All governments, past and present, market Sri Lanka's democracy to solicit assistance from western democracies. We also canvass international support on the grounds that the country's democracy is under threat from the LTTE. If Sri Lanka's democracy is substantive the case we make is justified. Unfortunately, our case has looked less and less credible in the past three decades.

The rot set in with the second Sirima Bandaranaike administration extension of the life parliament by two years, some features of the First Republican Constitution are examples - greatly accelerated during the Jayewardene administration the referendum and the executive presidency are only two examples and, fueled by the war, has deteriorated further since then.
The country today lacks some of the most basic features of democracy. Freedom of the private media is being undermined. The state media is used at the tax payers' expense to prop up the party in power.

Accountability is virtually non-existent. The wastage of colossal amounts of public funds on dead-end projects demonstrates lack of financial accountability. The persistent failure to implement the 17th amendment that had unanimous backing when it was originally written into the constitution demonstrates lack of political accountability.

Transparency is an almost alien concept to Sri Lanka's democracy as practiced today. In many areas of public policy transparency is totally lacking. For example, the Ministry of Education has been appointing new principals to schools totally disregarding the results of the examination that was conducted for that purpose so that political lackeys of the ruling party could be given appointments on the sly.

The rule of law is virtually in tatters. The unsolved abductions and killings are a testimony to this break down.

If the freedom of expression, accountability, transparency and the rule of law are all diminished what exactly remains of Sri Lanka's democracy? The answer is elections, a surfeit of it. We have devised a scheme that permits the government in power to manipulate the system to hold elections more or less at will. A good many elections are held not because they serve the purpose of democratic renewal but because they may help to preserve the party in power. The four tiers of government presidential, parliamentary, provincial and local government marvelously serve this purpose.

The law allows six year terms for the presidency and parliament, five year terms for the provincial councils and four year terms for local authorities. What this means is that at the very minimum, on average, the country will have an election once every 15 months. But in reality the period is shorter because there is discretionary authority that the president can exercise to have elections without waiting for the full period. Moreover, as happening today the provincial elections can be split. In short Sri Lanka can be in election mode almost every year and for extended periods of time.

These frequent elections in Sri Lanka are also a serious impediment to economic progress. First, they require the lawmakers and ministers to spend time and energy battling elections when they should be spending time serving the public. Second, vast sums are spent both by the state as well as by the political parties and contestants that could be used for more productive purposes.

Even with those drawbacks one could see some merit in these elections if they were reasonably clean and fair. Often they are not. But they serve an important purpose for the party in power. First they help to divert the attention of the public from more pressing and real issues and give the voter a vacuous notion of power. Second, they give the world the impression that all is well in Sri Lanka's democracy because we constantly hold elections. But it is a thin veneer of democracy that hides a virtually empty shell.

But the shell fills up a little roughly once in about twenty year in what can be called the completion of the “Great Election Cycle” of Sri Lanka; 1956-77 (21 years) was one such cycle and 1977-94 (17) was another. In each Great Cycle one party holds power. By the end of the Cycle the voters are tired of the rascals in power who have fat personal bank balances but are exhausted and have no appetite for a fight. Those out of power are hungry for it and make the usual honey and treacle promises. The voters oblige with a clean sweep bringing in the new lot and the twenty year cycle starts all over again. That, for you, is democracy Sri Lankan style.

I Give Priority to Education Says Deputy Minister Musthapha

Deputy Minister of Tourism Mr. Faiszar Musthapha (39) is a commercial lawyer by profession with a Masters degree from Aberdeen University, UK, Mr. Mustapha has his roots in Kandy. He had his school education in Royal College, Colombo. His grandfather Seyyed Musthapha was a lawyer who practiced in Kandy in 1940-1988. The Deputy Minister's father Faiz Musthapha (PC) is an old Trinitian. He is one of Sri Lanka's best known lawyers with a practice in Colombo. He also served as Sri Lanka's High Commissioner in the United Kingdom.

Faizar Musthapha is married to Rifa who is a lawyer practicing in Colombo. She is now his coordinating secretary in the ministry and also coordinates his Foundation offices in Akurana and Kandy. They have two daughters who are schooling in Bishops College, Colombo.

Mr. Mustapha who is a Vice President of the CWC at one time had served as the lawyer for the CWC leader Mr. Arumugam Thondaman. He says that he was inspired to enter politics partly by the Udathalawinna massacre during the December 2001 parliamentary elections - he had provided legal counsel on behalf of the victims. He had contested the last election under the UNP. He says that he left the party over the issue of appointment of teachers. He had gone to the Supreme Court to argue against appointments being given on the basis of narrow religious Hindu and Christian considerations, won the case and secured appointments for 600 Muslims also.

Deputy Minister of Tourism Faiszar Musthapha says that the best investment that Sri Lanka can make today is in education. He says that he spends very little of his decentralized budget on physical infrastructure, especially buildings, as many parliamentarians do. He prefers to spend the money on education programs for unemployed youth.

In a wide ranging interview that he gave Mrs. Shirley Jayawardane of The Kandy News the youthful minister talked about what he wants to do for Kandy, especially the less privileged youth of Kandy. Mr. Musthapha who hails from an old family from Kandy also worries about some of the less pleasant directions in which the city that he considers as him ancestral hometown is moving.

