TNA & Chief Minister Wigneswaran – STOP COMPLAINING and start developing North Sri Lanka (TNA given Rs.1.385billion – Rs.380m only spent)

Ever since winning the Northern Provincial elections in 2013, the TNA and its Chief Minister has been doing nothing but complain. Complaining, crying to foreign nations and leaders, going on sponsored visits round the globe, gallivanting to India to complain and now asking Tamil youth to act as spies is all that the TNA placed their energy in. The TNA has been doing everything other than develop the Northern Province. We must seriously wonder whether they have the capacity to do so and belong only to the category of NATO – No Action Talk Only. Was that what they were appointed to do? Their rhetoric locally and internationally continues to claim that had they land and police powers they would perform wonders. With Rs.1.385billion at their disposal they can do a far lot more than whining about not getting land and police powers. To date the TNA has only spent Rs.380million. Its time the Tamil people were given these statistics and TNA is told to stop grumbling and start producing some results with the money allocated.

In order for people to realize what a load of lies the TNA and its Chief Minister have gotten away with, the numbers need to be clearly stated.

• The GOSL allocated to the Northern Province Rs.1.385billion for 2014 (It was the amount requested by the TNA for development and that entire request was given)
• The TNA has spent only Rs.380million in 8 months of the allocation of Rs.1.385billion for the year 2014
• Minister Basil Rajapakse has attributed the ‘slowdown’ of development in the North to the non-cooperation of the TNA Provincial Council.
• Since TNA took office of the Northern Province in 2013 it has yet to pass a single statute without which the Northern Province cannot gain revenue in addition to what the GOSL allocates.

Obviously, the TNA has more important things to do than spend their time, energy and brains to address the needs of the people, their basic requirements and practical solutions to their day to day needs is whining probably until they get land and police powers. The TNA is far more interested in promoting 13^thamendment, devolution of powers, demanding land and police powers for themselves, demanding they should get direct aid and direct diplomatic ties and promising wholesale what they would deliver after they obtain these facilities for themselves. Looks like quite a long wait. It would be first good to find out whether the ITAK objectives and aim is Federal and not Confederal before the GOSL commits to any devolution or police powers.

To be able to gage the competency of the TNA and its Chief Minister, shouldn’t they first display their efficiency in delivering from what they have been allocated. Rs.1.385billion is no small amount for the Northern Province with hardly 8lakhs of people residing in the North.

In the meanwhile, the TNA has no scruples about accepting new vehicles worth Rs.16million given to the Northern Province by the Sri Lankan State and neither do they cringe when invited to Temple Trees and they have no issues to not refuse enjoying a cup of tea with the President of Sri Lanka either.

All that is really left to say to the Chief Minister and the TNA Northern Provincial Council is to stop grumbling and whining and start showing that they can match or better the development that the GOSL has achieved in just 4 years following the end of LTTE terror. The Tamils enjoy what they never had in 30 years. The IDPs have been resettled some of which did not wish to leave their temporary shelters because they were enjoying 3 free meals per day. What is ironical is that the world and in particular the UN made such a fuss over resettling IDPs while they have done and are not doing anything about the 27million IDPs languishing throughout all of the areas that illegal military interventions have taken place further highlighting the hypocrisy within the UN system.

What is obviously clear is that the TNA wishes to only project itself as being the representative of the Tamil people (the newest antic is to claim ‘Tamil speaking peopl’) and do nothing other than use that position to guarantee for themselves a host of political privileges that enables the TNA to keep the Tamils under their domination and control (minus the gun this time round). We are back to square one of the TULF mentality of caste-class rule and it certainly makes one to ask if low caste Tamils coming out of their low-caste confines are ready to accept his age-old domineering political package.

What needs to be highlighted is that countries and leaders need to be aware of statistics before entertaining the TNA in future and if any other nation or leader is getting prepared to entertain the TNA representatives they should first ask what the TNA and its Chief Minister had done other than whining and complaining.

– by Shenali D Waduge