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Suppression is a losing game: Dr. Nalaka Godahewa

07 May 2022

  • People must have the right to speak up, not be suppressed
  • Ministers must tell the truth, we must not lie to the people
  • Countering fake news with facts is the way forward
  • Will not allow Government machinery to harm the media
  • Many investment projects stuck due to bureaucratic red tape
By Marianne David People must have the right to speak up and should never be suppressed, as suppression in the long run is a losing game, asserts Media Minister Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, who was appointed to the post in the recent Cabinet reshuffle. As for media suppression, the Minister opined that there was no media suppression taking place today. “Look at the media, look at the newspapers and how openly they are criticising. Sometimes there is fake news also, but we have to counter it with facts – that’s the way to go forward. We must give the right information and then the intelligent people will evaluate and decide what is right and wrong,” he noted, in an interview with The Sunday Morning.  Confirming that accountability was needed in relation to the attacks on the media over the years, the Minister however admitted that it was not a priority at present, given the issues facing the country right now, especially in relation to the economy and constitutional amendments.  “We are in a crisis and we have to get out. Some of the things you are talking about are definitely things that should be done, but I don’t know whether, in this current mess that everyone is involved in, it has become a top priority. The families will not be happy to hear this, but that’s the truth. There are so many issues the Government is grappling with,” he said. In the course of the interview, Minister Dr. Godahewa also spoke about his former role as the State Minister for Urban Development, the land bank that was collated to encourage investment, and his current role as Head of the Cabinet Subcommittee on boosting Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs). Following are excerpts: You are handling media in an environment where freedom of expression has been put to the test, with unprecedented criticism being levelled against the Government. Clashes have been taking place between protestors and the Police as well. How will you ensure freedom of expression and media freedom? First and foremost, I believe in democracy and I believe people must have the right to speak up. When they have issues you must never suppress them, because suppression in the long run is a losing game. Therefore, one thing I have advocated to all the media heads who are directly linked to us and also to our ministers is to tell the truth. Since I came into the Cabinet I have been very clear that we must not lie to the people; we must tell them the truth.  In addition to our weekly media briefing, I have also started a programme for ministers to come and talk about their institutes on a daily roster. So far only one or two have been able to do that because they are still new, but my intention is that almost every day one minister must come to the Media Ministry and talk about their ministry and face the media so that they can raise questions. That’s the best way to get the message across rather than have rumours running around.  If you talk about media suppression, you may agree with me that you don’t see any media suppression today. Look at the media, look at the newspapers and how openly they are criticising. Sometimes there is fake news also, but we have to counter it with facts.  For example, two days ago at the Cabinet briefing I clarified the news about steel imports in connection with the Indian credit line. I clarified that it was clearly fake news, which we countered with facts. That’s the way to go forward. We must give the right information and then the intelligent people will evaluate and decide what is right and wrong. The country is seemingly on a correctional path. In this backdrop, what measures will be taken on accountability over attacks and killing of journalists over the years? There are a lot of things that people are speaking of about the past. Our issues are with the system, which are sins that we still carry. We have a load of issues at the moment to focus on – the economy is the biggest issue and constitutional amendments are another issue.  If you look at the Justice Ministry, with Minister Ali Sabry involved, for the last two years so much work has been done in that Ministry to get our legal system right in order to support economic activities. In that prioritisation, the focus is current issues at the moment, naturally. We are in a crisis and we have to get out.  Some of the things you are talking about are definitely things that should be done, but I don’t know whether, in this current mess that everyone is involved in, it has become a top priority. The families will not be happy to hear this, but that’s the truth. There are so many issues the Government is grappling with.  If you ask me, yes, everyone has to be held accountable, but not just over those issues. What about corruption and other misdeeds? There are so many things for which so many people have to be held accountable. At the end of the day, it’s all about prioritising resources. Other countries in the region are putting legislation in place to ensure the safety of the media. As Media Minister, what are the safeguards you hope to put in place where the media is concerned? I think I have taken the first step by making it very clear that we must preserve media freedom by telling the truth. As long as I am here I will not allow the Government machinery to do anything harmful to the media. In terms of the systemic changes we need to do, let’s discuss, take suggestions, and act on those things.  In terms of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, years after enacting it, we have not reached the optimum level of implementation. What steps will you take to ensure this? RTI is also related to our Ministry, but I am yet to meet the officials; we will be meeting next week or the week after. There are so many institutes that we are meeting and so many things that are happening, but we will definitely discuss the pending issues with them and take corrective action. In terms of training given to local journalists in covering sensitive issues and volatile situations, what steps will you take to ensure their physical as well as digital safety? I have already told our Ministry to have a complete briefing on these areas. This is something that they do anyway, but what I have found – not just with this Ministry but other ministries also – is that over the years these programmes that they conduct have become somewhat routine and are not up-to-date. We can make them more up-to-date and use technology and train them on the latest developments. I am a strong believer in training. I think we have to make our media more professional and I am willing to give whatever support is needed from the Government end. Media is yet to be recognised as a profession in Sri Lanka and given the dignity that it surely deserves. Will you look into this matter? Do you plan to address it? Yes, but there are some issues. Firstly, we don’t have proper qualifications for media – there are only very few. It has become a situation where anyone can call themselves media just by having a camera and a microphone and interviewing people. We need to gradually change this. If we try to change this in a rush, it can get interpreted as media suppression.  For example, if someone who is not qualified is trying to pose as a journalist and we are trying to prevent that, in this situation it can be seen as suppression. We need to change that by bringing these qualifications in and improving training and standards. Gradually, when those people perform well, others will also try to get that qualification and training. It’s a gradual process, but let’s work towards that.  In your former capacity as State Minister for Urban Development, what progress was made and how much FDI was brought into the country? The Urban Development Ministry is not responsible for FDI. It offers a supporting function. For example, if an investor comes to the Board of Investment (BOI) and if they have a land requirement, that is where they come to the Urban Development Authority (UDA) and talk to us.  If you look at total FDI inflow into the country in the last two years, it has become very slow. A lot of people were interested in UDA land, but only a few projects could materialise because of the political uncertainty in the country.  What we did was collate a land bank which we can offer to foreign and local investors. A couple of projects of some large local investors went through – some logistics parks and a multipurpose shopping centre, etc. – after the normal process of tendering, we didn’t give anything unsolicited, but they were all local projects.  We have made the land bank available to all our embassies, the BOI, and those who are handling investment promotion and they need to make best use of these facilities. Given the current economic conditions which are not conducive for starting new projects, as Head of the Cabinet Subcommittee on boosting FDIs, how do you plan to attract investments, especially with construction being halted at present? Actually in the two days since the subcommittee was appointed on Monday (2 May), what I found was that there was so much interest. I was surprised to see how many projects are pending in the pipeline, stuck due to bureaucratic red tape. In fact, I was talking to the President this morning (5 May) and I told him I could see about $ 3 billion worth of foreign investments stuck due to bureaucratic red tape.  If we facilitate these things, get the people to work harder, and understand the gravity of the economic crisis in the country, within the next six months we should be able to bring a reasonable amount of investments, which are already in the pipeline.  Meanwhile, with the current rupee devaluation, in the export industry, etc., there are opportunities in the pipeline. I don’t think investment will be a problem. But the usual problem that we’ve always had – the things that prevent investment – needs to be cleared, so my priority and that of the team, the ministerial committee, will be to focus on that. 


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