The membership of the United National Party are clearly a gullible lot. Their leader has been at the helm of the party for well over 23 years. Time and again usually following electoral setbacks the membership usually without central invitation, embark on vociferous post-mortem in search of an explanation as to why their party were defeated.
The UNP membership have done this at least 30 times during the past twenty three years. The crunch point must have been in 2010 when Ranil Wickremesinghe gave in to the realisation that he was simply unelectable especially when his opponent for the presidency was the war winning incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa.
That must easily have been the lowest point in the history of the United National Party. The realisation that the UNP leader had adopted a zero tolerance attitude to any plans for grooming leaders within the party. Instead it was a sorry state of affairs that the UNP were so bereft of leadership material that they had to join the bandwagon and trade on the spill over effects of the war – they chose the retired – ‘best Army Commander in the world’ Sarath Fonseka. He was of course also coined as ‘green card Fonnie’ by Lasantha Wickremetunge.
The issue of the leadership of the UNP has taken on national import because the UNP are the largest party in parliament and thus the principal player in the formation of the government in this parliament. The 19th Amendment to the constitution is rather clear on that score; it is the largest party that shall form a coalition or national government.
This is clearly why the country as a whole is concerned – worried even – about the leadership issue at the UNP – clearly the leader of the UNP will – and indeed does – wield enormous power. So much power that under this Amendment, the President is bereft or rather limited, in methodologies to change the Prime Minister if he so wishes.
That in itself is a somewhat supreme irony. The man who has the mandate of the people without ambiguity is unable to change the Prime Minister who in turn controls several key ministries.
The President has exercised some power although one may contend that it is a case of bolting the door once the racehorses have fled. President Sirisena has decreed that the Central Bank be listed under the Ministry of Finance. We await to know if the ETF fund now listed under yet another Ranil loyalist, Thilak Marapana who serves as the Foreign Minister, has also been returned to the control of either the Central Bank or the Ministry of Finance.
It is stupendous in the extreme that the entire parliament has in effect become party to resolving the UNP leadership issue. A vote of no confidence has been planned and the voting will happen come 4th April 2018.
Unfortunately for the nation we can expect no real change in the activities of this government. The Central Bank bond scam monies have yet to be recovered for the benefit of the masses and the principal player wanted by the authorities to provide a statement, has resorted to playing hide and seek – a la Udayanga Weeratunga.
It is more than a shame that Ranil Wickremesinghe perceived to being ‘close’ to the former Governor has been silent on the issue of the Mahendran non-appearance. In the past he has sprung to his defence in the wake of intense accusations of wrong doing.
Not only his defence – he showcased his confidence in his friend by taking him along on official state funded visits and meetings some held abroad. The Ministry of Finance went to the extent of officially denying that it had any part to play in having secured Mahendran’s services. Several senior UNP members had privately asked their leader to distance himself from Mahendran to little avail. Sujeeva Senasinghe went so far as to tell the public on live television that he had ‘told’ the PM that it was clear that either Mahendran should go or Aloysious should go.
Of course Aloysious was and remains a private citizen bereft of official sanction. His father in law Mahendran was clearly not so. He gave up any such privacy when he accepted the role of Governor of the Central Bank. By so doing he necessarily came under the public microscope. Quite rightly the investigative media highlighted every aspect of his rather dubious actions at the helm of the Central Bank.
The fallout of course fell on Ranil Wickremesinghe.
For his lack of leadership, for his inaction on several aspects of the bond scam and for his inaction and duplicity in several procurement matters especially the Central Expressway Section 3 project, the Prime Minister must step down. Not aside or something on those lines. He must step down as Prime Minister.
It follows therefore that if one is not good enough to be Prime Minister or savvy enough to be a member of the Cabinet of Ministers, one is also simply not good enough to be a Member of Parliament representing the people.
The inaction of the membership of the UNP working Committee in regard to the leadership issue and its blasé attitude to the most pressing matters that impacts on their party in terms of public perception and opinion is unforgivable.
By so being, they are directly responsible for making the UNP the party without a future for the next generation of peoples representatives.
The future of this nation is at stake. The web of deceit must be unravelled immediately if we are to secure for our collective futures any semblance of sanity if not democracy.
And yet again we say with absolute clarity: Ranil Wickremesinghe must go. Out as leader of the UNP and out as Prime Minister. If 500,000 Colombo voters want him as their representative then so be it.
