The present socio-economic and political crises have led to a great deal of soul-searching and introspection in political as well as social circles. There is a debate on these issues in the media too. Various solutions have been proffered for the multiple crises, only some of which seem to be viable or practical. Some solutions are long-term concepts which will not douse the present fire.
Although the youthful protestors at Galle Face and elsewhere seek the ouster of the political leadership, a consensus is slowly emerging that it may not be the solution to the present woes. Even several leading figures from the Opposition have admitted that the resignation or the ouster of the President and/or the Government would not make a difference at this stage, for any incoming administration would also be saddled with the same unprecedented spate of problems.
Dollars will not flow in as if by magic even if Sajith Premadasa, Anura Kumara Dissanayake or any other Opposition politician takes the reins right now. Nor will commodities get any cheaper. LP Gas, fuel and other essentials will also not become aplenty overnight.
The stark reality is that the present imbroglio is the culmination of a long decay in our politics and governance. For the past 74 years, we have depended on a few avenues for our foreign exchange requirements without looking to diversify. We have also lived beyond our means, importing more goods than what we can actually afford.
Even amidst all the economic difficulties posed by Covid and other factors last year, we have imported goods worth a staggering US$ 21 billion. Significantly, this is without high-impact imports such as vehicles and certain luxury goods. This is way more than our export income.
We have also obtained a spate of loans, some for unproductive projects or purposes, which we are struggling to pay. With a total loan portfolio of US$ 51 billion, it will take several generations more for Sri Lanka to repay it totally, if at all. We have also failed to take the right decisions at the right time. If any previous Government had decided to give priority to renewable energy and build more power plants using such technology, we would not be facing this problem today vis-à-vis fossil fuel for thermal power generation.
Some would say that misfortune too has played a part in our present predicament. The country has seen two Southern insurgencies (1971 and 1988-89), a 30-year-terrorist battle mainly in the North and the East, a debilitating Tsunami (2004 Boxing Day), the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings and of course, the Covid-19 pandemic that decimated the economy from March 2020. As for the last one, we are still not out of the woods yet, as a new variant of the Coronavirus could still raise its ugly head. This is indeed why the Government wisely reversed an earlier decision to drop the mask mandate.
But if one analyses these events apart from the two natural disasters (Tsunami and Covid), all the others are more or less man-made and not a case of misfortune per se. Instead of bringing the various communities and religious groups together in the immediate aftermath of Independence in 1948, our politicians sought to divide them on ethno-religious lines to meet their own insular ends.
In the meantime, they also neglected addressing the aspirations of the youth around the country. The result was a wave of uprisings and conflicts that resulted in the deaths of thousands of youth. In the North, a megalomaniac terrorist leader sent youth to their deaths with a cyanide around their necks, while in the South an insurgent group did much the same thing, minus the cyanide.
Even at this late stage, we have to analyse the root causes of these events and evolve solutions. Today’s youth have indicated in no uncertain terms that division is not on their agenda. This is why it is important to listen to the voice of the youth. Some of their demands may not even be practical at first glance, but if we probe deeper, what they really want is a paradigm shift in our thinking and socio-political culture more than a mere change of heads.
Sensing the public mood, politicians are also mending their ways. For starters, gone are the ministerial convoys with sirens and back-up vehicles et al. The society is also seemingly ditching politicians en masse. People have not welcomed even Opposition politicians to any protest campaigns. There was an event in Matugama recently where a four-year-old boy opened a new subway passage for pedestrians. Not a single politician was in sight.
The organisers also put up a signboard proclaiming that “this project was completed using taxpayers’ monies”. That is the plain truth – although most politicians opening various projects give the impression that they have used their largesse for the same.
The proposed new Constitution, about which a debate is raging in society following the recent political developments, should incorporate some of these public sentiments in tangible form – for example, that no perks and privileges should be given to Members of Parliament and representatives of other political bodies.
It should necessarily aim to forge a truly Sri Lankan identity among the populace in spite of ethnic and religious differences. The Constitution should also give some sort of recognition to the Sri Lankan Diaspora to actively get their inputs and contribution to develop the Motherland – we can take a cue from India, which has a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) program. We need the active participation of all Sri Lankans, regardless of where they live, to emerge unscathed from the present impasse.