A timely directive

The assurance given by President Mahinda Rajapaksa that no more will he allow State property to be sold no doubt would be welcomed by the public at large particularly following the recent unravelling of the shady transactions involving State land and public assets.

The Presidential edict it is hoped would put an end once and for all to the flagrant misuse of public property that has proved to be cancer eating into the body politic of the country. It is no less a person than the Chief Justice who went to the extent of invoking the wrath of the gods on those who disposed of public assets for a song. This in itself shows the extent of emotions and feeling generated at the misuse of public property of all strata from the humble to the mighty.

This springs from the basis that public property has been entrusted to the powers that be to be held in trust for the public. But over the years as the recent Supreme Court verdict has demonstrated our leaders have betrayed this sacred trust and instead made use of sate property to enrich themselves. It is in this context that the President’s directive should be hailed as a path breaking development.

Addressing workers of the State Insurance Corporation who were granted appointment letters, at Temple Tress on Friday, the President said that under no circumstances would State property be sold, adding “future generations should be able to enjoy the benefits of these assets as we enjoy them today as a result of the great sacrifices of the patriotic leaders of this nation”.

No doubt the President’s concern may have been prompted by the evident large scale abuse and plunder of State assets by those who should have known better resulting in the public being denied the fruits of these valuable property and assets. For instance, the allocation of a storm water retention land for the building of a hotel and golf course far from benefiting the public have caused them to suffer when their homes and property go under floods due to such injudicious acts.

Leaders of the immediate post independent Governments exercised great propriety in matters of public property and State assets and any deviation from the laid down procedure and guidelines evoked a huge public outcry with trade unions in the forefront holding the Government accountable for any wrongdoing.

These assets involved not only State land. Public institutions and corporations were jealously protected by the workers in the immediate post independence era and particularly after the 1956 revolution which saw the vesting of all sterling Companies with the State.

That was the time when most utility services such as Ports and Transport came under State control and the public was infused with a state of pride and belonging that they were at last made partners and stakeholders in the affairs of the State after centuries of foreign rule.

True, not all these State ventures became successes, some of them later turned out to be white elephants. But this was chiefly due to mismanagement brought about by political meddling rather than any inherent weakness in their running. In fact most of these State ventures were deliberately run to the ground with the advent of the open economy so that they could be sold out to the cronies of the powers that be.

Public property became easy game for politicians bent on making hay in a culture which bred crooks and wheeler dealers who brokered the sale of State assets. That was a time when State owned land changed hands for a song and politicians took maximum advantage of a free wheeling consumerist ethos.

The most notorious case that comes to mind is the swapping of fallow unproductive land of a Government Minister for several acres of fertile State land. There were other instances where State land went for as low as Rs.32 an acre. All these lands of course were subsequently returned following exposure by the Special Presidential Commission when the Government changed.

President Rajapaksa’s decision to put a halt to all sale of State property, while obviating the need for such time wasting Commissions in the future at public expense, would also serve to retain public assets for the sole benefit of the public particularly the future generation. This rip off has to end and President Rajapaksa has taken a timely decision.

There is also an urgent need to save State land particularly at a time the Government has embarked on an ambitious food production drive and when land is at a premium.

There is also the need to ensure that all liberated land in the North and the East would be prudently used for the benefit of the people in the region and that no room is left for misappropriation of State property and assets in those areas. In this context the message spelled out by President Rajapaksa will serve to drive the point home to all concerned that public property is not to be trifled with.