Columns

Writers and political analysts have repeated ad nauseum that what the country is facing is a crisis of a magnitude not witnessed in living memory. To the thousands of helpless citizens there is no need of any analysis to confirm the reality they experience everyday when they stand in never ending queues to purchase gas, fuel, medicines and other basic essentials.

Independent economists, professionals and Opposition political parties have over the last two years been warning that the Government’s flawed policies and decisions have been taking the country towards economic disaster. The Government for its part turned a deaf ear to all these words of wisdom and continued with its policies which have caused untold misery and suffering to the people.  

It would not be wrong to say that this has probably been the most incompetent government in the country’s history.

What has compounded the amateurish way the Government has been run, is the arrogance with which it has conducted itself and the way it has responded to criticism.

Intoxicated with the 69 lakhs of votes it garnered at the Presidential elections, the two third majority it received at the general elections and the powers vested in the President through the 20th Amendment, the Government has been in no mood to give heed to any advice from whichever quarter it came.

The pages of Hansard and the visuals of Parliamentary proceedings will bear testimony to the way the Government has responded even to the best of criticism. Government Parliamentarians without answering legitimate concerns of Opposition legislators would respond with the accusations that the Opposition performance had been worse in the past. This approach of the Government and its leaders does not seem to have changed even today despite the enormity of the crisis.

Despite the President and Finance Minister admitting, without any of expression of regret, that the Government had committed “mistakes” by reducing taxes resulting in loss of Government revenue to the tune of more than 600 billion rupees, excessive printing of money in contravention of prudent economic norms, the disastrous decision to switch overnight to organic fertiliser and the failure to seek the help of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the past two years despite knowing that it was the way to go, there is no indication that the Government had been humbled by its failures and had learnt its lessons.

Speaking in Parliament last week, Eran Wickremeratne highlighted the significant fact that the Finance Minister had not spoken of the corruption that has contributed to the current parlous state of the economy. The Finance Minister made only a passing reference to corruption but did not refer to any of the allegations of corruption that have plagued the country in the past two years.

While the political impasse in the country remains unresolved, the Government for its part does not inspire any trust or confidence that it is genuine in its call for an interim multi party government. While its culpability in creating the current economic crisis should have had a sobering effect on the Government, all its actions suggest that it wants to continue its aggressive ways and take political advantage at every turn rather than get the help of Opposition political parties to resolve the economic crisis that has eluded them.

The poaching of two SLFP MPs, Shantha Bandara and Dr. Suren Raghavan with the offer of two State Ministries, behind the back of the SLFP Leadership, even while talks were in progress between the Government and the SLFP is an indication of such an approach.

The lack of good faith in the Government’s overtures to the Opposition was manifested once again in Parliament last week when the election for the Deputy Speakership took place. According to media reports the SJB and the Independent group had reached an understanding that they would back Ranjith Siyambalapitiya for the Deputy Speakership. Once Siyambalapitiya’s name had been proposed by SLFP Parliamentarian Nimal Siripala de Silva, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Chairman G. L. Peiris popped up and said the SLPP would back Siyambalapitiya.

According to SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara it was in these circumstances that he proposed Imtiaz Bakeer Markar for the post of Deputy Speaker as his party did not want to be associated with a government backed nominee.

The Government clearly wanted to use the opportunity of the election of a Deputy Speaker to upstage the Opposition and to score political points. However such a move has been counterproductive as it has further eroded the trust of Opposition parties with regard to the sincerity of its call for a multi party interim arrangement in governance to tackle the economic crisis.

Further it has embarrassed the independent group of 40 headed by the SLFP. That is probably why Ranjith Siyambalapitiya has resigned from the Deputy Speakership once again although no official explanation for such a move has been made so far by the SLFP.

It Is high time that the Government stepped down from its high horse and together with others work out a plan to resolve the immediate and midterm issues. One way of proving its bona fide is to immediately enact legislation to revive the 19th Amendment.

The other step is for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to heed the peoples’ cry emanating from all parts of the country including Galle Face to step down. Ignoring such cries and getting Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign will simply be not enough.

It is bad enough that the Government is responsible for creating the current crisis. The least it can now do is to facilitate the resolution of the crisis rather than trying to score political points.

(javidyusuf@gmail.com)