Isn't it ironic that the person
universally commended as being the best possible person to hold the job as the
Director of Wildlife Conservation resigned within MONTHS of his appointment due
to interference from Politicians.
In short, though it was through the
personal intervention of the PM that he took this job, the PM did not have the
balls to dress down the very people within his administration whose action
resulted in Dr. Pilapitiya’s resignation.
Yes I agree that he was never a Govt.
servant, so he did not learn the art of keeping his job by sucking up to some
uneducated (you don’t have to go to school and University in England to pretend
to be educated, and so they too fall into the uneducated category) Jhonnies who
litter the parliament in the guise of responsible people! Until these and
senile and cranky people past their sell by dates are chopped out of powerful
positions, we cannot get to the next level of saving this Country from mass
destruction.
So who are the traitors? I think they
are those who do not allow Govt. servants to carry out their tasks without
interference and those who don’t know that their actions directly result in the
ruination of their Country.
We expected better from this Govt. after
throwing out the daylight robbers. However it seems we have replaced them with “nighttime
robbers”.
Pilapitiya simply undertook to do his job, and
work in accordance with the legislation, to which we are all stakeholders. The law
of the land MUST apply to all, not to all but a SELECT FEW who could call the
DG to let some rogue who happened to be their supporter off the hook or be pulled up for breaking it themselves!
Many people say, he should have compromised due
to the nature of the politicians and their unreasonable behavior as it is systemic. Art of the compromise so to speak. I disagree, you give an inch they will begin to take the whole mile and then some!
However if you do, and you don’t achieve the desired result it is he who will be blamed for giving us hope, and who eventually played the game despite assurances to the contrary. This is the catch 22 that an honest person faces in a dishonest environment. There are long suffering people everywhere who are faced with this challenge and hold on for personal reasons of survival. This man's survival does not depend on this job, but the Country's survival does, and here in lies the rub.
Lets face it DG Wildlife is the toughest job in Sri Lanka, as the animals he is trying to protect can't shout on his behalf!
However if you do, and you don’t achieve the desired result it is he who will be blamed for giving us hope, and who eventually played the game despite assurances to the contrary. This is the catch 22 that an honest person faces in a dishonest environment. There are long suffering people everywhere who are faced with this challenge and hold on for personal reasons of survival. This man's survival does not depend on this job, but the Country's survival does, and here in lies the rub.
Lets face it DG Wildlife is the toughest job in Sri Lanka, as the animals he is trying to protect can't shout on his behalf!
So Prime Minister, your 40+ years in politics will NOT amount to a hill of beans unless you are able to give assurance of "NO MORE INTERFERENCE". He will then take this job. You will be amazed how he could transform this Country!
Today, nothing matter more to the survival of Sri Lanka, than the reversal of the deforestation, protection of the environment and the re- establishment of protected zones free from destruction of any sort, in other words INVIOLABLE AREAS.
Today, nothing matter more to the survival of Sri Lanka, than the reversal of the deforestation, protection of the environment and the re- establishment of protected zones free from destruction of any sort, in other words INVIOLABLE AREAS.
This is the clearest example yet of people who can save Sri Lanka not being given a chance to do so. Don't ever expect foreign investment or a reversal of the brain drain until you change your attitude first. Its your call, and the Country's fate, ITS YOUR TRUE LEGACY as it is the future of the Country we are talking about, and NOT some theoretical hypothesis - an economic or political experiment.
All Lands belonging to the DWC and Forest Department and reservation land, needs to be under ONE administration. Land can be divided into different categories, of human entry, so that certain practices like re-planting, or harvesting timber can take place under the supervision of officialdom, and is made easier when the administration is one. An Army of 50,000 enforces will belong to it.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem Govt. servants and Grama Niladari face is they don’t know to whom most of the land under their jurisdiction belongs. Neither do the people tasked with protecting their patches. IT MUST therefore be run under ONE administration to clear any doubt. I would farm this whole responsibility to a powerful department, with a Board of Trustees of eminent Conservationists to govern, and effectively be the Board of Directors, with ONLY the PM being an –officio member, much like the Monetary Board that oversees the Governor. The Department of INVIOLABLE LANDS that will have total jurisdiction over a quarter of the land of Sri Lanka. POSITIVE RESULTS WILL ACRRUE IMMEDIATELY. If given to me, I will give the treasury, the annual profit of Rs5 Billlion whilst incurring all the costs of running the whole place within the restrictions of the Flora and Fauna Act. I must be able to remand all those caught within my jurisdiction in my own remand and be able to charge them Rs5,000 per day for the privilege. Poaching will stop in days! Destruction of forest will start within weeks, suspension of sand mining will be effective within months. Forest cover of Sri Lanka will double within years.
Now that is a challenge
Sorry - Third from last line should read - A halt to the destruction lands or deforestation will start within weeks
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