The Kandy News (KN): How do you see Kandy as the Deputy Minister of Tourism?
Deputy Minister (DM): Kandy does not have some of the basic infrastructure even for domestic tourism. Look at the bus stand and the central market. I recently visited the Good Shed bus stand and the market. They are badly maintained, dirty and unkempt. There are hardly and public toilets and those that are available are in a terrible condition. I went inside the public toilets. Today no decent human being could go to those toilets. There are uncollected garbage piles everywhere in the town. There appears to be no proper system of garbage collection.

The overall situation is unsatisfactory and not helpful to tourism development.

KN: Why have you not discussed this with the Mayor of Kandy?
Why not? I have had several discussions. I have met with the Mayor in the company of the Governor.

KN: We are told that KMC has financial constraints that prevent them from improving its services. Municipal sources say that the tourist hotels have defaulted on tax payments to the Council.
If people are not paying taxes, the Council is to be blamed for its inefficiency in failing to collect its dues. Most of the work such as garbage collection is given out on contracts. If the contractors are not delivering as promised the KMC must take action against the contractors. Why aren't they doing that? The Mayor of Kandy should take total responsibility for this situation. If he can't deliver he should not have taken the job.

KN: What action have you taken in your capacity as a deputy minister of the government to address these issues?
I am giving one million rupees to the KMC to upgrade the toilets. During the last two Pereharas the Tourist Board put up temporary toilets and gave free water bottles to the public who came to see the Perehara.

I am also working closely with the Diyawadana Nilame and the Asgiriya and Malwatta temples. At the request of Malwatta Mahanayaka I have given a tractor-trailer to the Maligawa to help keep the Maligawa area tidy.

KN: I have heard that you are also focusing on religious activity.
I believe that religion is an important aspect in a human being's life. I feel that it has to be cultivated further. I also believe that while we develop economically and materially empower ourselves, we must also spiritually uplift ourselves. I find that the latter is increasingly neglected. I am using my resources to help uplift the community spiritually. Recently we donated 50 Sunday Schools Rs 10,000 each. We also promote education in other religions.

KN: How are you going to attract more tourists to Kandy?
I am planning to create more awareness of what Kandy has to offer. People come to Kandy for the Perehara, visit the Maligawa or to watch the Bradby rugby match. But we have to expand that menu to include more of what Kandy can offer and also tap countries outside the traditional sources. Indians are increasingly traveling abroad for holidays. They are good market for us. So are other Buddhists from countries such as Japan, Korea and China in the East where there is more money for travel.

I work closely with the Maligawa as most politicians do. I believe that Sri Lanka is a Sinhala Buddhist country. We have a Buddhist history. We will utilize our resources to see how we can develop the Buddhist historical and archeological sites around Kandy that will attract foreign as well as local tourists.

KN: Are these only mere plans or have you taken concrete steps to implement what you are talking about?
Some of the ideas have already been implemented. We have already given one million rupees to the KMC for public toilets and also to Malwatta Rajamaha Vihara another one million. Some of the other things that I have mentioned are in the process of being acted upon. The Saman Devala development project, Renovation of Kadugannawa Ambalama, Meeramakkam Meditation Centre, Media Centre at Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kundasale Pilgrim Rest, renovation of Bambaragala Raja Vihara and Elawathura Muslim Assembly development are some of my other projects.

KN: But developing historical sites alone will not persuade tourists to stay longer in Kandy.
You are correct. We also should promote Kandy for entertainment. Kandy is starved of entertainment. But as the sacred tooth is here whatever the promotion we do in Kandy has to be cultural. I am looking at various ways to promote this aspect. We have to be careful in what we bring to Kandy.

KN: What are the tourism promotion activities that you plan for Kandy?
Publicity and promotion are essential for success. I am planning to invite some media personnel and tour operators to stay in Kandy for a week to show what we have to offer.

KN: Tourism apart what are the other areas that you are working on that will have an impact on Kandy development?
My politics are based on two things, Sri Lankan identity and youth empowerment. We have a youth empowerment program focusing on employment to help the youth in the Kandy area. We have already sent over 300 youth from Kandy to the Middles East through this program. We have done this through the Hotel School. All these years the Hotel School was catering mainly to only one class of society. We have tried to open the School to people of all backgrounds. Through this program we take any student with O' Levels, give them 2 months of theory and one month of practical training for a fee of Rs 5000. Then we help them find jobs in the Middles East where they could earn around Rs 50,000 a month. I work very closely with the local hoteliers to see how we can create more opportunities for young people here in Kandy itself.

I spend much of my decentralized budget and other resources at my disposal on education. I don't spend much on physical infrastructure as some others do. Education is the way to empower youth.

KN: How can young people get more information on this program?
They can contact the Hotel School in Kandy.

KN: Is this the only area you work in for youth?
I also have the Faiszar Musthapha Foundation. I have three centers, one in Kandy (081-220-3700), the second in Akurana (081-230-2855) and we are about to open the third in Udathalawinna.

Through these centres young people can learn computing, English and sewing. There are about 1000 students in my two centers. We charge a fee of Rs 100 to Rs 200. I don't believe in giving anything free. When things are given free the recipients do not attach much value to them. The program is worth Rs 3,000 a month. We take them in batches. Anybody interested can contact one of the centres for information.

My hope is that the investment in youth education will have a big pay off both for the individual and family as well as the society at large. Some people spend on developing religious places and the like. There is some good that comes out of that. But my thinking is education is the best investment. If they can get jobs in Sri Lanka so much the better. If they go abroad they earn money and also learn from their travel which is also good. I may be wrong. Anyway, this is my thinking.