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Call for a disciplined public service

President Mahinda Rajapaksa spoke some home truths the other day when addressing Chairmen of Government Corporations and statutory bodies.

The President noted that some heads of state institutions were hardly in their seats and were wont to play truant. He said some of these heads were not punctual and were not in the offices for even 45 minutes.

This state of affairs is only too well known and the Presidential admonition may well be a reminder that such callousness would not be tolerated.

The President no doubt is speaking from experience as a one time Trade Union leader who may had runs in with such Chairmen and heads of Government bodies and know first hand their attitude to the workers and the public at large.

The President’s straight talk could well be a clarion call to these personages to serve the public with redoubled effort to justify their lavish upkeep from the public purse.

He wanted them to put their shoulder to the wheel in realising the fruits of the Government’s 10 year development plan and if they cannot deliver, the door was open for them to quit.

The President’s admonition to the Heads of the state institutions is not without reason given the all too familiar image of the public officials cultivated in the minds of the public as being lethargic, ostentatious and those who use resources of their institution for private purposes such as the deployment of official limousines for spouses’ shopping or to cart their offspring to and from schools. True, not all heads of Government bodies can be painted with the same brush.

There are dedicated and efficient individuals who adorn these top seats whose skills and professional enterprise have brought rich dividends to the institutions under their purview.

Equally there are also the bad eggs whose sole purposes of adorning office is for the perks and privileges it affords.

Time was when the country’s public service was the envy of our South Asian neighbours and the heads of institutions performed their duties with diligence and a great degree of public consciousness.

Hopefully the President’s address may serve as a beginning to revert to that era in our public service.

The President’s call for all Chairmen and heads of Government bodies to have empathy with the people during these trying times should also be taken note of by these personages so that they would justify their salaries and perks paid for by the public purse.

The President also spoke of “opportunist Chairmen” who do the minimum possible to ‘save their skin’ and blamed these elements for a lack of public consciousness.

It is high time the Government put in motion a system of assessment to gauge the performance of the various Chairmen in state bodies so that optimum output is obtained. This method would also show up the time servers and help weed out the dead wood.

There should be no political considerations in ridding the vermin who fatten themselves on the public purse and give nothing in return.

The President also made the pertinent point enjoining the heads of state bodies to make the institutions under them profit making ventures. Today many state ventures are in the red due to lack of foresight and proper planning on the part of those at the helm. Some state Institutions are virtually bursting at the seams as a result of overstaffing.

True, the Chairmen cannot be held responsible for this state of affairs as all Governments since Independence packed State Departments with their supporters with no qualifications for the jobs assigned. As a result today the public has to foot a massive bill to maintain this financial burden in our State bodies.

The Government should consider a moratorium of recruitment to state institutions which are already brimming with unproductive labour and steps taken to trim the fat in these institutions which no doubt has a bearing on the rise in the cost of living. What is of utmost importance is an attitudinal change on the part of all heads of State Institutions.

As the President said they should take upon themselves the obligation to serve the people and show proof of their achievements to the public.

The President enjoined them to be efficient, dedicated and persevering. The President’s address we hope will galvanise these personages to reassess their worth and take upon themselves with added vigour the task of delivering the goods for which they were appointed into the higher echelons of the public service.

It is time they heed the President’s words and descend from their ivory towers and cultivate a pragmatic approach towards solving the multifaceted problems confronting the people.

Also be ideal if these Head of boards and corporations divest themselves of some of the lavish perks and privileges they currently enjoy and empathise with the difficulties of the people.

President’s diplomacy in landmark visits

THE contemporary political discourse in Sri Lanka, seems, for the most part, to be overwhelmed by a depressing sense of gloom. The bitter bickerings that, usually pass for an enlightened dialogue on current issues, tend to exude an unwholesome pessimism.

Full Story

Lanka Sama Samaja Party and the working class

The Lanka Sama Samaja Party celebrates its 72nd anniversary this month and it is the oldest political party in Sri Lanka today. Although it was formed on the 19th December 1935 its activists were involved in the anti imperialist struggles such as the Suriya Mal movement from the early thirties.

Full Story

A Christmas Traditionary

Many people do not know the origins of Christmas traditions or the meaning and origins of our Christmas customs. Without any understanding of the faith foundation of our religious traditions it is easy to dismiss their relevance in our life today.

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