The Annual Pain

The security arrangements on budget presentation day tend to cause general heartache. Forget the poor man on the road, waiting for a bus or the woman with a respiratory disease who needs to be rushed to hospital. All these are forgotten with a special traffic snarl created despite the Chief Executive being flown to the parliament grounds. Forget too the general mess that it creates besides the work hours wasted by simply being caught in unmoving traffic.

As for the journalists who have no choice but to cover the event, it is no lesser pain, hence the now popular reference to budget day coverage as the 'Annual Pain.'

For starters, the journalists on Thursday arrived at 9 am at the Information Department only to depart almost at 11 am. Many a journalist who honoured the rules and arrived early had to be seated in a bus for nearly two hours, sweating and fuming, once they were security cleared by the Presidential Security Division (PSD). Many were wondering why the department butted in to 'coordinate' when the PSD could have handled security together with the parliament police.

Abusive or intrusive

The physical inspection by the PSD is on an average something people wish to forget. It generally tends to border on the abusive or intrusive. Many male and female journalists were heard complaining that they felt violated by the manner of checking.

This writer had to swallow a Menthos out of a whole packet just to prove that it was not poisonous (and not cyanide in tablet form). After checking the bag, this meant going through each business card with meticulous care and finally settling on the metered dose inhalant (MDI). After a through inspection, this writer was told to use the inhaler, something that is done only under a doctor's instructions and should not be used merely to offer a security type a live demo.

Other women colleagues had themselves body checked that left them embarrassed and unwilling to share their experiences, while most vowed never to cover an event attended by the President, just to be spared of the painful body searches.

In this day and age, it is hoped that an extravagant government often selling the armed forces could invest some money on equipment that could spare the indignity of being frisked by hand.

For example, journalists regularly cover the UN General Assembly sessions. Needless to say that the all-important summit merits thorough security with scores of journalists in attendance. But once their equipment is checked, they are allowed in with their electronics with no restriction on freedom of movement or escorts within the building.

An example

The world's biggest media event so far held, the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg drew 50,000 journalists, no less. Journalists were naturally allowed all of their electronics, and this writer recalls getting into a lift only to find Colin Powell and the US delegation there!

At WSSD, there were over 100 heads of state together with their high-powered delegations. Journalists were seen walking into each and every room, with no frisking.

Once journalists were checked and allowed entry into the main premises, the security trusted their system and did not penalise others.

Same with anyone going to Capitol Hill in the US, the White House or the UN building. Though some areas were restricted for photographs such as the Security Council conference room, the UN security does not freak out merely because journalists carry their cameras and mobile telephones.

And closer to home, nobody stops a person wanting to be photographed in front of Rashtapathi Bhavan or Sansad Bhavan in India or for all his despotic legacy, in front of the former Maldivian President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's presidential office.

In this Stone Age exercise of body searching Sri Lankan journalists, most of them regular parliament reporters, things are significantly different. Once checked, they are herded like cattle into a bus to kick their heels and wait for hours. When the bus moves finally, it takes circuitous routes thanks to a misguided traffic police escort. The duo kept losing their way making the bus drivers struggle to manoeuvre the massive buses on narrow roads.

Mild conflict

What is worse, in the age of technology, journalists were denied their mobile telephones, cutting off all communication for a full day. Once taken to parliament, the parliament police naturally came into mild conflict with the PSD and the Information Department, as journalists were made to gather before the Members' Entrance, effectively blocking the parliamentarians.

Finally, it boils down to the question of trusting one's own system and having the right equipment to make it work. While journalists do appreciate the country's security concerns and do not oppose rigorous checking, there is no need to subject them to undignified frisking.

And not to mention the thousands who were denied freedom of movement and had to stand by the roadsides, bus halts or be confined to their own vehicles for hours on end in maddening traffic throughout the day for a President who does not travel by road.

Budget 2009: The good, the bad, the ugly

By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema

Members of the ruling party last week hailed Budget 2009 as one that addressed issues faced by people of all walks of life and aimed at improving the national economy while opposition parties like the UNP and the JVP charged that the budget had failed to meet the expectations of the people.

Soon after the presentation of the budget, Deputy Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said that given the global economic crisis, the government had managed to present a budget that addressed issues related to many areas.

He said the budget proposals have looked into the issues faced by people of all walks of life and was aimed at steering the country towards long-term development.

He added that 2009 would be an economically difficult year given the current global trends, but expressed confidence that the government would be able to address many issues through its economic proposals for next year.

Developing the north

Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapakse meanwhile said the budget while promoting local industries was also geared towards the development of the north, which was long denied.

"Despite the global economic crisis, the budget has provided benefits to the agriculture and fisheries sectors," he said.

Rajapakse added that the government was not dependent on foreign funds, but relied mainly on funds received through the development of local industries.

Government ally, the JHU said the budget proposals for 2009 were commendable under the present circumstances.

JHU Parliamentary Group Leader, Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero said the government was moving in the right direction in working to uplift the national economy.

"The fertiliser subsidy given to the agriculture sector is being continued, which is good," he said.

Ven. Rathana Thero also said some of the party pre-budget proposals on the education sector have been included in the President's budget proposals.

He added that issues faced by the people have been addressed.

"Oil prices have been reduced and pensions have been increased," he said.

Ven. Rathana Thero also commended the government's decision to increase defence expenditure for next year in a bid to continue with its war.

Newly appointed national list MP and TMVP Leader, Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman said the government had presented a 'good budget.'

He said that allocations have been made for the development of the Eastern Province.

"Allocations have been made to develop fishing and farming in the east which would help livelihood development in the province," he said.

While members of the government and its allies commended the budget proposals, opposition members charged the government's budget for 2009 was misleading the public by not granting any real benefits to the consumers.

UNP Parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake said the budget was nothing but a fraud as it had not offered any real benefits to the consumers.

He said public servants have been offered only a small increase in the cost of living allowance and added that the country is being pushed further into debt by the 2009 budget proposals.

Reduce fuel prices further

JVP Parliamentary Group Leader Anura Dissanayake said the government could have reduced petrol prices by Rs.72 a litre and that the price of diesel could have been reduced by Rs.50 a litre.

He said that financial allocations for 25 ministries have been cut down in the budget for 2009.

He also said the salaries of the public sector workers have not been increased and instead only a Rs.1,000 increase has been made to the cost of living allowance.

He added the public servants numbering 1.2 million have been allotted only Rs.12,000 million, while the President had increased allocations for himself by Rs.1,200 million.

"The estate sector employees who face great difficulties have been ignored and no real relief has been given to the private sector workers as well," Dissanayake said.

JVP defector and leader of the newly formed National Freedom Front (NFF), Wimal Weerawansa said the government had made an effort to meet the needs of the people amidst global economic constraints. He said efforts have been made to uplift the national economy by moving away from the neo-liberal policies and privatisation.