Development challenge

That Sri Lanka has entered a new phase in which development is the main challenge is almost universally accepted. Consequently there is much talk about development, of the need for development and prognoses that we would reach our development goals quite soon. One could even say there is too much talk. It is not for nothing that many politicians and bureaucrats are notorious for 'no action talk only' (NATO). The time is ripe to go beyond rhetoric into action.

There are certain pre-requisites for initiating action. The first is resolve. There is no lack of resolve at the highest level of Government. However, whether this resolve has seeped into the next levels of governance and bureaucracy is not sure.

Next comes commitment. The lethargy and indifference in the public service does not demonstrate such commitment. In this the motivation and example should come from the top echelons of governance and bureaucracy. Poor time management and the tendency to postpone for tomorrow what could be done today are quite prevalent at all levels of public service. For example at the end of the year disbursements for many projects at both central and provincial level are returned to the Treasury without spending due to lethargy and inefficiency. The number of times a citizen has to go to a Government Department to get a service is a good indicator of the indifference and lethargy prevailing at those places. A good example is that still there are children waiting to be admitted to Grade One classes for the Year 2010 because the Education Ministry has not attended to their appeals. The bureaucracy has no concern for the plight of the children and they are quite busy otherwise.

There is also a negative tendency to appoint committee after committee to resolve issues that could be done by the responsible officers with better commitment. Take Dengue control, for instance. First Cuban medical experts were brought to study the ground situation. Having done their job they submitted a report to the Minister. Then a committee was appointed to submit a report on the report. Subsequently a workshop was arranged at a five star hotel to discuss the report on the report. Meanwhile the dengue epidemic spread and became deadlier than ever.

Commitment comes from the love for the country. This lack of love for the country and the people manifests in the self-interest so glaringly displayed by those holding responsible positions. The pilferages in public institutions, the vandalism in forest reserves, unabated wastage of resources and finances throughout the bureaucratic hierarchy even proliferating to the lowest level display an utter lack of patriotism that is widespread. Patriotism should not and could not be reduced to rhetoric and vows to defend the Motherland from external aggression. It should be displayed in every day action, in better commitment to work, in daily contributions to country's development.

For accelerated development a necessary criterion is the rational allocation of resources and their prudent management. Whether this is actually happening is a question that every policy planner and monitoring authority should self-critically analyze. The weakness of the monitoring and supervision process was clearly evident in the construction of the Southern expressway where several bridges were found to be substandard. Surely, this cannot be an exception.

All these problems could be managed and resolved if there is only one necessary ingredient that is commitment. If there is a will there is a way.

Man in mufti and man in uniform

The Kandy Police have taken to task a Police Inspector who disobeyed road rules and crossed the street at a point other than the pedestrian crossing. The offender is reported to have blamed the police officer for preventing his jaywalk.

Perhaps he would have forgotten that he was in mufti and not in uniform. Of course, he would now know that a man in mufti is different from a man in uniform whether it is physically the same man or not. The moral of the story is that the arrogance of uniform cannot be transferred to the mufti.