Focus

 "Better off without me!"

President Chandrika Kumara-tunga last week took wing to London on a private visit to see her son Vimukthi and daughter Yasodha. Many government ministers however were not kept informed of the President's plans. About a week before leaving for London, Kumaratunga called Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and told him that she was planning a visit to see her children. She declined at the time however to inform him of the date of her departure.

A few hours before her flight last Saturday (21), Kumaratunga summoned Ministers Mangala Samaraweera, Dinesh Gunewardana, Ratnasiri Wickremanayake and Nimal Siripala De Silva to appoint them acting ministers for the portfolios held by her. A notable absentee at the gathering was the Premier.

Soon after the swearing in of the ministers, Wickremanayake inquired from the President how long she planned to stay in London, to which the Head of State replied with a grin - "Without me here, everyone can govern the way they want. It is I who am the problem here, so I am going to take a little break."

Following this exchange, the President took Wickremanayake aside for a private discussion which lasted well over half an hour. After this conversation, she also spoke to Minister Samaraweera at length about the possibilities of winning Arumugam Thondaman and Rauf Hakeem over to the government. The Prime Minister's name also came up during this discussion, at which time Kumaratunga said, "There is no point talking about him, he is an unguided missile," dismissively and with some degree of disillusionment.

She also informed her confidants that she was badly in need of a very long break but declined to give them any indication about the date of her return to the island. It was rumoured that she was to return within a week, but no government official appears to be clearly aware of the date of her arrival. It is even doubtful whether Kumaratunga will return in time to attend the SLFP annual convention to be held on September 4.

Sources close to Kumaratunga expressed doubts whether she would return to the island before September 6, since astrologers have predicted a planetary change unfavourable to her around that date. Several other sources close to Kumaratunga say she should be back in the island before September 15.

Several indications about the duration and nature of the President's trip are apparent by observing things at President's House. For one thing, it is to be gathered that Kumaratunga's stay in London will be prolonged because several of her personal staff and her domestic help have been granted holiday leave.  Since she is expected to address the UN General Assembly on September 20 however, Kumaratunga is likely to return to the island before that.

Although several media personnel have inquired after the President's return from ministerial secretaries and sources at President's House, no clear response has been received by any of them about the date of her arrival. 

Treasury whines about JVP's 1,000 tanks 

The politburo of the JVP met suddenly last week. The reason for the emergency meeting was the need to see the party's renovation of 1,000 tanks project come hell or high water. At the meeting, Irrigation Minister, Anura Kumara Dissanayake informed the gathering about some of the injustices he was facing during the implementation of this project.

"The Ministry has requested Rs. 200 million to carry this 1,000 tank project through. To renovate 10,000 tanks, we will require at least Rs. 1 billion from the Treasury at the very least. But from the looks of things, they are not very keen to release the money," Dissanayake complained.

He added that according to information received, the President had laid down conditions to the Treasury even for the release of the first installment of Rs. 200 million. Dissanayake asked the politburo to reach a decision as to what he should do if the President continues to pose obstacles in his path to implementing this project.

A member of the politburo asked Dissanayake what the President's conditions had been for releasing the funds, to which the Minister replied that Treasury Secretary, P. B. Jayasundara had requested him to submit a budget along with specifics as to how the funds would be spent, after which a decision would be made as to whether or not the money was to be granted.

Dissanayake also accused Jayasundara of putting spokes in the wheel of a project that had been approved by cabinet. He added that since several of the tank renovation committees in various areas were headed by members of the JVP, it was likely the President had her reservations about the project.

Having heard the arguments, the opinion of the politburo was that since there was a conflict brewing between Kumaratunga and the JVP and also because their 1,000 tanks project had received a huge public response, it was important to handle the issue of the Treasury, strategically. They emphasised that since the public was so enthusiastic about the project, the JVP would suffer a huge loss of face if the project was to be abandoned.

The JVP also decided that if the Treasury was indeed fussing about the fund allocation for the project, this should be highlighted through the media. The party decided that it would use journalists and media organisations loyal to the JVP to get the message across and agreed it would be favourable if several editorials could highlight the matter. 

Sripathi fed up? 

Government ministers and state media these days are most concerned about the corrupt practices of officials of the previous regime. Deputy Sports and Youth Affairs Minister, Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi has however of late been engaged in an exercise to discredit a senior minister of his own party instead.

Sooriyaarachchi had compiled a report on how a Health Ministry tender, relating to the purchase of thriposha to be distributed free of charge to pregnant women had been awarded to the fourth bidder, bypassing three others who had quoted lower prices. Sooriyaarachchi alleges that the tender had been awarded with the knowledge of Health Minister, Nimal Siripala De Silva. Having handed the report over to President Kumaratunga, Sooriyaarachchi took wing to Athens with his family to watch the Olympic Games.

After Kumaratunga read Sooriyaarachchi's report, she immediately halted the tender and demanded to speak to the Deputy Minister. Having heard that Sooriyaarachchi was not in the island, the President asked her secretary if he had officially informed the Presidential Secretariat about his visit. The secretary replied "no" following which Kumaratunga ordered that messages be left with Sooriyaarachchi's secretary and at his residence that he was to see her as soon as he returned to the island.

Having heard of the Presidential decree through an associate, Sooriyaarachchi responded that he was most disillusioned with the present situation, adding that he had already informed several ministers of this fact. "I will only be returning to the island after a month abroad anyway," he is reported to have said.

Hudson going places 

Since the UPFA came into power, the advertising campaigns of the National Lotteries Board (NLB) worth millions of rupees has been handed over to the company Selacine. Some time ago, President Kumaratunga reportedly appointed Dharmasiri Pathiraja and Nimal Ekanayake, two of her close associates to the board of directors at Selacine.

However, in a sweeping move last week, Kumaratunga dissolved the Selacine board of directors and appointed Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation Chairman, Hudson Samarasinghe as chairman of the board instead. Following discussions with her Senior Adviser, Mano Tittawela, the President also ordered that two more of her associates be appointed to the board.

Kumaratunga also informed Samarasinghe that she had appointed renowned casino and restaurant proprietor, Mahinda Ramanayake a director on the board and requested him to coordinate all NLB promotional campaigns with him in the future. 

All in the family 

Meanwhile, Kumaratunga has also decided that it is indeed time to look out for the political future of her kith and kin and put the wheels in motion to enhance brother Anura's political image. According to reports, Kumaratunga has planned an intensive media campaign commencing in November this year for this purpose.

Although little is said about the reason for this sudden interest in spending millions to foster the little brother, those in the know are well aware that the intention is to mould Anura for the presidential candidacy instead of Premier Rajapakse. It is also learnt that while Selacine will be handed the contract for Anura's media blitz, it is widely believed that Samarasinghe was appointed Selacine chairman so that things could be carried out exactly the way Kumaratunga wants.

Meanwhile, Samarasinghe has also been put in charge of the SLFP newspaper Dinakara. Having summoned the editor and news editor of the paper last week, Samarasinghe informed them that Dinakara had to carry out a patriotic duty no other media institution was capable of. He asked them to look into the activities of an underworld figure operating in Hambantota and also to find out which politician was behind his activities.

Soon after the meeting, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse received a phone call. He was informed that Samarasinghe had ordered a campaign against the Prime Minister, via the Dinakara. The caller told Rajapakse that the Dinakara editorial had been instructed by Samarasinghe to expose the activities of Hambantota Vambotta and reveal the name of the politician aiding and abetting his activities in the area, to which the Premier laughed and replied, "The President is probably doing this also for my own good!"

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