Editorial
In 1977, President J. R. Jayewardene envisioned a nation where poverty and illiteracy could be eradicated through collective effort. The President’s Fund, fueled by the Development Lottery, was born out of this vision. It promised hope: life-saving surgeries for the ailing, scholarships for the deserving, and support for cultural and religious initiatives. But what began as an ambitious experiment in public welfare has been twisted into a grotesque example of greed and systemic betrayal. Today, the President’s Fund is no longer a beacon of hope but a monument to the shameless corruption of political elites.
As Danny Ocean quipped in Ocean’s Eleven, “You planned the perfect crime. You thought of everything. But you forgot one thing: greed.” The irony is glaring. While the common people, with their ten-rupee lottery tickets, financed this fund, it is the politicians who reaped the rewards. They exploited it not for the betterment of the nation, but for their personal gain. Minister Nalinda Jayatissa’s recent revelations expose the grotesque extent of this exploitation: over Rs. 1,225 lakh embezzled, with some MPs pocketing up to Rs. 300 million under the guise of medical expenses. Are these individuals secretly investing in futuristic organs or acquiring bionic enhancements? What else could justify such astronomical sums?
For ordinary citizens, the story is starkly different. A poor heart patient struggling to gather Rs. 2.5 lakh must navigate a maze of bureaucracy to access assistance. Meanwhile, politicians bypass all scrutiny, flying off to foreign hospitals on the backs of the very people who financed the fund. The hypocrisy is as insidious as it is infuriating. These so-called public servants treat a resource meant for the nation’s most vulnerable as their personal piggy bank.
As the Joker said in The Dark Knight, “It’s not about the money. It’s about sending a message.” And the message is loud and clear: the powerful live by different rules. Every lottery ticket purchased in good faith is a mockery of the people’s trust, a contribution to the lavish lifestyles of a corrupt few. This grotesque injustice is not just an affront to the concept of public service; it is an insult to the very idea of democracy. The President’s Fund was meant to symbolize collective responsibility and shared prosperity. Instead, it has become a vehicle for deepening inequality.
As Sherlock Holmes observed in Sherlock Holmes, “Every fairytale needs a good old-fashioned villain.” In this tale, the villains are not mythical; they are all too real. They are the politicians who misappropriated public funds while the people they claim to represent languish in poverty and despair. Their actions demand immediate accountability. Who are these MPs? Why are their names shielded from public scrutiny? The public deserves answers. These thieves must be named, shamed, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
The bureaucratic inefficiencies of the fund compound the betrayal. Genuine applicants are buried under a mountain of paperwork, forced to prove their worthiness for assistance. Yet the elite face no such obstacles as they siphon off millions. This duality reflects a system designed to exploit the weak while empowering the corrupt. It is a system that cannot and must not endure.
As Johnny Clay lamented in The Killing, “There’s no clean way to make a million dollars.” The millions that flowed into the President’s Fund were never meant to be “clean” in the cynical sense. They were meant to uplift the downtrodden and save lives. For every patient who received life-saving surgery or every student who accessed higher education through these funds, the President’s Fund fulfilled its promise. But for every such success story, there are countless tales of betrayal and missed opportunities, all because the greed of a few outweighed the needs of the many.
As Sam “Ace” Rothstein declared in Casino, “The house always wins.” Unless we change the rules of this rigged game, the house will continue to win. Reforms must be swift and uncompromising. Independent audits and full public disclosure of all fund allocations are non-negotiable. Those who plundered this resource must be held accountable, their ill-gotten wealth reclaimed. Bureaucratic barriers that prevent the needy from accessing funds must be dismantled, ensuring that this fund serves its true purpose.
