Dashed spirits revived

The re-launch of the failed Pramuka Bank under the name Sri Lanka Savings Bank by President Mahinda Rajapaksa is bound to revive the dashed spirits of the countless depositors taken for a ride by unscrupulous elements who had invaded the financial and banking sector.

The move was in keeping with a pledge made by President Rajapaksa when he was Prime Minister to the hapless depositors of Pramuka Bank who had lost their life’s savings with the collapse of the Bank.

This is certainly a commendable move, which while bringing a smile on the face of the depositors, would also greatly help restore public confidence in the country’s Banking and financial sectors, not to mention the positive message sent to the investors.

According to reports some 17 per cent of the depositors who had stashed Rs.100,000 or less at Pramuka would receive their deposits on June 3 while the rest will also be compensated in stages thereafter.

President Rajapaksa at Monday’s opening ceremony said the new Bank was the result of the deluge of pleas made to him prior to the Presidential election by the depositors seeking his assistance to help them recover their monies.

The President noted that the depositors had placed all their hard earned money in the defunct Bank and had used all means at their disposal to recover same while it was heading for liquidation. It was following their failure that they had approached him.

The natural instinct for more, made people invest their hard earned monies and lifelong savings including EPF funds in Finance companies that mushroomed in the wake of the open economy, offering tempting interest rates to customers.

The booming economy at the time may have provided the solid foundation required for these nascent financial institutions to offer their customers attractive returns for their investments.

But soon it was clear that all did not seem what it appeared to be on the surface and many finance companies including Banking institutions crashed for genuine financial reasons while others due to dubious manipulations.

The confidence tricksters who entered the scene fled the country with depositors monies leaving them in the lurch. There were heart rending tales of persons who were reduced to penury while some even committed suicide having lost all their life’s savings.

The safeguards of the Central Bank which monitored these Finance Companies and Banks failed to provide security to the depositors and by the time more stringent laws came into place the horse had already bolted.

President Rajapaksa is the first leader who has taken concrete steps to address the grievance of depositors of a failed Financial institution and take measures to restore their capital. Various pledges were made earlier to help revive the crashed finance companies and recompense the depositors; all to no avail.

As a leader who mingles with the common man the President no doubt has felt the pangs of misery of these people whose cause was never taken up by successive governments.

It is hoped that the President’s move would inspire not only prospective depositors to invest in the new Bank but would also create a climate of confidence among all investors in general in the country’s banking and financial institutions.

Democracy triumphs

Democracy came up trumps in Batticaloa on Monday where a people long subjected to the rule of the gun gave a fitting reply to the forces of terror which plunged their lives into torment and misery.

A 60 per cent voter turn out in a region which is just emerging from the scars of terrorism is certainly something to cheer for a Government determined to allow the people of the East to enjoy the fruits of democracy after the ejection of the LTTE from the Eastern theatre.

It would also no doubt be an encouraging sign, given that the people in the East had decided to embrace the democratic way of life repudiating the decision making through coercion and the force of arms.

The Government should lose no time in consolidating on the prevailing climate of democracy and put in motion the necessary machinery that will facilitate the installation of all the democratic structures and institutions that will make this victory of the people more meaningful.

While the TMVP as expected has emerged victorious there should ideally be a collective effort with the participation of all actors that were in the fray if the optimum benefits of Monday’s exercise are to be enjoyed by the people.

A coming together of all forces shedding aside all differences for the common good of the people would also go a long way in removing all the rancour and distrust in the Eastern polity and mark the consolidation of Monday’s victory of the people.