THE BIG PICTURE
CARROT AND BROOM Not a week goes by without one alleged miscreant from a dirty past or the other being summoned to the courts, put behind bars or bailed out pending further investigation, in what at times seems like a revolving door… or floor!
That’s how ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ works these days – and it is instilling fear among the alleged rogues and their associates… rightfully so.
It goes without saying that the motley queue is miles long, such is the extent to which greedy politicians have robbed a precious nation of its riches and put it where it is today; it’s like a dustbin full of stale rubbish and the stench has become unbearable.
But this is Sri Lanka – and like we have witnessed for decades, and despite all the talk, there are growing concerns that only the ghosts are being hauled in, much like in the past.
In both the mainstream and social media, pertinent questions are being asked about the election of senior officials – from many parties, including that of the incumbents – to some of our councils, following the recent local government elections.
Likewise, there have been reports of holes in our container scanning processes, following the release of a large volume of containers from the Port of Colombo, apparently sans proper clearance: “Red labelled cargo release casts shadow over NPP’s clean image,” read the headline of the Sunday Times’ 6 July opinion column.
There were similar utterings about the release of containers from the port earlier this year too.
Even the prisons have come under the radar of watchdogs, following the controversial presidential pardons of not so long ago, as are arguably less serious offences such as fake qualifications cited by independent observers.
And while the former president’s travels to the northern hemisphere are reportedly under investigation, a people wearing the tightest of belts are seeing a spate of forays to lands afar by governing types – including the commander in chief, the premier, ministers and even deputy ministers.
The carrot and stick approach to cleaning Sri Lanka was long overdue. But we now need a broom that is less witch-like and more equitable.
