The daunting challenge before PM Ranil Wickremesinghe

by Gnana Moonesinghe

At long last the nation has a new prime minister who has a unique record of having been PM of the country five times in the past. The wealth of experience such a person must have will be invaluable in the present context.

There are some who are opposed to his appointment. They are of the opinion that since he is not an elected member of parliament, as he entered the House through the National List, he is not entitled to be made PM. Further, he being a single member representing his party in Parliament, his claim to lead the country is challenged once again. Another objection to his selection is that when the 21st Amendment to the constitution is implemented, he as PM will become the Chief Executive of the country over and above an elected incumbent for whom 6.3 million people voted.

The need of the hour is that a nation faced with a gigantic economic crisis which has left its citizen without basic essentials, which they are angrily demanding, be urgently addressed. The prime ministerial post was first offered to the leader of the Opposition who initially rejected it. But later, after it was offered to and accepted by Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa agreed to accept it if certain conditions he placed were accepted.

Urgent action to make the economy viable and create tolerable living conditions for the people is essential. Protesters in their tens of thousands are demanding quick solutions. The urgency for action needs be recognized. This certainly is not the time for placing conditions for unity or for support.

There is no more cash to pay for essential imports and no longer is the nation held creditworthy. People are protesting about economic mismanagement and demanding the resignation of the President. He, however, is constitutionally entitled to stay in office expires until his term expires in two years.

In the meantime the elected Prime Minister has resigned in the face of widespread demand and as a result the cabinet stood dissolved. A new cabinet in now in place and, hopefully, the challenge of getting the economy back on track and making necessary systemic changes will be addressed.

The consensus among the people is for all groups in parliament to get together and find a resolution to the country’s crisis and the peoples’ plight. There is suspicion that Ranil had been chosen to cover up the misdeeds of the government. Much was expected during Ranil’s last tenure.

The people wanted the Rajapaksas charged with fraud and other misdemeanors but no action on this front was seen by the public. Hence the suspicion of cover-up. Many explanations have been offered for his inaction during his previous tenure. He now has to prove himself. Time will tell whether he will succeed.

This is however not a time for picking holes. It is for Ranil to deliver on our expectations of taking take the nation out of this crisis and bringing peace in society. By accepting the premiership he has given the promise of uniting the nation at a time when the nation was looking for a leader with the capacity to do so. Mr. Wickremesinghe’s experience holds promise.In his address to the nation he analyzed the government’s present predicament. A budget deficit of Rs 2.4 trillion, 11 % of GDP, cannot be wished away.He cannot present a rosy picture of quick recovery. Instead he presented our grim situation and said inflation will further increase. That is how dire the situation is.

Against his better judgment he is compelled to permit printing money to pay state employees and fund procurement of essential goods and services. The immediate future will be challenging but in the near future he expects our foreign allies to help us. But we will also have to tread a new path, he stresses.

A National Assembly has to be established or a political body where all parties will participate and take decisions for short, medium and long term plans to end this crisis within a specified time frame. Ranil hopes to build a contented nation where peoples needs are satisfied. The task is daunting but he promises to deliver with the support of the nation.He has presented the problems and the way to resolve them in the short term. He hopes to solve the problems with the support of friendly external allies . He did not minimize the problem in his analysis. In this context his reference to the budget deficit as 11% of GDP reveals the magnitude of the problem facing us.

I remember his calling for unity among the different political parties amid raucous shouting by parliamentarians during a recent parliamentary session. The seriousness of the situation has been demonstrated by the spontaneous reaction of a cross-section of our people protesting against corruption and bad governance inflicted upon us for many years.

That we must map our own strategy as agreed by the parliamentarians is evident. What may this be? Wickremesinghe says it has to be developed in consultation with all. The challenge is to work with all shades of opinion and come up with an action plan after wide ranging discussion. It is not one man’s job . The task before us belongs to all. Critics are not the need of the moment; problem solvers are. I think Ranil Wickremesinghe is a man who can meet this daunting challenge. He has accepted it and we wish him well.