Sri Lanka today is virtually standing at the cusp of total bankruptcy if timely action is not forthcoming to salvage the country from a worse kind of catastrophe.
Apocalyptic in an economic sense, the country is reeling under the pressure of fiscal laxity stemming largely from shortsightedness and the improper planning and handling of development projects without a reasonable projection to the future.
A country like Bangladesh is way ahead of Sri Lanka economically and reached satisfactory economic goals since its separation from Pakistan in 1975. It was sheer dedication and meticulous craftsmanship by her leaders that led the country to achieve enhanced social indicators. In contrast, Sri Lanka’s economy has been dwindling since 1948 from a sound economy to one of the worst in South Asia. It took less than seventy-five years following independence for this to happen.
The first-ever multi-purpose development project undertaken by the first prime minister of Sri Lanka, the Gal-Oya project, was financed entirely by the Sri Lankan government. An essay written by AjitKanagasunderam, ‘Looking back at DS Senanayake and the Gal Oya Project 60 years on’, gives an insight into the governance of the day. The writing is based on personal experiences and his father’s key role in this pathfinding project. (MrKangesundaram’s father was the first chairman of the Gal-Oya Development Board). ‘The project was done and paid for with our resources, managed by local administrators and completed on time’, he says. The government in power completed all-important objectives relating to the clearing of forest, settlement of colonists and irrigation to an agreed timeline, implying that corruption was near zero at the time.
Corruption is the bane of the present financial downturn as far as Sri Lanka is concerned. Imbibed with power, corrupt politicians plundered state resources at their whims and fancies.
The voracious grabbing of public wealth reached a culmination after 2010. It was through massive public projects that the assets of the people were plundered.
It is interesting to note that Sri Lanka has spent a massive amount of money on building highways. The yield is not so promising. The existing highway network is a classic example of the magnitude of waste and corruption compared to similar projects in other South Asian countries. Most such projects have eventually become white elephants with no benefit to the country except to those who implemented them.
Nevertheless, highways connecting main cities could be a long term investment to attract potential investors, though the monies spent on them are overwhelmingly high.
Mass scale robbing of the country’s wealth eventually resulted in wealth accumulation for the politicians and their kith and kin at the cost of the unsuspecting masses.
The tragedy is that people cared to believe and place their trust and confidence in the same set of avaricious politicians time and again, however much the so-called politician misled them.
The people had some hope for better times every time they voted in corrupt and rapacious politicians to power.
Most media outlets are at fault for turning a blind eye or failing to observe the wanton destruction of public wealth that is taking place.
The failures associated with the media are understandable to the intelligentsia but not to the general public.
Intentionally or otherwise, the media had the people groping in the dark all the time as far as the bare truth is concerned. This assertion is true with many electronic media outlets and vernacular media newspapers voluntarily toe the government line expecting many benefits.
The government has botched up in every sphere they handle, be it fertiliser, rice, domestic cooking gas or any other issue connected to the daily life of the people.
For example, it is appropriate to examine how the government messed up the toxic fertiliser shipment from China.
Many questions arise from the “the Hippo Spirit” which brought toxic fertiliser, causing a diplomatic spat. How did it reach the shores of Sri Lanka?
Does it have the connivance of somebody close to the higher echelons of the government? Who was responsible for opening a Letter of Credit through the People’s Bank? As we all know, the Chinese company Qingdao Seawin Biotech group caused problems for the People’s Bank and initiated arbitration proceedings in Singapore against Sri Lanka.
Is it a case of not following proper procedures due to political pressure exerted by an interested party close to the higher echelons of the government? The government is now poised to pay more than $ six million to settle the issue on the Attorney General’s advice. At the end of the day, the public will foot the bill with every person paying 62 rupees towards it. Whether it was the Attorney General’s advice or not, the government is playing with the people’s money at the behest of corrupt politicians. The people are slowly but steadily realising that the government has miserably failed to deliver and accomplish the many tasks assigned to them in 2019 through the presidential election and the parliamentary election that followed.
The country needs urgent therapeutic treatment to recover. More than ever, itneeds immediate economic help to prevent a disaster in the making.
The government’s trajectory is to look for pragmatic solutions having faith in Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal and the Central Bank. Nevertheless, Cabral is not the panacea for the country’s economic woes.
