheless never fails to disgust.
