Ranil finally gives into Gotabaya.
Hejaz Hisbullah appeals to Qatar for help
Parallels between Marcos family and Rajapaksas
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe finally recommended that Dr Nandalal Weerasinghe should continue in the coveted position of the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
The fate of Nandalal Weerasinghe hung in the balance as the Prime Minister dragged his feet on the extension of his term for some time. The Finance Minister has to always recommend any extension of term or appointment, of a CBSL governor. The Prime Minister, who is also the Minister of Finance, was dilly-dallying on the matter for a while. He was toying with the plan of appointing one of his close associates, Dinesh Weerakkody, as governor.
But, the plan did not materialise.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had assured Dr Weerasinghe that he will be allowed to carry out his job without any outside interference and to maintain his independence. During his first press conference after taking over the job of governor, Dr Nandalal explained that these were also his conditions to take it on. President Rajapaksa handpicked Dr Weerasinghe for the role. He reportedly telephoned Dr Weerasinghe who was in Australia after taking early retirement from his previous post as Deputy Governor of the CBSL and invited him to accept the post. Dr Weerasinghe famously is reported to have said, that he accepted the job because he felt sorry for the people of Sri Lanka. Therefore, it was only natural that the President will intervene to ensure that Dr Weerasinghe continues in his job to complete his term.
The issue however was one of the reasons for a tug-o-war between the President and Prime Minister and there was an expectation that the Prime Minister will resign because of it. The President took the upper hand after appointing business tycoon Dhammika Perera as a parliamentarian. He subsequently gave him the prominent portfolio of Minister of Foreign Investment in the Cabinet of Ministers. Rumours were afloat that the President intended to appoint Dhammika Perera as the finance minister or the prime minister. It would have been disastrous for the President if he did. But saner counsel prevailed for him to continue with Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister.
On the other hand, Perera lacks the competence and political acumen to hold such an important position, especially since the government is in the throes of an unprecedented economic meltdown and the worst in the contemporary political history of Sri Lanka. Perera held a few key government positions during the presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Initially, he was the Chairman of the Board of Investment and subsequently the Transport Secretary. But he didn’t achieve anything significant and was not able to prove himself.
At the last presidential election in 2019 November Wickremesinghe, who was the UNP leader at the time, also gave him hope that he could be the unchallenged candidate for the UNP but the party later rejected this proposition. Now, after having been appointed the Minister of Foreign Investment, Perera is determined to extend his political clout by proving his financial prowess to the country. He has already announced that he will spend five hundred million rupees of his personal money every month for the benefit of the people and the country.
Political analysts see this as an ambitious project to climb the political ladder within the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and a move at aiming for the next presidential election. Perhaps the Rajapaksa clan is trying to use Perera as a stop-gap measure to perpetuate their cause of making a dramatic comeback after some time when the people forget their misdeeds and embrace them with affection. The Rajapaksas are playing a far-reaching political game with their future generations in mind to carve themselves a niche in the Sri Lankan political landscape.
Political dynasties are a phenomenon which is peculiar to Asian politics. In India, the equation stands to change with the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty fast losing its clout in the face of the popularity gained by the BJP leadership globally and locally.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making giant strides in the global political arena by extending Indian influence globally. Sri Lanka may be more akin to the Philippines in the long run. In the Philippines, the namesake son of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos became the President of the Philippines in a landslide election victory, which was an astonishing reversal of the 1986 “People Power” pro-democracy revolt which ousted his father. Ferdinand Marcos Jnr is known as the Bongbong Marcos or BBM.
Dozens of anti-Marcos protesters rallied at the Commission for Elections, blaming the agency for the breakdown of vote-counting machines and other issues that prevented people from casting their votes. Election officials however said the impact of the malfunctioning machines was minimal.
Marcos Jr., a 64-year-old former provincial governor, congressman and senator, has defended his father and his legacy and steadfastly refused to acknowledge and tender an apology for massive human rights violations and plunder under the strongman rule of his father. After his ouster by the largely peaceful 1986 uprising, the elder Marcos died in 1989 while in exile in Hawaii without admitting any wrongdoing, including accusations that he, his family and cronies amassed an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion while he was in power. A Hawaii court later found him liable for human rights violations and awarded $2 billion from his estate to compensate more than 9,000 Filipinos who filed a lawsuit against him for torture, incarceration, extrajudicial killings and disappearances.
His widow Imelda Marcos and their children were allowed to return to the Philippines in 1991 and worked on a stunning political comeback, helped by a well-funded social media campaign to salvage the family name. Sri Lankans can take a cue from the unfolding events in the Philippines and interpolate it into the present political context as the more likely scenario to take place in Sri Lanka. Ferdinand Marcos left the shores of the Philippines in 1986 following his ouster and barely 36 years later the family re-emerged as a strong family in the political equation.
Similarly in Sri Lanka, Basil Rajapaksa, the National Organiser of the SLPP, is aiming to make a dramatic comeback not immediately, but after some years of being in political hibernation. It will not take 36 years, as was in the case of the Philippines, but much earlier, given the gullible nature of the Sri Lankan electorate.
The Rajapaksas will not let loose their political grip because of their obsession with politics and the power associated with it.
Be that as it may, the much talked about constitutional reforms to restrict presidential powers and transfer most of them to parliament came out to the public domain in a gazette which was published before it was presented for approval in the House. The amendment envisages the establishment of a Constitutional Council, the establishment of nine independent commissions, a reduction in the powers of the President and the removal of the eligibility of dual citizens to enter parliament or any other higher position in the country.
