He said it was quite clear that the President, his ministers and MPs were working for their personal benefit and did not give two hoots about what happened to the masses.

Their campaign slogan Rata Ekata, Yamu Perata

He said it was quite clear that the President, his ministers and MPs were working for their personal benefit and did not give two hoots about what happened to the masses.

Recent policy blunders and governance lapses may have sent down Sri Lanka s ranking in the Global Competitiveness Index 2012/13 released by the World Economic Forum yesterday (04), the second biggest drop among 144 countries, with macroeconomic stability being the weakest indicator along with labour market inefficiencies.

Sri Lanka is ranked 68th among 144 other nations, down from the 52nd position last year (2011/12) and 62nd the year before (2010/11). Sri Lanka s score has worsened marginally to 4.2 (on a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 denotes more problematic) from 4.3 last year (2011) to be on par with the same score received two years ago.

This year s Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) has ignored an Executive Opinion Survey containing views of the top corporate leaders in the country and the index has been prepared with last year s data.

'The 2012 Survey data collected in Ecuador, Georgia, Rwanda, and Sri Lanka deviate significantly from the 2011 results. The subsequent analysis revealed that this departure was not accompanied by a similar trend in indicators taken from other sources, and the recent developments in these countries do not seem to provide enough justification for the large swings observed. For these four countries, we therefore use only the 2011 Survey data in the computation of this year s GCI. While this remains a remedial measure, we will continue to investigate the situation in an effort to improve the reliability of the Survey data in these countries. Last year, the same analysis resulted in the Survey data of six countries Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Slovenia,' the GCR says.

We sent an email to the World Economic Forum to find out what this really meant.

'In order to not fuel speculation, I cannot elaborate on the 2012 results of the Executive Opinion Survey data for Sri Lanka. The data was too inconsistent with other evidence collected and therefore we discarded them. Sri Lanka has been displaying very wide swings in the rankings in the past four years. But even by these standards, this year s results presented too much volatility. We re investigating and working with our Partner Institute to improve the reliability of the results next year,' Thierry Geiger, Economist/Associate Director, Centre for Global Competitiveness and Performance, World Economic Forum, told The Island Financial Review via email.

The word pimp is associated with prostitution. While some engage in pimping for a fee, others carry out their work voluntarily. However, some are proud of being pimps since everyone cannot efficiently carry out the work.

There are many stories about the proud father in the local media, but none so explicit like the story published recently in the Dinamina newspaper. The story states that the President had shouted coarse on an election platform saying children should not be used as political tools. The reason for this outburst is a request made by a child who had sat for the Grade 5 scholarship examination this year. The child had requested the President not to hold the examination again.
The government immediately denied that the Grade 5 scholarship examination paper had been leaked the day before the exam. However, the CID has been asked to inquire into the matter. Usually, the CID is given a case to seen an end to it.

However, the question that begs an answer is the President s moral right to make such a statement given that he had assumed office after misleading the entire student population in the country.

Many are the lies in the Mahinda Chinthana aimed at making the President, the proud father. After promising an entire ministry for children, there is now a ministry that partly addresses children s issues. There are doubts whether the President is even aware of the person holding the portfolio.
Was it not the President who carried out politics by carrying children where ever he went? Can he say that children were not used in his election campaign? Can he still stand for the children in the country? Can he be the proud father? The answer is, no.

There is a struggle for over six months demanding the allocation of 6 percent of the GDP for the education sector. The Rajapaksa government has responded saying it cannot be done and are trying to suppress the struggle. This 6 percent is being asked for the children s future. Every parent desires the best for their child and has expectations of ensuring a good position for the child in society, just like the President who wants to spend millions to make his son an astronaut.

The basis for all this is education. The rulers who are knowingly destroying the education sector will never help parents and children achieve their dreams. Instead they have made people lose confidence in the national examinations.

Also, there is an increase in the number of child abuse cases as never before. It has now become the latest trend. It is this governing system that is responsible for this situation. It is a similar scenario with the introduction of children to narcotics.

The current economy and social system traps children into committing crimes. The current governing system sustains itself on these issues.

In other words, it is the rule of pimps where children are being forced into a sort of prostitution.

Colombo High Court freezed assets valued at Rs.185 mil. belonging to alleged drug kingpin Samantha Kumara alias Wele Suda and his family.

Five luxury houses in Nadimala, Dehiwala, Wijeyarama road Colombo, Bagathale road and Rajagiriya areas and three vehicles (BMW, Range Rover, Prado) and Jewelry worth million rupees are among the assets seized.

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