Country heading for ruin by Govt. failure to resolve crises – Karu

UNP MP Karu Jayasuriya yesterday warned that the country was heading for ruin by the failure of the Government to address a host of burning public and economic issues.

“The path of the government is obvious. If the Government does not get on to the right path, even at this stage, the country will be heading towards a massive disaster. I urge the Government to find a solution to the issue wisely, rather than adopting a rigid policy.  If the frustration explodes, it will be really disastrous to the country,” Jayasuriya told a media conference yesterday.

He said that protests against the Government from different sections are getting aggravated countrywide. “Sri Lanka Freedom Party is the main Party of the present government. It is the ‘Pancha Maha Balavegaya’ five-fold force i.e., ‘Sangha, Veda, Guru, Govi, Kamkaru’ who provided the largest contribution to bring the SLFP into power in 1956. Today this same force is engaged either in street demonstrations or strikes against the Government in which SLFP is the main partner,” pointed out Jayasuriya.

He alleged that the Government turns a blind eye regarding these protests or chase the protestors by either baton charging or tear gassing them and give temporary solutions.

The UNP MP also asked what action was taken by the Government regarding the protest by the university academic staff. He said initially the Government adopted a deaf and blind attitude and thereafter the Government highlighted it as a salary issue of the university academic staff.

“When the issue was aggravated and the academic staff got on to the streets together with the university students, the government closed down the 13 universities. When the academic staff of the universities resorted to trade union action they did not put forward salary issue as their key demand,” MP Jayasuriya said.

According to him, the key objective is to free the university administration from political interference and prevent politicisation and to prevent the appointment of Vice Chancellors on political loyalties and needs.

“Although the university academic staff nominates the names of persons to be appointed as Vice Chancellor, finally the appointments are made ignoring these nominations. The Government expects to politicise everything according to their needs. This is why the academic staff of the universities demand freedom for the state universities to carry out duties without political interference,” Jayasuriya said.

He lamented that seven weeks have elapsed and yet the Government has failed to find a solution resulting in the university system being crippled. Jayasuriya also said the students who are qualified to enter universities are entangled in Z score issue. “They are compelled to go before judiciary seeking justice.  Marking of answer scripts of advanced level examination has been put on hold pending a solution to the issues related to university academic staff. Parents of these students live in fear and sorrow,” he said.

He said that UNP introduced the 17th Amendment with a view to establish good governance and to prevent the arising of issues of this nature due to politicisation and to create a society in which people can live without discord due to political loyalties or their social status.

“We see today the repercussions of abolition of the 17th Amendment. The entire society is subjected to the power of the executive presidency and compelled to act according to the whims and fancies of one individual. Distress in society is being aggravated due to temporary solutions taken by the government. The Government should break away from the policy of temporary solutions instead of finding lasting solutions,” UNP MP Jayasuriya said.

He warned that if the Government tries to give a temporary solution to the demands of the university academic staff by trying to create an illusion of a solution through the media, this will lead to a bigger crisis.

According to Jayasuriya at present 1.9% of the GDP is allocated to education. This is the lowest in the region, compared to other South Asian countries. For example in Malaysia the allocation for education is 5.9%, in Thailand 4.7% and Singapore it was 3.3% whilst in South Asian nations it ranges from 3.2% in India and 2.4% in Bangladesh.

UNP MP said it is not impossible to increase the funds allocated to education, if the Government can stop all wasteful expenditure such as newspaper advertisements, roadside display of banners boasting about the Government, hoardings, cut-outs, inauguration and foundation laying ceremonies.

“If we can stop accepting commissions through various projects of the Government and implement projects for the well being of the masses instead of projects to inflate the image of politicians, it is not impossible to implement proposals to improve education,” he said.

Jayasuriya also said that recently, Presidential Commission which investigated into many irregularities regarding some ministers and members of parliament of the government, some high ranking government officials and others connected to the Government, had handed over 1400 investigation reports to the Secretary to the President.