Despite Finance Minister Basil Rajapakse’sbravado to not seek help from anyone to stabilize foreign reserves, there will be no respite for the government without seeking the help of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Cabinet of Ministers discussed the issue with the Prime Minister in the absence of the President. A group of ministers of course realised the magnitude of the problem and agreed with the idea as another faction opposed the move and said the imposition of strict regulation is part and parcel of the IMF’s bailout package.
The alternative is to seek assistance from friendly countries. India has already devised a formula to help Sri Lanka but at the same time, they want a guarantee from the IMF. India’s suggestion was also that Sri Lanka should seek the help of the IMF. Economic experts say that the IMFcould reschedule Sri Lanka’s debt portfolio, stretching out for the next two years and underwrite the loans to enable the country to obtain more financial assistance elsewhere. The decision is paramount for the well-being of the country and the people. The opposition however is circumspect about the government’s reluctance to go to the IMF for assistance.
UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardenesaid it was because if the IMF steps in, it will hinder the activities of robber barons in the government. Currently, the country is facing a situation where the Bar Association of Sri Lanka has filed an action against the Governor of the Central Bank in connection with a gazette issued by the Central Bank. The gazette prescribes the seizure of foreign exchange earned by individuals and to convert them to Sri Lankan rupees. The BASL argues that the move is ultra vires the constitution and against the spirit of the monetary laws of the country.
Be that as it may, during last week’s cabinet meeting without the President the ministers had a free for all with a majority firing salvos at the Secretary to the President P.B Jaysundra and demanding his removal. Some said this wouldn’t have happened if the President was present. The Prime Minister tolerated it all, himself not happy with P.B Jayasundera. But the removal did not take place as envisaged. The prime mover was none other than the elder sibling of the Rajapaksas, Chamal.
Unconfirmed reports however say that Chamal is all out to remove P.B Jayasundera come what may. Nevertheless, PB Jayasundera remains static and unmoved by the criticism. He knows as long as he pleases his boss he can surmount any obstacle.
Besides, there are numerous connotations on the prorogation of parliament by the President. It appears that the President was unhappy over an incident where the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) inquired into the affairs of the Board of Investments (BOI) and Sri Lankan Airlines. Both chairpersons of the BOI and Sri Lankan Airlines had been taken aback by the questioning by COPE and it prompted the resignation of the BOI Chairman, a close ally of the President. Sri Lankan Airlines faced a similar situation at the hands of the COPE Committee. Hence the government is now hell-bent on reconstituting important parliamentary committees such as the COPE and COPA (Committee on Public Accounts). DrCharitha Herath heads the COPE, and former Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa chairs the COPA as it stands today. The government can reconstitute these committees with people who have a leaning towards the regime and who will not upset the government’s trajectory. Many people think the prorogation was to clear the government’s stables. Others opine that the President wants to restart the New Year with a brand new policy statement encompassing the current Vistas of Splendour. But for all that, the economy has to be on a sound footing.
The President, who left for Singapore on an urgent private trip, returned to the country before the scheduled date. It raised questions about the sudden departure and return. Nobody could say anything other than to say he left for Singapore for medical consultations. As he hurriedly came back before the scheduled time, Finance minister Basil Rajapaksa was ready to head towards the United States. Basil’s trip to the US was embroiled in controversy as the opposition inflicted damage to the government on the Yughadanavi deal. Many opposition politicians harped on the idea that the younger Rajapaksa’s visit had something to do with the Yugadhanavi deal.
Just before ending the parliamentary session, JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake made a startling revelation by tabling the purported agreement on the Yughadanavi LNG plant.
The purported agreement with New Energy Fortress is now in dispute. Dissanayake revealed the government had signed the agreement with another outfit NFE Sri Lanka Power Holdings LLC and not New Fortress Energy of the USA, and that it was therefore not in line with what Cabinet had approved. He gave details of the postal address of the company as being at Orange Street in Washington DC. Social media platforms took a cue from the JVP leader’s revelations and said the registered working capital of the said company is US$30.
The Yughadanavi agreement is essentially before a fuller bench of the Supreme Court with many parties challenging the agreement. Three cabinet ministers are also before the Court in protest and solidarity with the petitioners.
Nevertheless, political analysts view this as mere histrionics of the trio. Legal experts are studying the vicissitudes of the present case in comparison to the privatisation of the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation during Chandrika Kumaratunga’s time.
Former Chief Justice Sarath N Silva overturned the privatisation of the Insurance Corporation since there was a dispute over the Cabinet approval similar to that of the Yughadanavi.––ALAKESWARA
