The past few weeks following the Sinhala and Tamil New Year saw several adverse developments as far as the prevailing Covid-19 situation is concerned, and the people have started questioning their safety and certain aspects of the country’s Covid-19 management efforts.
The country is going through a trying time, and it is such times that put the rulers to the test. However, after what is described in certain quarters as the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, there were many occasions where concerned citizens could not help but wonder as to whether the Government is having trouble identifying what the country’s priorities are. In fact, this is one of the notions that was repeatedly emphasised concerning the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill, which was and is being railroaded at a time when the country is grappling with and struggling to fight the drastic rise in Covid-19 cases and hundreds and thousands of families being displaced islandwide owing to inclement weather and flood situations. The Supreme Court (SC) has since determined the Bill to be inconsistent with the Constitution. However, the Government decided to continue with the debate, and passed it with a massive majority in Parliament. Nevertheless, irrespective of the result, the Government should understand or admit that the Port City is not Sri Lanka’s top priority at this time, and that allocating almost three days of the Parliament to discuss the SC’s determination on the Bill and to debate on the Bill, is nothing less than an intentional disregard of the most pressing issue, i.e. the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Port City is not a project that requires immediate action or attention, nor is it a project that can help Sri Lanka earn any income whatsoever immediately. It is a project that is going to be in the implementation phase for a couple of years, and to cover the costs and make profits, it could take decades.
However, one notable argument that kept popping up in the Port City discussion is that no person in the country opposed the Port City project, but that their opposition was over the manner of its operations and the administration of the project. In fact, several parties in the Opposition have expressed that they were willing to extend their support for the Bill on one condition, i.e. the Government must implement the amendments recommended by the SC as well as that of the Opposition parties, in order to ensure that the provisions of the Bill will not one day imperil the country’s sovereignty, autonomy, and the people’s democratic right to be free and employed in their own country.
In a context where the Port City is not capable of bringing any immediate benefit to the country and the Government having received the guidance of the SC and the conditional support of the Opposition parties, how and why the Port City became so relevant and important that it patently distracted the rulers from the most pressing issue, is a question that needs to be answered. Also, in a context where the actual enactment of the Bill is likely to take several more weeks or months, attempts to pass the Bill hastily, without any discussion on making the amendments, is also questionable. The Speaker of the Parliament, who has a neutral but crucial role in this connection, and whose signature is essential for a Bill that has been passed in Parliament to become part of the law of the land, also has a responsibility to do his part to ensure that the Bill serves the interests of the country, and not that of certain individuals.
All this took place in a context where the people are getting ready to celebrate the Vesak festival, Sri Lanka’s biggest religious festival. Even though the health authorities have announced new travel restrictions during the festival season, we all know how sometimes people succumb to their urge to visit their friends and families and religious places of worship, due to the Vesak festival’s importance as well as the two-day travel restriction which more or less constitutes a mid-week holiday further compounded by the declaration of the two days preceding the Full Moon Poya Day as special official holidays. Therefore, more than imposing restrictions, the authorities must focus on promoting the people’s responsibility in this connection. At the end of the day, it is a fact that laws and regulations can only tell people what to do and what not to do, but it is the people who ultimately decide as to whether they want to adhere to the laws and regulations. As a matter of fact, that is what happened during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year season where people thought that enjoying their freedom was more important than protecting their health.
Speaking of ensuring the people’s good health, we cannot forget that it is the untiring efforts of ground-level healthcare workers that keep the Covid-19 situation under control, at least to a certain extent.
In the past few days, many workers in the healthcare sector, including public health inspectors (PHIs), governmental medical laboratory technicians, and doctors and nurses have voiced their grievances over the lack of resources and about certain decisions made by the decision-makers, which emphasises the importance of their involvement as those working at the ground level. If their concerns are not included in the decision-making processes or do not attract the attention of the decision-makers, that is serious as the situation may cause an inconsistency between the decisions taken and the implementation of those decisions.
With each passing day, the importance of ground-level healthcare workers keeps increasing, especially when it comes to the vaccination drive and home quarantining asymptomatic Covid-19 patients, and therefore, a proper mechanism to value their services and opinions needs to be in place.
Even though the vaccination drive has slowed down due to the difficulties in procuring the vaccine, predominantly due to India being in an extremely critical situation, the Government is trying to keep the drive going regardless. This week, the Government made two important statements regarding the vaccination, namely, that expectant and nursing mothers can also get the vaccine, and that vaccine mixing and matching is not advisable. Both these statements are also a reminder that the public must take the situation and their health more seriously.
Why is Covid-19 the biggest issue Sri Lanka is encountering currently? The Covid-19 situation shows many signs of getting out of hand. In fact, for the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, this week, the daily number of Covid-19 cases exceeded 3,000, and the total number of deaths passed the 1,000 mark. To make matters worse, the health authorities fear a shortage of resources, especially human resources, in the near future. Therefore, now is a good time for all, including the State, the Government, and the body politic, to prioritise the Covid-19 situation over everything else.Getting the only priority straight
21 May 2021
Getting the only priority straight
21 May 2021
The past few weeks following the Sinhala and Tamil New Year saw several adverse developments as far as the prevailing Covid-19 situation is concerned, and the people have started questioning their safety and certain aspects of the country’s Covid-19 management efforts.
