REAP THE BENIFITS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE

Here are some very interesting data for your comparison.

As always, Haiti is in the news for all the wrong reasons.

One island is shared by two different countries put juxtapose.

The eastern side is occupied by Dominican Republic and the western side by Haiti .

I have put Sri Lankan Data too there in the chart below for our easy comparison only.

Do you know why the Dominican Republic is doing well when Haiti the next door neighbour is doing so badly?

The Dominican Republic has a relatively good governance.

No	Country	GDP (Nominal) USD Millions	Per Capita Income (USD)	Population (Millions)	Land Area (square miles)
01	Sri Lanka	40,000	1900	20	25,000
02	Dominican Republic	45,000	4900	10	18,000
03	Haiti	6,900	800	10	10,000

I hope you got the message.

Sasanka De Silva blogging from Oman.

Time to Think Real Hard

I was trying to analysis as to why many of us (Sri Lankans) are not willing to embrace changes or look positively for completely overhauling of the present system of governance.

On every occasion when the issue of changes was brought up in open forums and in Media as well as in friendly discussions, instead of having a dialogue of substances, many started hurling insults and misquoting many religious texts that neither they properly fathom nor practice or cultural baloney to scuttle the process.

Those who behave in such a fashion can be categorized into four main groups, namely,

1. Frogs in the well.

2. Inadequacios’.

3. Feudalists.

4. Fast Track Dreamers.


Frogs in the Well.

My sympathies are with them because they are unaware that there is a different world exists beyond their hamlets.

They are not necessarily peasants.

Some of them are neither poor nor illiterate.

Someone I know who is dirty rich but has never gone beyond the shores of Sri Lanka was confused and dumbfounded when I posed him to explain how a visually impaired person would make a telephone call from a public telephone booth?

He had no answer to give and that he was equally surprised to hear that there are ways available in many developed countries to facilitate such a need.

That was why from the inception I mentioned that my sympathies are with such people because the main culprit for such inadequacies is our outdated education system and the existing Media.

They were made to believe that their world is the only world and there is nothing beyond the mountains.

Inadequacios.

They are well aware that there is a different world beyond their hamlets but are afraid of facing or meeting them because of their inbuilt inferiorities.

In their hearts that they truly know that the world beyond their hamlets is different because there the pecking order in the society is decided based on meritocracy and not because you have connections with influential people or enough cash to flash and throw to get the work done.

Every time when an opportunity comes along they start looking for a connection in their networks to secure that than trying to upgrade themselves voluntarily and wait for opportunities to pop up.

They are happy to lay blames of their inadequacies and inactions on some other external entities and maintain the status quo because they know that they would never survive in the other world.

Feudalists.

Unlike the medieval times, many do not have big lands so to say but have a very elite network where caste, religion, creed or your political allegiances are never an issue in this elite society.

They are educated, wealthy and very well aware of the pecking order of the world beyond their village.

They use their influences and wealth to go there for education and various other needs but paint a very bleak picture of the world beyond the other side of the mountain once get back home.

They too know that their survival and social standings can only be maintained by suppression of such information.

In the other world beyond their mountain, where the pecking order is decided on merit and not influence, there they will stand no chance.

Someone who would not even get a position in a forecourt of a Gas filling station or 7-11 Mini Market there can get a  position of a CEO here with their elite connection.

So why struggle to change the status quo when you can call all the shots.


Fast Track Dreamers.

This lot too is educated, wealthy and have seen and enjoyed the privileges of the world beyond their village but have still not really have arrived at the doorstep of the elite group.

So they keep weaving their small network into a bigger one, hoping and dreaming one day that they too would get there. 

They too constantly strive to maintain the status quo, while trying to throw their nets far and wide, as they are aware of the unlimited privileges and entitlements available in the elite society. 

Those who are not belonging to any of the above categories are yearning and calling for changes. They are confident that they can meet the needs of the world beyond them head-on and win too without much effort.

I think they are the minority here today.

Like in many parts of the developing counties, the majority is always very boisterous, raucous and noisy in Sri Lanka too.

But now, this minority’s voice too can be heard in the din like a clarion call for a complete overhauling of the system.

Sooner we tackle the issue it is better for most of us.ng from Oman.

MAKING SENSE OF NONSENSE AROUND US.

Like any other election in Sri Lanka, the presidential election is also getting uglier by the day.

However, I am getting confused trying to keep track of the trends and swings, not because it’s getting uglier but because of some of the outlandish claims made by the ruling party.

The first one is that if the main opponent comes to power, he will allow the defeated LTTE to rise up again, when everyone in Sri Lanka knows that the President barely made it to the winning line last time, only thanks to the LTTE’s refusal to allow Tamils to cast their votes freely.

