Are the actions of the government, so far, purely cosmetic?

by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

Sri Lankan voters excel themselves in ‘executioner style’ of voting; getting rid of failed governments with humiliating defeats and installing new governments with massive majorities, in spite of the near impossibility of such with the prevailing proportional representation system of voting! The last two elections, perhaps, are the best examples and it is pretty obvious that the voters do so because they live in hope. Unfortunately, their hopes are dashed in no time! Though it faced unprecedented challenges like the Covid pandemic, Pohottuwa that came to power due to the colossal failures of Yahapalanaya, ultimately withered due to self-inflicted idiocies as well as the naivety in recognising and tackling the external forces at play. While hoping that the new government, elected as the result of that failure, would not dash the hopes of the voters, it is a good time to assess whether the Compass is pointing in the right direction, as the President has been in power for over hundred days and the parliament, with a two third’s majority, for two months.

If the NPP’s rhetoric prior to both the presidential and the parliamentary election campaigns had been translated into action, a dramatic change would have occurred by now; there would have been a smooth supply of essential food items at reasonable prices and jails would have been bursting at the seams with corrupt politicians and officials, etc. Let us be fair to the NPP; it is extremely unlikely that anyone but the most gullible would have believed that all what was promised would be delivered immediately.

To his credit, President Anura Kumara Disanayake gets on with his chores as a man of the people with no pomposity. He has kept to his word of running the government with a small cabinet, the smallest for a very long time. Having made his first foreign visit to our ‘relative’ India, he is now visiting our ‘friend’ China, doing a massive balancing act between the two regional superpowers. What happens next is anybody’s guess!

Unfortunately, the promised cleansing of Diyawannawa evaporated with the very first act itself; that of electing the speaker! Interestingly, cynics point out that the speaker’s qualifications were challenged by those who have shown their support to the JVP and may well have been a diversionary tactic to take attention away from problems like food shortages that were affecting the masses. Whatever their intentions were, it punctured the claimed holier-than-thou reputation of the new government. As vague excuses doled out by the cabinet spokesman and others did not hold water, ‘Dr’ Ranwala had to leave in disgrace. His promise to prove his credentials are yet to materialise. Perhaps, he may be on a pada yathra to collect copies of his certificates from Japan!

In a bizarre turn, an NPP MP elected from the North, claimed that the ex-speaker titled himself correct, as he had obtained a medical degree from Japan; a claim not made even by Ranwala himself! Perhaps, the MP took a cue from fellow NPP MP who claimed that there is freedom in the country, under their watch, to spread a lie as the truth and vice versa! That may very well have been the secret of her success as a lawyer but not what is expected of a member of parliament. All these unrepentant souls continue in parliament representing the people who voted for a cleanup! Then there is that nutcase doctor from Jaffna who seems determined to desecrate the dignity of the house, following in the footsteps of the lot voted out by the public but, fortunately, he is not aligned to the government.

Shortages continue but there is hardly a protest or strikes, maybe because those who led such are in government now. When the previous government attempted to determine the prices of coconuts on the basis of their sizes, there were massive protests in addition to ridicule but now, when coconuts are priced on halves, is it not surprising that there is no whimper of a protest even? Though the country is surrounded by the sea, there is a shortage of salt. Sri Lankans would certainly be healthier if they reduce their very high consumption of salt and sugar but that is a different story.

Leaving these minor failures aside, let us look at the two major failures of the government. The first, of course, is the election promise made to renegotiate, immediately, the deal with IMF to bring relief to the suffering masses. Nothing was done and IMF diktats are followed diligently and masses continue to suffer. Not surprisingly, apologists claim that the government is doing the sensible thing. Why did not they think it was the sensible thing to do before promising change? What about the much-publicised committee of NPP on economics consisting of so-called renowned economists and academics; did they get it completely wrong or is this an instance of deliberate hoodwinking?

The biggest failure of the government, of course, is the failure to tame the rice mafia. Their election promises ring hollow! Unable or not interested in taking on the rice mafia, which heaps pain on consumers as well as farmers, the government did what all preceding governments have done; import rice! To add insult to injury, maximum price of some varieties of rice was fixed above the prevailing market rates. Not taking on the rice mafia raises one very important question; was it due some of them funding the NPP? We will never know as to how the NPP is funded remains in secrecy. Afterall, the rice mafia thrived by funding previous parties in government and may well have bought their insurance with this government too. Nothing is impossible in the land like no other!

There are other warning signs on the horizon too, like restrictions on who should meet whom, reminding us of Marxist regimes. More important though is the vitriolic attacks on the media, as well highlighted in the editorial ‘Jekylls and Hydes’ (The Island, 13 January). Will restrictions and attacks increase to cover, as failures increase?

It looks as if whatever achievements of the NPP government, so far, are purely cosmetic and it seems to have failed on major issues. Attempts at control sounds ominous. Are we heading for troubled times? For the sake of our Motherland, hope not!