• Allege attempt to divert public displeasure of Prez, Govt
• Say Prez has no moral right to criticise public servants

BY Buddhika Samaraweera   Subsequent to President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s statement to the effect that public servants who do not perform their duties properly should leave the service immediately, trade unions representing public servants claimed that the President is attempting to divert public displeasure towards the current Government and himself (Wickremesinghe) onto public servants, and that he should order inefficient politicians to go home in the same manner. Speaking to The Morning yesterday (22), Sri Lanka Government Officers’ Trade Union Association (SLGOTUA) President Pradeep Basnayake said that it is not the public servants, but the policymakers, including the President himself, who should be blamed for such. He also said that the public servants perform their duties according to the policies prepared by politicians, adding that public servants cannot defy such policies. “Although the President says that the public servants do not perform their jobs properly, it is not the case. In the past, a system was not prepared for the public servants to work with maximum efficiency. They have adapted to this system in the current mechanism. By making these kinds of statements, the President is attempting to impose displeasure against him and the Government on the public servants,” saud Basnayake. Stating that the public servants in a particular area are supposed to work for the betterment of the people through various means, such as the distribution of certain subsidies and the promotion of self-employment, Basnayake claimed that such activities are often influenced by politicians in the respective areas. Therefore, he added, if the expected development objectives in a certain area have not been achieved, it is the politicians who should be held responsible for such. “I have to ask a few simple questions from the President. Is it because of the public servants that the country’s foreign exchange reserves went down, and fuel and other essential commodities could not be imported? All these issues were created by the politicians, and the public servants have been working with their best efforts to solve this. The President should also remember that the public service is not something that was established a day or two ago. This has been in the country for decades. If there is any shortcoming in the public service, all politicians including Wickremesinghe who has been in the Parliament for decades should be held responsible,” charged Basnayake. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Development Officers’ Service Union (SLDOSU) also strongly protested the President's statement. A representative of the SLDOSU said that the President should act to send inefficient politicians home in the same way that inefficient public servants are told to go home. He also stated that the President has no moral right to comment on the efficiency of public servants while offering various positions to politicians who have been accused of various corruption. “Just like in all other fields, there may be a handful of people who do not do their duties properly in the public service. We do not deny that, but the President is now trying to wash his hands by blaming his failure on the public servants. Having come to power with the support of a group of corrupt politicians, he is now trying to socialise a wrong opinion that it is because of public servants that the current crisis has arisen.” Addressing the District Development Committee in Anuradhapura on 21 August, Wickremesinghe, noting that his aim is to unite everyone for the future of the country, irrespective of the political parties or any other difference, said that public servants have a great responsibility towards that end. He also said that the public servants who cannot perform their job well should leave the service as the Government cannot pay anyone for doing nothing.