Calling for BIDS FROM PRIVATEERS! What next?

Is the Government serious? Or is it just a figment of imagination of the Defence Secretary to Auction off Maritime Security to All Comers? Firstly, no matter what unilateral decision Ghotabaya Rajapakse took to give Avante Garde exclusive rights to maintain floating armories in International waters, it was not a wise move, as events that have unfolded quite clearly show.

His reasons are many, and some that have been unearthed are that when this work was carried out by the SL Navy and later Rakna Lanka, RALL which was set up just to do this, that arms and ammunition belonging to Sri Lankan forces, had got lost. Avante Garde was successful in finding some of these missing arms, and one presumes this is what possessed GR to give the business to AG!

Further GR is on record as saying that, if the forces can earn Rs3.5B a year from leasing arms to AG, for NO MORE cost to the SL Govt. then we should allow him to do it! The most idiotic statement from a person who now has proved beyond doubt that he should never have been entrusted with the safety of the Nation. A true traitor if ever one walked the face of this earth!

Come on, are we merely slaves to money, when a whole Nation’s security could have been put at risk by such floating armories which can service any kind of terror group the owners of these armories wished to assist. In fact the whole security of the Nation was at risk on the night of 8^th January because of such privateers operating in the high seas.       

 http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2015/11/08/new05.asp

Remember this business is one based purely on trust. Sri Lanka Govt. MUST be able to ensure that the Company or Companies to which it grants this permission, do not abuse their responsibility, as one cannot check on floating armories as far away as the Coast of the Horn of Africa where one of them was anchored. Just think of the threat to SL if a floating armory there, was hijacked by pirates there and the arms used in some international conspiracy or coup! Where would Sri Lanka stand on this with both the United Nations and relations with the affected countries, due to the shenanigans of these buccaneers?

We must count ourselves lucky that NO diplomatic incident has resulted so far. Calling for bids is NOT the way. This is a business that Rakna Lanka MUST be able to do, but as a Government undertaking is answerable to Parliament, it is difficult to make risky decisions on the go, unless there is a personal and pecuniary interest to take this risk. The fact that the downside risk in this instance has been borne by the GOSL and Forces, the upside reward also should be!

That is what is called a business. Why should the people of SL bear the complete risk, and the privateer take the full reward? That is why the existing arrangement was WRONG and a workable solution found to benefit the Country, not a Buccaneering Privateer should Kili Maharaja want to cash in on raining dollars at the people's expense.

This is pure piracy of the high seas, and sadly there is NO PERSON IN PARLIAMENT intelligent enough to understand the dynamics of this business. What a shame we have such fools making decisions on the people's behalf.