However, the National Movement for Social Justice, headed by Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, says that the proposed legislation has failed in its effort to fulfil the will of the people. He says the transitional provision included in the proposed Bill is unacceptable since the President enjoys all the powers until the end of his term. Many analysts point out that the people needed drastic changes to the constitution that should be effective immediately. The proposed legislation in its present form is a faint image of the 19th amendment. It is unlikely that the opposition parties would agree to pass it with the necessary numbers in Parliament, despite several prelates having written to the President urging him to introduce constitutional reforms on a priority basis. Simultaneously, many people think there has been a compromise between the President and the Prime Minister to introduce a watered-down version of the 19th amendment.
All these issues concerning constitutional amendments are secondary to the common man at a time they are engaged in a relentless struggle to keep their home fires burning. The main issue confronting the people today is the fuel scarcity in the open market. The representative appointed by the Prime Minister to look after fuel supplies, his Chief of Staff Sagala Ratnayake, said that the earliest consignments of petrol will reach the shores of Sri Lanka is on 22 July. It will put the country in an awkward position and grind to a complete halt in a few days.
Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara went with a begging bowl to ask for fuel from Qatar and told them that the government was planning to drop all legal proceedings against the Qatar Charity which was the target of Sri Lanka’s accusations of terrorism. He told the Qatari authorities that the government has consulted the Attorney General in this respect. The response of the Qatari authorities was not so encouraging. They will adopt a wait-and-see policy. Lawyer Hejaz Hisbullah meanwhile has appealed to the Qatari authorities to help Sri Lanka at this critical time in Sri Lankan history. In a Twitter message, he said, ” accusing Qatar of terrorism in Sri Lanka was another historical mistake by this government. Those responsible must be held accountable & I ask Qatar to be a true friend in need and help us out of this dire situation.”
Hisbullah was magnanimous enough to talk on behalf of Sri Lanka after languishing in jail for nearly one and a half years under the government-sponsored Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The import bill of Sri Lanka exceeds the export earnings, and the drop in tourist arrivals and the remittances from expatriate workers have further aggravated the problem. The country may need at least ten billion US dollars to overcome the current foreign exchange crisis and to give a fresh start to exports. Who will lend this money is the problem.
The team from the International Monetary Fund concluded their visit to Sri Lanka which took place from 20-30 June. At the conclusion of their visit, they noted that “Sri Lanka is going through a severe economic crisis. The economy is expected to contract significantly in 2022, while inflation is high and rising. The critically low level of foreign reserves has hampered the import of essential goods. During the in-person visit, the team witnessed some of the hardships currently faced by the Sri Lankan people, especially the poor and vulnerable who are affected disproportionately by the crisis. ‘We reaffirm our commitment to support Sri Lanka at this difficult time in line with the IMF’s policies, they said. In a statement issued at the conclusion of their visit, they noted that the authorities’ monetary, fiscal policy and other actions since early April were important first steps to address the crisis.
The team said they had constructive and productive discussions with the Sri Lankan authorities on economic policies and reforms to be supported by an IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement. ‘The staff team and the authorities made significant progress in defining a macroeconomic and structural policy package. The discussions will continue virtually to reach a staff-level agreement on the EFF arrangement in the near term. Because public debt is assessed as unsustainable, Executive Board approval would require adequate financing assurances from Sri Lanka’s creditors that debt sustainability will be restored’.
Their statement went on to add that discussions focused on designing a comprehensive economic program to correct the macroeconomic imbalances, restore public debt sustainability, and realize Sri Lanka’s growth potential. ‘Discussions advanced substantially during the mission, including the need to reduce the elevated fiscal deficit while ensuring adequate protection for the poor and vulnerable. Given the low level of revenues, far-reaching tax reforms are urgently needed to achieve these objectives. Other challenges that need addressing include containing rising levels of inflation, addressing the severe balance of payments pressures, reducing corruption vulnerabilities and embarking on growth-enhancing reforms. The authorities have made considerable progress in formulating their economic reform program and we are looking forward to continuing the dialogue with them’. Even if Sri Lanka reaches a staff-level agreement, the IMF says it has to get the approval of the Executive Board. Adequate financing assurances from the creditors are also necessary for this purpose. The flexibility of China could be a problem for Sri Lanka.
However, representatives from heavyweight financial and legal advisers Lazard and Clifford Chance would do the necessary negotiations on behalf of Sri Lanka. Although Sri Lanka has consulted the IMF seventeen times, most of these programmes had to be halted halfway through due to political reasons. The present problem is far more different from those situations. Under the circumstances, it is a difficult task to fathom how Sri Lanka could make it happen. Several of the loan details which are not on record, found their way out of the annual budget of Sri Lanka without attributing to debt liabilities.
The bottom line is the creditors have to come to one platform to help in this endeavour with the assistance of the IMF. It is up to the legal and financial consultants to create a conducive atmosphere for Sri Lanka in this respect. Sri Lanka today is facing all these problems due to short-sighted policies adopted by the Rajapaksa government since December 2019.
Haphazard planning and taking decisions at the whims and fancies of the racist elements within the establishment has caused irreparable damage to Sri Lanka internationally and dented its foreign policy from once a vibrant one to a crooked one.
Can somebody correct these monumental blunders to put the country back on track?
ALAKESWARA
