By Vishvanath
The last thing that a government, troubled by a host of unresolved issues, wants ahead of an election is to be accused of a scam, a mega one for that matter. The incumbent JVP-led NPP administration finds itself in such a predicament. The recent release of as many as 323 shipping containers without Customs inspection, from the Colombo Port, has created quite a stir, and the Opposition is flogging the issue hard.
Both the Customs Department and the government have sought to make light of the controversial green-channeling of so many containers, claiming that there has been no wrongdoing, and the release of some containers without checks is not something unusual. Deputy Minister of Ports and Aviation Janith Ruwan Kodituwakku has said the government will take full responsibility for the 323 containers so released and they were green-channeled on the recommendations of a three-member committee. But the Opposition is convinced otherwise. Claiming that the containers released without checks were imported by an NPP financier, it is demanding to know whether they contained banned goods.
Conspiracy theories abound in this country, as is public knowledge. It is being claimed on social media that the current delays in the Customs clearance of containers and the resultant congestion in the Colombo Port and Customs yards were engineered by someone to prepare the ground for the release of the above-mentioned containers without Customs checks. Chances are that the government will have a mega issue to contend with in the run-up to the upcoming LG polls.
The NPP government’s endless problems exemplify a popular saying—it never rains but it pours. It is struggling to deliver on its promises in spite of its supermajority. The current administration inherited quite a few problems from its predecessors, and as if they were not enough, hardly a day passes without a new issue cropping up. Rice, which has a history of causing uprisings and making and breaking governments in this country, was freely available albeit at high prices at the time of last year’s regime change. But the country has since been experiencing a rice shortage, and some varieties such as red raw and nadu are not available at all even at black market prices in most parts of the country. People have been queuing up in some areas near grocery stores to buy red rice.
The commencement of the current paddy harvesting period, which was expected to give the government some relief, has caused another problem instead; farmers are calling for an urgent government intervention to ensure that they get a fair price for their produce. They are complaining that the rice millers are exploiting them by paying only Rs. 90 for a kilo of paddy. The government is dilly-dallying much to the consternation of rice growers who overwhelmingly backed the NPP in the last two elections.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Namal Karunaratne, who led farmers’ protests from the front during previous governments, and enabled the NPP to gain much traction at the grassroots level, is now under fire for having said that the delay in announcing a guaranteed price for paddy is intentional; he has claimed that farmers are currently selling paddy at about Rs. 140 a kilo, and the government will intervene only if the purchase prices of paddy drop. The resentful farmers have refused to buy into his claim and are asking him where they can sell their paddy at Rs. 140 a kilo.
Many Farmers’ associations, which backed the NPP in last year’s elections, expecting a better deal, are publicly criticizing the government and threatening to take to the streets unless their call for a guaranteed price for paddy goes unheeded. Besides, thousands of farmers have suffered crop losses due to the prevailing inclement weather and the resultant natural disasters, especially floods, which have affected hundreds of thousands of hectares of ripened paddy. It may be recalled that the 2022 uprising that led to the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the downfall of the Rajapaksa family began as farmers’ protests against a blanket ban on agrochemicals.
About 80-82% of Sri Lankans live in the rural sector, which is heavily dependent on agriculture, especially paddy cultivation, and therefore rice growers are a political force to be reckoned with. Previously, they were with the SLPP and subsequently the JVP/NPP succeeded in winning them over, ending the Rajapaksa family’s hold on power. Whether the NPP government will be able to solve the farmers’ problems expeditiously and arrest the erosion of its rural support base remains to be seen. This, it will have to do while making rice freely available at affordable prices to consumers. This is an intricate balancing act.
Meanwhile, it has been a steep learning curve for the NPP government, which is full of novices in the field of governance. But the people are in no mood to wait until the government gains experience. More than 6.8 million people voted the JVP-led NPP into office because they expected it to deliver quick results after forming a government. Frustrated with the previous administration, they pinned their hopes on the NPP, which promised a system change and solutions to burning problems in double-quick time. The current rulers went so far as to set very ambitious goals for themselves; they pledged to have all those who had stolen state funds, taken bribes and cut corrupt deals at the expense of the country thrown behind bars immediately after capturing power. Among the numerous relief measures the NPP promised were a 30% power tariff decrease, substantial fuel prices reductions, fertilizers for farmers, tax exemptions for essential goods and biannual pay hikes for state employees. They said funds would not be a problem because they would eliminate corruption which has taken its toll on the economy, and recover the country’s stolen assets fast.
A string of defeats the NPP has suffered in the cooperative elections during the past several weeks indicates that things are far from rosy for the government, and its support base is showing signs of erosion. This has prompted the NPP to hold a series of rallies across the country, and some of them have already taken place with President Dissanayake himself in attendance. He is obviously trying to leverage his popularity to raise the government’s approval rating, which is thought to be on the wane. He is making various promises including pay hikes for the state sector. However, he will have his work cut out to maintain the government’s approval rating at the current level, much less boost it, and prevent the NPP from suffering a setback in the upcoming LG elections.