'62 percent of election pledges kept'

The English speaking public of this country will be reminded of the old English proverb: 'Good wine needs no bush', when they read the government controlled press about the achievements of the Peoples Alliance government in the last four years.

The Daily News, now at full throttle, had a banner headline yesterday: 'People's Alliance Government saved country from disaster' and on the editorial page an interview with Media Minister Mr. Mangala Samaraweera headlined: 'People's Alliance Achievements, truly remarkable'

A significant claim made by the minister is that 62 per cent of the pledges given in the PA manifesto has been fulfilled and by the year 2000 at least 90 to 95 per cent of the pledges given will be kept. The PA manifesto, like election manifestos of all other parties is bountiful with promises and if 90 to 95 per cent of the promises can be kept, Sri Lanka will truly be a land flowing, as Sri Lanka say, 'with milk and honey'.

The interview unfortunately does not reveal how Mr. Samaraweera arrived at the figure of 62 per cent and The Island despite being an avid reader of the PA manifesto, is somewhat befuddled as to this 62 per cent claim of the minister.

We give some of the main pledges of this manifesto for readers to judge for themselves about the 62 per cent claim.

*The Executive Presidential System which has been the bane of our country since 1978 will be abolished as a matter of highest priority and the supremacy of the people's will restored by means of a return without delay to the Cabinet and parliamentary system of govt.......

This issue readers need not be advised on

*A Permanent Commission on Bribery and Corruption will be appointed.... Their tenure of office will be protected against political interference.

A Permanent Bribery Commission was appointed as pledged, but now it is shambles and the government is attempting to remove the two commissioners and taken them before a parliamentary select committee, the composition of which are being objected to by the commissioners.

* The government's powers to change laws governing any aspect of the conduct of elections, by having recourse to Emergency Regulations promulgated under the Public Security ordinance will be removed.

Readers will be wondering how on earth the provincial councils elections that was scheduled for the end of this month were cancelled.

*Ministers and MPs will no longer be driven around in luxury vehicles such as BMWs and Benz cars. They will have there use of vehicles of reasonable size and capacity to enable them to discharge their public duties effectively.

The public will not be able to say whether this pledge had been kept or not because ministers and MPs cannot be seen travelling in vehicles. But who are those travelling in BMWs and Mercedes with blackened windows and fearful looking mobile commando escorts?

*....on the pretext of adhering to World Bank guidelines(the government) has embarked on a hazard and unplanned prpgramme of selling or privatizing state enterprises in order to raise funds for government expenditure. Many such acts have been tainted by corruption, nepotism. fraud and political patronage. The PA will totally eradicate this legacy.

We leave it to the public to judge this issue by themselves.

*We will abolish the PAYEE tax

We now have the PAYEE plus the GST taxes

* We will reduce the prices of diesel and petrol.

Does any one remember how many times the prices of petrol and diesel were hiked during 4 years of PA rule?

*A PA government will launch a programme to create one million jobs within two years. Additionally 300,000 self employment opportunities will be created in the first year

If this pledge had been kept there would be no unemployed in Sri Lanka.

And last but not least the media.

*Major constraints arising from provisions contained in the Constitution, Public Security Act, Press Council Law, Official Secrets Act and Parliamentary Powers and Privileges act will be removed by amendment of this legislation. Journalists will no longer be punished by committees of parliament.

*The shares of Lake House will be traded in the stock exchange.

*Government will not use its advertising to control, influence and threaten any newspapers or media organisations.

.*The current structures of taxes, duties on newsprint will be drastically reduced to provide relief.

We leave it to the well informed Daily News to say whether these pledges to the media have been kept.

Pledges, 62 per cent of it being kept, baffles even us, the most dedicated students of the PA manifesto.