Rumours flew that the LTTE had acted in that manner to ensure his victory, and to add to that suspicion, a photograph appeared in the media not long ago, showing the grooming scion meeting with a well-known LTTE Diaspora member in one of the western countries that he and his cronies publicly despise.

Another rumour now permeating is the way very large sums of money recovered from one of the notorious LTTE leaders now in captivity are being used during the election campaigns.

If western capitalist societies are as decadent as they have publicly claimed, why do many people, including his own clan, seek permanent residency or send their children to study in those countries?

The other claim is that the Sri Lankan economy is presently doing far better than any of the western capitalist economies. If our economy is far sounder than the western economies, then why did we go begging to the IMF for a massive loan? Has anyone compared the GDP per capita income of those countries with ours?

I personally know how many of my countrymen are being stopped daily trying to board a flight with forged travel documents from this part of the world to one of the so-called decadent countries, which are economically performing much lower than us presently, according to their claims.

If their comparisons are true and correct, then the trend should have been the other way around, where we should see many westerners clamouring to come to Sri Lanka to seek refuge, but unfortunately, we are yet to witness something of that nature.

As the saying goes, they may be able to fool some people all the time, but not all the time.

The Sri Lankan people are much wiser than they think and are yearning now for a change, and that too, not just a change for the sake of change but a complete overhauling of the existing political dynastic system where a few think that the key to public office is one of their birthrights.

I would see many westerners clamouring to come to Sri Lanka to seek refuge, but unfortunately, we are yet to witness something of that nature.

Sasanka De Silva Blogging from Oman

Time for Change in Sri Lanka.

The much awaited presidential election in Sri Lanka is just a few days away but unfortunately we the migrant workers who are one of the highest foreign currency earners for the country’s coffer are left without a voice.
All successive previous regimes have plundered most of the remittances, we earned by working in 50 plus Celsius degrees by spending them on many white elephant projects but never even considered giving us a voice, in return for our magnanimous contribution.
We do not ask for permits to import luxury cars duty free to the country.
Even if we ask it, I do not see there is anything wrong with it because many of the unproductive public sector employees, celebrities, sportsmen and many more (the list is too long to mention here) have already been granted this facility.
The universal suffrage is something we Sri Lankans have been enjoying from early 1930s.
All what we have been asking is to give the migrant work force also the voice but hitherto it has fallen in to deaf ears and I am confident that the situation would change after the 26th of January 2010.
Although we have been made voiceless by purpose, there are other ways that our pleas and aspirations can be conveyed to those who need them to be heard.
The upcoming presidential election is one of them and I am sure none of us want to miss this opportunity presented unexpectedly to us goes begging.
We still have our roots there in Sri Lanka and through them that the voiceless can be transformed in to a considerable real silent force.
Usually In Sri Lankan politics, the majority is always silent unlike the minority who are very vocal, boisterous and noisy, but do not be intimidated by their behaviour or the noise they make.
Keys to Public offices are not a birthright of any and it should never have to be so in future too.
Those who seek public offices must first prove beyond any reasonable doubts of their leadership qualities and most importantly the farsightedness.
Digging up a few dilapidated tanks, siphoning public money, professing others to grow Manioc & lentils in their own back gardens and embark on wasteful white elephant projects to glorify one’s image would not usher any prosperity.
This is the time for a complete overhauling of the system.
This is the time for change.
Please do not waste this opportunity but tell those who are back home to cast their votes wisely.
My guess is as good as yours that the choice should be impeccably clean as the colour of White.
Sasanka De Silva blogging from Oman.

A UNIQUE AND ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY BECKONING IN SRI LANKA.

Never in the history of any developing country has there been an opportunity to hand over the helm of the running of the country to a victorious and decorated soldier.

In many instances, men in uniforms have taken over running countries, but the process of taking over was not democratic, nor were they victorious and decorated for what they have achieved on the military front.

However, such instances can be found in the developed world (France & USA, to name a few).

General Sarath Fonseka has proven his mettle as a soldier serving the Sri Lankan Army for more than 40 years and led the country to victory on the military front over the terrorist group, The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a few months ago.

Now he has relinquished his uniforms and the privileges accompanied by the title and has entered the presidential fray to take over the helm of running the country in a democratic way, putting his life in danger once more for the economic salvation of the land.

Everybody agrees without much qualm that we need a change and a fresh approach towards the way the country has to run if we truly want to get out of this economic quagmire and prepare a peaceful and economically and politically stable country for our future generations.

The choice is obvious, and I am sure that no one wants to squander this rare and unique opportunity and regret it forever by letting it go by.