by
J. Yogaraj
Sometimes those who are elected by the people forget their basic obligations. When you take things personally, you may not think about the public service. Most politicians face two major challenges.
1. Winning the election, 2. Keeping the promises given in the election manifesto.
The Chief Minister of the Northern Province is struggling with the second challenge due to his personal attitude and the influence of the TNA politicians.
If there is a will there is a way. But for some Tamil politicians it works the other way. There is a way, but there is no will. Recently, Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran, made a blunder ordering out the Chief Secretary.
This has gone to Court and the Court taught a lesson to CV stating that the Chief Minister does not have the authority to order a Chief Secretary. But the Chief Minister may request the Chief Secretary and the staff to coordinate their tasks in fulfilling their duties by the public.
After this, though there is no open conflict, we see there is a underlying lapse and slow moving process in the provincial administration.
We contacted Chief Secretary Wijeyaluckshmi Ramesh and had a brief interview to get a clear picture of the situation.
Q
: How long have you been the Chief Secretary?
A : Since 2011
Q:
Are you able to complete your tasks under the provincial adminstration?
A : I am able to handle most of the tasks. But in a few instances, I am put under unnecessary pressure.
Q:
Have you come across any similar problems recently?
A : Yes,
Q:
With whom?
A: The Chief Minister
Q:
How did you handle this situation?
A: There were issues on practically impossible tasks. The Chief Minister used to insist on expediting certain projects, which are practical and not possible. In those instances I used to explain the situation but on one or two occasions I was put under pressure. The instructions from the Chief Minister looked like orders. Then I did not have any other alternative, but to go to Court to sort out the matter.
Q:
Do you have similar problems now after the Court Order?
A: Not very much. But I must tell you one thing that all these conflicts finally affect the public. We are ready to work according to the Constitution. But if someone wants to override the Constitution, I will not agree. We always tried our best to give a better service to the public.
Q:
As a woman, are you able to control your male dominated staff ?
A: Yes of course, But I do not create unnecessary problems. I give instructions according to the Provincial Council Act.
Q
: Do you ever feel there is a difficulty for a woman to work at this high position in a male chauvinist society?
A : I don’t feel like that. All the men are not the same. There are many educated male officers who work with me without creating any problem. But there are one or two who create problems which cannot be avoided.
In the meantime, media reports say that Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran is trying to collect funds arbitrarily, to a specific fund, which goes against the basic principles of the Constitution. There was an allegation the present provincial administration has not used even 20% of the funds allocated by GoSL. The details are given below:
Having a large fund in the province , what is the reason for looking for additional funds. The reasons are only known to CV. On the other side if you are unable to utilize the funds allocated to the province , how are you going to use the extra funds what you are looking for ?
When it comes to financial transactions and business dealings , the Provicial Councils Act No : 42 of 1987 clearly explains the regulations.
The following clauses shows the authority a Governor has in these matters.
Consult the Governor
If some fund is to be created , it is mandatory to consult the Governor of the province before the establishment of such fund. Governor has to approve such dealings. Anything going out of this circle will have serious repercussions in days to come.
Also, It should be understood that any provincial government cannot turn in its own without the support of the Central Government. You need to have a good rapport with the Central Government to serve the people. Also it is illegal if some entity tries to go above the law.
We humbly request the relevant provincial authority of the Northern Province that ” It is enough. At least now we should start thinking of moving on the right path. A peaceful atmosphere is a gift to the province. There is a depth of understanding between the communities. But some politicians are trying to change the facts into fiction. We all understand the ground reality. We have positive peace here.
There is a manipulated effort to push some the masses back into the terror era. People should not leave room for this. A small rump of Tamil Diaspora with some members of opposition and Muslim extremists are also trying to de-stablish the country. We as one nation, should show our solidarity and unity by accepting the given provincial administration and try to help the war affected people.
Excuses
If we try to find excuses for not working for masses, finally the TNA politicians will end up losing their vote base.
GoSL is pursuing the development politics these days, which I believe solve many problems of the Tamil people. On the other hand, the TNA is pushing Rights politics. If they pursue that , then why did they ask the Tamil people to vote for former Army Commander, Sarath Fonseka, in the 2010 presidential election?
TNA talks about war crime allegations. Then how come a senior military officer Sarath Fonseka, who fought hard during the latter part of the war has become a saint within one year in front of the same people who are affected by the war ?
Senior Parliament Members of the TNA , over to you! Please get ready to answer the above question or get ready to face the wrath of the Tamil people at the next election.
Courtesy:Ceylon Today