Fun and games for some while country went downhill

Former President  Ranil Wickremesinghe

The revelation in Parliament with bills clearly indicated that RW was also a part of the group that treated the public purse as if it was their divine right to use as they wished. That gobbles who was ever grateful for giving him a holiday which tragically got shortened promptly responded and sought financial provision marked “highly confidential” for a private visit to London since elections were round the corner would never have expected this information to reach the public domain.

RW had no moral right to follow CBK and the corrupt Rajapaksas as he was not an elected Head of State. He spent 250 million on a perahera known as the Jaya Perahera which, even the late D.S. Senanayake or others who followed had. Despite the fact that we were declared bankrupt he did not scale down the Independence Day celebrations in 2023 and spent millions.

He spent in cavalier fashion giving cronies jobs and vehicles too. He did not forget another favourite of his, the one known to have epicurean tastes when others foot the bill with a Porsche Cayenne.

Mehdi Hassan of Al Jazeera must be commended for asking him on the need to visit England twice and another to Japan with entourage when the country was in dire need of foreign exchange. Embassies are maintained at great cost and it’s the function of the Ambassador to represent the country on such occasions.

Today the chicks have come home to roost, possibly causing him much embarrassment in the eyes of the international community where he projected himself as the only man who was able to pull the chess nuts off the fire. The successor had done well and the IMF had not only commended but also had offered to support more.

That is not all, hoping to come back in 2024 he paid 43 members 1.5 billion towards houses that were burnt during the revolt that ended the rule of the corrupt family. When statutory provision was only 1.5 million on a single claim he ignored the legal limit and paid millions to these notorious crooks expecting their support when he contests in 2024. He did not verify whether they were reimbursed by the insurance companies. Evidence has now surfaced that insurance companies had in fact settled their claims. The information relating to the value of the house will be available with the insurers and it’s evident that no action was taken to ascertain accurate information relating to insured value before disbursing public money.

To RW, CBK, and MR, it was a simple exercise of each “one scratching the others back” and enjoying the perks of office by turning a Nelsonian eye to the high priority burning problems facing the nation. That nepotism and corruption reached abominable levels under MR is no secret and I hope the present regime will succeed in recovering the loot.

It’s disgusting to note the irresponsible manner politicians have squandered public finance since a basic need – water – is not available to millions.

It is heartening to note that the late Killy Mahendran pioneered a project ‘Gammedda’ to fill this void which rulers failed to recognise. Today many rural areas have been provided with safe drinking water. Many philanthropists too have supported Gammedda.

It was in 2015 a dark horse, by no stretch of imagination suitable to be the head of state emerged as the winner and cut short the return of MR who worked on the premise that his signature to annihilate terrorism meant that he had a divine right to be the ruler till he died.

Sirisena appointed a Commission to probe the many acts of omission and commission which was headed by a judicial officer. Like Batalanda the commission had no judicial powers and it was for the ruler to table the report in Parliament and engage the AG to pursue legal action. He did not table the Precifac report in Parliament and that has gathered dust over the years.

If the recommendations of that report were implemented the history of the country would have been different. The recommendation was enactment of special legislation to halt MR in his tracks.

Sirisena was in no mood to table the report as by that time his relations with RW were not cordial and he kept it for bedtime reading. He thought with the passage of time that he could mend fences with MR and oust RW. He did that in 2018 and became an ass as RW got back. The damage that selfish deed did to the economy cannot be quantified. It was fun and games for such selfish parasites while the country went downhill.

Mr President, it’s commendable to observe the pragmatic decisions you have taken to work within the IMF program. You have displayed signs of responsibility and maturity and acted where generations to come should not be beggars because of irresponsible rulers who looted. You are on correction mode and hope the external environment will be helpful for the people of this beleaguered country to have a better future.

Darrel Fernando