The country is going through a trying time, and it is such times that put the rulers to the test. However, after what is described in certain quarters as the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, there were many occasions where concerned citizens could not help but wonder as to whether the Government is having trouble identifying what the country’s priorities are. In fact, this is one of the notions that was repeatedly emphasised concerning the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill, which was and is being railroaded at a time when the country is grappling with and struggling to fight the drastic rise in Covid-19 cases and hundreds and thousands of families being displaced islandwide owing to inclement weather and flood situations. The Supreme Court (SC) has since determined the Bill to be inconsistent with the Constitution. However, the Government decided to continue with the debate, and passed it with a massive majority in Parliament. Nevertheless, irrespective of the result, the Government should understand or admit that the Port City is not Sri Lanka’s top priority at this time, and that allocating almost three days of the Parliament to discuss the SC’s determination on the Bill and to debate on the Bill, is nothing less than an intentional disregard of the most pressing issue, i.e. the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Port City is not a project that requires immediate action or attention, nor is it a project that can help Sri Lanka earn any income whatsoever immediately. It is a project that is going to be in the implementation phase for a couple of years, and to cover the costs and make profits, it could take decades.
However, one notable argument that kept popping up in the Port City discussion is that no person in the country opposed the Port City project, but that their opposition was over the manner of its operations and the administration of the project. In fact, several parties in the Opposition have expressed that they were willing to extend their support for the Bill on one condition, i.e. the Government must implement the amendments recommended by the SC as well as that of the Opposition parties, in order to ensure that the provisions of the Bill will not one day imperil the country’s sovereignty, autonomy, and the people’s democratic right to be free and employed in their own country.
In a context where the Port City is not capable of bringing any immediate benefit to the country and the Government having received the guidance of the SC and the conditional support of the Opposition parties, how and why the Port City became so relevant and important that it patently distracted the rulers from the most pressing issue, is a question that needs to be answered. Also, in a context where the actual enactment of the Bill is likely to take several more weeks or months, attempts to pass the Bill hastily, without any discussion on making the amendments, is also questionable. The Speaker of the Parliament, who has a neutral but crucial role in this connection, and whose signature is essential for a Bill that has been passed in Parliament to become part of the law of the land, also has a responsibility to do his part to ensure that the Bill serves the interests of the country, and not that of certain individuals.
All this took place in a context where the people are getting ready to celebrate the Vesak festival, Sri Lanka’s biggest religious festival. Even though the health authorities have announced new travel restrictions during the festival season, we all know how sometimes people succumb to their urge to visit their friends and families and religious places of worship, due to the Vesak festival’s importance as well as the two-day travel restriction which more or less constitutes a mid-week holiday further compounded by the declaration of the two days preceding the Full Moon Poya Day as special official holidays. Therefore, more than imposing restrictions, the authorities must focus on promoting the people’s responsibility in this connection. At the end of the day, it is a fact that laws and regulations can only tell people what to do and what not to do, but it is the people who ultimately decide as to whether they want to adhere to the laws and regulations. As a matter of fact, that is what happened during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year season where people thought that enjoying their freedom was more important than protecting their health.
Speaking of ensuring the people’s good health, we cannot forget that it is the untiring efforts of ground-level healthcare workers that keep the Covid-19 situation under control, at least to a certain extent.
In the past few days, many workers in the healthcare sector, including public health inspectors (PHIs), governmental medical laboratory technicians, and doctors and nurses have voiced their grievances over the lack of resources and about certain decisions made by the decision-makers, which emphasises the importance of their involvement as those working at the ground level. If their concerns are not included in the decision-making processes or do not attract the attention of the decision-makers, that is serious as the situation may cause an inconsistency between the decisions taken and the implementation of those decisions.
With each passing day, the importance of ground-level healthcare workers keeps increasing, especially when it comes to the vaccination drive and home quarantining asymptomatic Covid-19 patients, and therefore, a proper mechanism to value their services and opinions needs to be in place.
Even though the vaccination drive has slowed down due to the difficulties in procuring the vaccine, predominantly due to India being in an extremely critical situation, the Government is trying to keep the drive going regardless. This week, the Government made two important statements regarding the vaccination, namely, that expectant and nursing mothers can also get the vaccine, and that vaccine mixing and matching is not advisable. Both these statements are also a reminder that the public must take the situation and their health more seriously.
Why is Covid-19 the biggest issue Sri Lanka is encountering currently? The Covid-19 situation shows many signs of getting out of hand. In fact, for the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, this week, the daily number of Covid-19 cases exceeded 3,000, and the total number of deaths passed the 1,000 mark. To make matters worse, the health authorities fear a shortage of resources, especially human resources, in the near future. Therefore, now is a good time for all, including the State, the Government, and the body politic, to prioritise the Covid-19 situation over everything else.Kapruka
Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!
Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!