More virulent than Covid!
by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana
Memories are short, unfortunately, or maybe fortunately! In most minds, the nightmare we went through with the Covid-19 pandemic is a distant memory. The hardships we went through and uncertainties we faced seem to be largely forgotten. After the 1918-1920 flu pandemic, commonly referred to by the misnomer, ‘Spanish flu’, which is estimated to have affected about 500 million, about a third of the then global population, killing around 50 million, it was the biggest public health emergency the world faced.
The pandemic due to the Covid-19 virus, yet to be determined whether it jumped from animal to human or was laboratory created, lasted from January 2020 to May 2023, peaking in January 2022, infecting over 700 million worldwide and killing just under 7 million. Suffering of some survivors due to “Long Covid” is overshadowed by the economic disasters some countries are reeling under and still grappling with, Sri Lanka being no exception.
How governments handled the epidemic is under scrutiny and, in Britain, there is an ongoing high-level public inquiry, set up to learn lessons for the future. Although it was not meant to lay blame on any individuals, as it is progressing there seems a shift towards that. Then British PM, Boris Johnson faced tough questioning for two days and, at times he was in tears; genuine or not! The UK was among the worst affected with over 24 million cases with over 230,000 deaths and the figure of 3389 deaths per million of population is quite high indeed, being among the highest in the world.
In contrast, Sri Lanka can claim to have tackled the pandemic effectively with 672,629 cases and 16,888 deaths, deaths per million population working out to only 783. That is remarkable considering the economic constraints in buying test kits, vaccines, drugs and equipment. Unfortunately, the good efforts were soured by illogical decisions like the refusal to allow burials, on the advice of experts who gave preference to prejudices over science.
Unfortunately, Sri Lanka is afflicted with a virus of far greater virulence than Covid. Yes, it is corruption and it is sad to note that no branch of government seems to be spared. This tragic situation has been getting worse by the day, and a cardinal characteristic of our governments is that every government is more corrupt than the previous one.
Looking at the recent past, the Yahapalanaya, government, which undertook to eradicate corruption, brought in a foreigner to carry out the Treasury bond scams. Frustrated, the electorate voted overwhelmingly for a non-politician to be President in the hope that he would eradicate this virus but it turned out to be a disaster, as the politicians around him continued to play the same old game! When he was forced out, someone who aspired to the top-job for eons, had it fall on his lap by sheer chance.
Everyone expected Ranil to clean the stables after clearing the economic mess but, though he was able to steady the ship of economy, he has shown, by his recent actions, that he is no different. He seems to be harbouring the delusion that the country is full of idiots and would fail to recognize the manner in which he is consolidating the corruption of Sri Lanka Cricket! Roshan Ranasinghe may be no saint but he had the courage to take on SLC.
He had no choice after the dreadful performance by the cricket team and when he attempted an overhaul, it was Ranil who stood in his way, unashamedly! Ranil’s latest announcement is that he would depoliticise and revolutionise Sri Lanka Cricket by 2030. In short, the crooked lot exposed by the Auditor General’s report can have a field day for another seven years!
Making matters even worse, Ranasinghe is under attack from all directions. What a shame? He stated in parliament that his life is at risk but what he is facing is a fate worse than death: ruination of his political career. Why? For having had the guts to stand up to corruption. If the corrupt, led by the President succeed in doing so, Sri Lanka will have no future and do hope the voters of Polonnaruwa would teach the corrupt a lesson.
Having tasted unbridled power, at last, Ranil is attempting to control everything including the Constitutional Council. As stated in the editorial “Under the shadow of dictatorship” (The Island, 28 November) it would be difficult to find many who disagree with the editor’s conclusion: “What we are witnessing are the unmistakable signs of the country heading for a dictatorship.
” Sometimes, dictators can be benevolent. After all, Lee Kuan Yew was a democrat only in name, being a dictator who suppressed all opposition but all that is forgotten because he was not corrupt and made Singapore one of the most prosperous countries. What is happening in Sri Lanka is just the opposite, as well stated in the editorial comment :”The SLPP-UNP administration has thus proved that it is a government of the corrupt by the corrupt for the corrupt, and the interests of the public do not matter in its scheme of things. (”Masterminds at large” The Island, 19 December)
Of the three branches of government, the legislature is packed with dishonest politicians, the executive is corrupt as shown above and the actions of some judges too are cause for concern. However, my main concern as a person who dedicated his life to the care of the sick, is the sickening conduct of some members of my noble profession. I have been critical previously of some of the methods adopted in consultation practice but all that pales into insignificance when one considers the “Immunoglobulin racket.”
It has been revealed that what was made out to be immunoglobulin was a substance manufactured locally. How it was done is beyond belief when the country lacks the capability to manufacture that drug! Evidence has emerged that there was no immunoglobulin at all in the concoction! For medical men to endanger life with such callous actions seems unimaginable but that is what happens in the land like no other! The Minister who presided over such actions has been entrusted with the task of protecting the environment! The President is busy setting up a university to protect the environment. Whom has he chosen as the advisor? A person who headed a UN agency for the same purpose but had to leave the job when he was found to be misusing the office. Corruption confounded! One of Ranil’s acolytes is now proposing that he should be President for 12 years; five years more than Ranil wanted to cleanse cricket. These are ominous signs.
Covid-19 has mutated to be a mild virus but will the corruption virus, eating away Sri Lanka, ever become less virulent, even if not eradicated? Most unlikely!
