Just where is President Gotabaya Rajapaksa guiding Sri Lanka’s ship of state to?
That is question that is foremost in the minds of millions of Sri Lankans now. Crunch time has arrived for the nation: despite the heroics in cricket, fuel stocks are slowly running out, a virtual ‘lockdown’ is in effect and it is only a matter of time before the entire country grinds to a complete halt.
Officially, Sri Lanka is now bankrupt. The vast majority of Sri Lankans are now leading a hand-to-mouth existence, so to speak, not knowing when or where their next gas cylinder or petrol can will come from.
The upper middle class still go about their business because ours is still a market economy and anything can be bought, at a higher price of course. Even that will come to a predictable end soon as the supply of fuel runs out and the domino effect on all sectors of the economy takes effect.
The government and its leaders are limping from one crisis to another, or more precisely, from one fuel ship to another. Young and inexperienced Kanchana Wijesekara, thrust into the vital Power and Energy Ministry because of his loyalty to the Rajapaksa clan and friendship with Namal Rajapaksa, has found it tough going after he promised a fuel ship will arrive on June 23 and it never did.
It is a reflection of the government’s inefficiency that until last week, it was unable to implement a ‘token’ system that would have avoided queues that extended for several kilometres. When it eventually did put such a system in place, the oil had run out! No wonder then that the Rajapaksas’ ancestors are being constantly remembered by the long-suffering masses.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is on record saying that he ‘cannot go home as a failed leader’. In part, that is an acknowledgment that he has failed until now. How he hopes to succeed in the next two and a half years is not very clear right now, given that he is stumbling from one blunder to another, dragging the country and its 22 million people further into an economic abyss.
The steps he has taken so far are not convincing. While supposedly agreeing to diminish his powers through a constitutional amendment, he has stalled and intervened at every stage to dilute the amendment that is being formulated. What will eventually be presented to Parliament will be an eyewash aimed at placating the public but making no real difference at all. It is clear that he is loath to let go of any of the powers he enjoys now.
His appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister and the ‘new’ Cabinet also betrays his intentions. Instead of appointing a parliamentarian who genuinely enjoys the confidence of Parliament, he has appointed Wickremesinghe who is least likely to do so, because he is the solitary representative of the party he represents and that too as a National List MP which means he has no mandate from the voters either!
Rajapaksa’s latest Cabinet is merely a rehash of his previous one, a nauseating mix of old faithfuls (such as Dinesh Gunawardena), younger politicians with dubious credentials (such as Tiran Alles and Nalin Fernando) and discredited dissidents (such as Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara). This is a far cry from the ‘national’ or ‘all party’ interim government the public demanded.
Just how insensitive Rajapaksa is to the sentiments of the people is reflected in his appointment of Dhammika Perera as Investment Promotions Minister. The billionaire businessman holds a portfolio that will have direct dealings with many of his vast business interests and, considering his track record so far, will only increase suspicions of commissions and corrupt deals- and this at a time when the public is demanding that those responsible for mass scale corruption be held accountable before they flee to safe havens.
So, it is politics as usual for Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Behind the scenes, Basil Rajapaksa is busier than he was when he was a minister or a Member of Parliament. He knows that the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) will not stand a chance at the next presidential elections (due in 2024) and next general elections (due in 2025), so he preparing for a comeback at the elections five years from that time.
Obviously Basil Rajapaksa believes that, after all this, Sri Lankans will forgive and forget and want another Rajapaksa, Basil or Namal, to lead them then. We cannot blame Basil for that: having got rid of one Rajapaksa in 2015 we voted in another in 2019, didn’t we?
Meanwhile, the economy is sinking fast and no less a person than the Prime Minister is warning us of this every few days. At present, people are faced with being unable to generate income, sky-rocketing prices of food and a lack of essential items such as fuel, gas and medicines in the market. Over fifteen deaths have been recorded of people succumbing while staying in queues for days and hours on end.
The government has been unable to come up with a comprehensive package of economic reforms. A major reason for that is because the current regime is headed by the same President and party that led Sri Lanka to this crisis. As a result, no international donors are readily coming forward with aid packages, bail out contingencies or even loans at commercial rates. Yet, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his regime are intent on staying put and piling misery upon misery on 22 million people.
This cannot last. The actions of the collective opposition also leave much to be desired: apart from periodic bouts of breast beating, they too have done little to earn the respect of the people. Nevertheless, the country is now a tinderbox. As essential items become even scarcer and parents begin to feel the hunger pangs of their children, the people will rise against the regime, even if the opposition doesn’t.
Sri Lanka will ignite soon- even if it has run out of fuel. That is when Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the other Rajapaksas and their cronies will have to flee. That day is not far.
