Cyclone Ditwah and Government’s lackadaisical preparedness and response

Almost one week after the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah, the nation is still reeling from the loss of precious human lives and extensive damages to physical properties across the island. The tremendous sorrow and grief arising from the demise of loved ones is extremely difficult to be healed. The news reports of entire families succumbing to death under tragic circumstances due to floods and landslides last week evoke feelings of immense distress and trauma.

Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the catastrophic cyclone, the manner in which the NPP Government approached the natural hazard, and its subsequent response have come under serious scrutiny. Before assuming power, the left-leaning political coalition promised to deliver a comprehensive systemic change and vowed to be different from its predecessors particularly in relation to disasters caused by nature. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake during the campaign trail eloquently articulated the necessity of having well-developed early warning systems to deal with natural disasters. However, it has now been clearly established that despite public warnings about the danger the country was going to face as early as 12 November by the Department of Meteorology, no attention was paid by the political leadership of the Government to address the challenges posed by the forecasted erratic weather. Unlike tsunamis, natural hazards like storms can be predicted in advance, thus giving ample time to take the requisite precautions.

Analysts have pointed out that the National Council for Disaster Management has not yet been established, despite being mandated under Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Act, No. 13 of 2005. The Council is the supreme inter-ministerial body responsible for providing direction for disaster risk management work in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, critics have accused the President of failing to declare a State of Disaster under the Sections 11 and 12 of the Disaster Management Act. Although Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa during a parliamentary speech urged the Government to declare a State of Disaster, his request was not taken seriously by the Government. To compound the matters worse, in manifestation of the amateurishness of the administration, the 28 November was declared a holiday for the public sector which completely hindered the Government apparatus apart from constraining the relief operations and mitigation of losses in terms of both human lives as well as physical resources.

The administration’s move to establish the Rebuilding Sri Lanka Fund has run into bottlenecks. A legislator had claimed the newly created fund needs to be approved by the Parliament while emphasising that statutory funds must be established as per the Constitution and the Public Financial Management Act. Quite interestingly, a group of billionaire businessmen, who have had very limited exposure to the structures of public administration, has been appointed to manage the said fund instead of selecting a competent and seasoned set of public officials who are well-versed with the workings of the state apparatus. The decision is reminiscent of many of the lopsided decisions taken by the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration. A few of the appointed corporate bigwigs have question marks hanging over their credibility and conduct.

Despite being widely perceived as a people-friendly politician, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has not even visited places of devastation so far to express sympathy and console the victims of the tragedy even though one week has passed since the harrowing calamity. This is in stark contrast to the Late Indian Premier Dr. Manmohan Singh – a lawmaker never elected by people and seen as aloof – who directly interacted with those who suffered badly from Boxing Day Tsunami in the Southern coastal parts of India 21 years ago to provide emotional comfort at a time of great distress.

Very simply, the Government needs to exercise a proactive approach at this critical juncture without being drained in its typical, wretched state of conceit and arrogance.