Welcome to new Mayor

AT the recently held elections for the Council of the Colombo Municipality, the governing NPP won a majority of the wards, a clear indication of the preference of the citizens living in the capital city.

- By Ravi Perera

The other political parties gained their seats largely on account of the proportional system in place. Many of the sitting councillors were rejected as ward representatives, often the incoming NPP winner commanding a large margin.

Being newcomers to the mouldy corridors of our city politics, the NPP representatives are like a breath of fresh air. Youthful, idealistic they are a striking contrasts to the hoary amoral city fathers we had come to identify with the city of Colombo. Wheeler-dealers, confidence tricksters, commission agents, faded beauties, big talkers and even a three-wheel driver had tried their hand at running the city. They mainly ran the place down, on nearly every score the city ratings went south. Politics of the city, like the rest of the country, descended to the level of the lowest common denominator; political parties cynically vying to put forward candidates who conformed to perceived religious, racial or caste or composition of various wards. Rather than uplifting the outlook or advancing the consciousness of the voter, this was politics calculated to keep them in thrall of their basic instincts!

Ugly urban chaos

Needless to say, Colombo today is typically third world; an ugly urban chaos; narrow and crowded streets, rude traffic, blaring horns, loud music, overhanging cables, crumbling buildings, garish billboards, gathering garbage, homeless cats and dogs; it is palpably hopeless. For comfort, our city fathers of old took to comparing the city with still greater failures; look at cities in Africa, India or Pakistan they said, in comparison, how good is Colombo!

The outlook of the failed!