28 September 2024 12:00 am Views - 579
On 21 September, Lankans elected into office a new President who campaigned on an anti-corruption platform and renegotiating with the IMF. Presently 25 percent of our people are living below the poverty line, where according to UNICEF 1 in 2 children in Lanka are going hungry.
Our country used to be self-sufficient in food production. The farming community comprising 2 million farmers was dependent on subsidised chemical fertilisers. In May 2022 suddenly all agrochemicals, including fertilisers and pesticides were banned and agro-subsidies cut. It led to a dramatic fall in agricultural output and a pauperisation of the community.
Even today despite the government reversing the ban on agrochemicals, farmers are unable to afford fertiliser supplies at market-rate prices.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), fishing provides a livelihood to more than 2.5 million coastal communities. Fish is regarded as an important source of protein in the diet of Sri Lankans. But, high prices have driven this nutrient further away from a majority of the public.
Fishermen complain high prices are a result of the economic crash that led to high fuel prices, among other increased production costs. Many in the trade have been forced into destitution.
In the urban areas wages are pegged at an average of Rs. 55,000 per month. In the tea and rubber plantations workers earn around Rs. 1,500 per day for 24 days a month at the most.
Yet the cost of having two nutritious meals a day for a family of four cost over Rs. 100,000. The president has promised economic growth, social well-being irrespective of race, religion or ethnicity. He also promised to cut down waste of public funds and uproot corruption which stalks all forms of activity in the country.
While the public undergo deprivation and misery, according to ‘Public Finance.lk’ in 2021 the Government of Sri Lanka allocated Rs. 2,590 million to maintain the offices of 30 Cabinet and 40 State Ministers!
It is in this light, we have to measure the first steps taken by our new president to change the circumstances of the majority of people, stop waste of funds and eradicate corruption.
One of the president’s first acts was to dissolve parliament and appoint a temporary four-member Cabinet.
He has already initiated steps to provide fuel subsidies to fisher folk as well provide additional fertiliser subsidies to the farming community.
All of a sudden within days of his election, we have had poultry farmers claim that they can drastically reduce the cost of chicken meat and the price of eggs.
One can’t help but wonder how there could be such a drop in these prices unless of course someone somewhere could have been demanding a commission from producers.
The media has exposed a situation where over a hundred state-owned vehicles allegedly belonging to staff of the Presidential Secretariat have suddenly been found parked in around four spots in the city
of Colombo.
Pray why are the individuals who used these vehicles suddenly parking their vehicles and literally walking away? Have they all of a sudden found they were performing no relevant tasks and may be viewed wasting public funds?
For over two months, despite a Supreme Court ordering the suspension of the a contract given to private consortium IVS-GBS and VFS Global to deal with visa issuance, authorities had been vacillating to implement the order.
Yesterday immigration authorities reinstated the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) process for issuing visas on arrival visas, leaving out the private consortium. The new system was implemented by midnight yesterday.
The country is reeling with difficulties related to repaying our external debt. But somehow some person or persons decided to make a deal to enrich some foreign bodies.
We have no doubt in the near future these persons or bodies will be brought to book by the new regime.
In less than seven days President Dissanayake has commenced implementing his promise to the voters -fighting corruption, bringing relief to poorer sections of the community etc.
Let us wish him well in his discussions with the International Monetary Fund.