Future of the country is precarious, hopeless and bleak: Anura Priyadharshana Yapa

The SLPP Parliamentarian, Chairman of the Parliamentary oversight committee - the Committee on Public Finance (CPF) - and former Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa shared his views on the current economic, political and social upheaval in the country with the Daily Mirror.

EXCERPTS:

QPresident Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed a cabinet of 21 ministers but many of them including the President and Prime Minister have lost credibility among the public with their dubious past and questionable performance. Do you think President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe could fulfil the aspirations of 22 million of Sri Lankans who demand immediate solutions to the current economic, political and social crisis?

If I may point out to you that this whole episode came to the picture following the May 09 incident. The Aragalists were staging a peaceful protest at the Galle Face and in front of the official residence of the Prime Minister making certain demands. But unfortunately, there was a meeting at the Temple Trees to appease the power that be. There was an attack on protesters after Prime Minister had a meeting with his supporters at the Temple Trees on the morning of May 09. He had invited them without the knowledge of the party stalwarts of their respective areas. Some groups were formed, named, armed, kept and sent with clubs and weapons to attack MynaGoGama near the Temple Trees and GotaGogama at Galle Face after the meeting. You know what happened after that. There were incidents in Colombo and in many parts of the country with arson, looting, murder and physical attacks and robbing of private residences and commercial establishments resulting in billions of rupees of damage and losing nearly dozens of lives including an innocent Parliamentarian.

My argument is that after the COVID-19 pandemic we have failed to set our economy on the correct path. The current economic, political and social disaster has compelled the people in the width and breadth of the country to protest against the shortage of food, milk powder, fuel and gas and many other essential commodities. In addition, farmers around the country have staged protests demanding fertiliser for their cultivation.

It is still premature to say whether Ranil would be a success. But being a seasoned political figure in Sri Lanka politics, he must be given some breathing space and keep our fingers crossed to see whether he would deliver or not and how he and President Rajapaksa perform in the days to come. But as the things stand right now, the future of the country is precarious, hopeless and bleak.

QSri Lanka has gone through many a difficult time since independence. The most publicised one among them was the ‘haal polu’ – ‘miris polu’ era during the United Front government between 1970 and 1977 led by Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike. But Sri Lanka in its memorable history has not experienced an economic, social, political, cultural and spiritual deterioration similar to the one the people of this country have encountered in the last two years under the Gotabaya Rajapaksa regime. Do you agree?

Yes, unprecedented and unbelievable. By the end of 2019, our forex reserves stood at US$ 7.9 billion. It has dropped to zero by now with the economy has completely broken down. Right now we are in a ‘Hard Default’ category failing to settle our loans. No one gives us money and we are not in a position to obtain any significant financial assistance from global financial agencies like the IMF, World Bank or the ADB and also from donor countries. In addition, we have to settle a huge loan package running to US$ 6.9 billion before the end of this year. So, we can’t pay and we can’t procure. It is as simple as that. Therefore, we have to depend solely on our own resources like export income, foreign remittances and revenue from tourism. Top officials in charge of the Treasury, the Presidential Secretariat and the Central Bank who handled the economy have failed to forewarn the President about the impending disaster. They were adamant that they would not go after international financial agencies like the IMF or the World Bank for a bailout but after the situation became extremely precarious they left. They did not educate President Rajapaksa about the true situation of the economy or the President ignored their advice. I admit that we went through a difficult time during the United Front government but there was no food shortage similar to what we are going through right now. There were ample food and other essentials available under the ration system. People did not die in starvation at that time. Today, people don’t have enough money to buy food while food is in short supply. Something is very wrong somewhere. To make things worse further, the government has no answer to this misery.

QThe deleterious effects of mismanagement, misrule, corruption, wrong and foolhardy policies of the Rajapaksas are such that, people have started committing suicide, unable to bear sustain the burden of poverty, another record set by this government in addition to country-wide protests demanding Gotabaya and Ranil to quit. What do you have to say about this total failure of leaders of the incumbent government?

In 2015, when that government was defeated, the main reason was corruption. There were a number of court cases against the government politicians. I think they should have learnt from that experience. However, after the people forgot all this and let them come back to power in 2019 - 2020 period, they could have thought about it seriously. Some in the government were absolutely corrupt. Everyone knows about it. People don’t want their representatives to become rich in dubious dealings and transact also to change in a positive way. I won’t say all politicians are corrupt. But all have to face the consequences. When the people vent their anger on politicians they treat all as collaborators of corruption and misdeeds. That is the sad part of these phenomena.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected to power with the pledge to do away with corruption. But the entire media alleges that corruption under his presidency has spread at an unprecedented and unfathomable level. One instance of corruption is that the vast extent of state forests have been cleared as never before with the connivance of government politicians and top officials. That is why people demand in one voice that ‘GotaGoHome’ There is a process to remove the President. But it is a long constitutional and political process. However, I am for the enactment of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution that curtails executive power and vests more power to the legislature and also the reintroduction of the Constitutional Council and independent commissions. The public perception is that the country has been brought to this level due to corruption, mismanagement and incompetency of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa regime. All politicians are not corrupt but all had to face the consequences in a sadistic way. However, still, I believe that laws are inadequate to deal with large-scale corruption, embezzling and misappropriation of public funds. But I repeat, there are good and honest politicians who do clean politics.

QAny idea why this tendency of President Rajapaksa to sideline educated and experienced politicians with no allegations of corruption or misdeeds like you and Dullas Alahapperuma et al for ministerial positions?

That has to be answered by the President himself. I have served as a minister in many a cabinet. President or Prime Minister always consult seniors when there is an issue. In any cabinet, there must be seniors as well as newcomers and women. But this time, President kept confidence in novices when he selected the cabinet. I don’t know who advised the President for this change. But the selection of cabinet posts was the task of the party. Ultimately, they had to pay for this. The decision has led to take inexperienced and incompetent newcomers to play the leadership role. Eventually, they ruined the image of their master, the name of themselves, the SLPP regime and finally took the country from one disaster to another.

• Today, people don’t have enough money to buy food while food is in short supply. Something is very wrong somewhere. To make things worse, the government has no answer to this misery
• Basil’s influence on the SLPP and the government will not be decisive anymore as they both flourished on each other’s power. This power base has been dismantled and as such Basil’s bargaining power is limited
• The 21st A has to be passed with the consensus of all stakeholders and restore political and social stability before talking to our creditors and donors for a bailout. At the same time, we must open the economy with tax concessions and other facilities creating an environment to convince investors that Sri Lanka is an ideal place to bring their money and offer them the opportunity of ‘ease of doing business’
• The May 09 incident will definitely affect to change the thinking among the global community in a negative way in Sri Lanka

QThe main demand not only across the country but from Sri Lankans living in other countries is President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe must quit sooner than later making way to form an all-party government. There will be no stability in the country, no investment, no tourists or aid coming as long as they remain in power. Does the 21st Amendment provide any constitutional remedy to shorten this impasse and meet the demands of 22 million-plus Sri Lankans and protesters across the country?

We, as members of the independent group, 53 of us in Parliament tried hard to persuade other political parties to form an all-party government. Unfortunately, we have failed. We did not seek cabinet positions. That is why we invited the SJB to form a government with other parties. I even spoke to Mr. M. A. Sumanthiran. He refused and said the TNA would support the proposed all-party government remaining outside. Sadly, we were not able to come to any consensus because there were so many demands related to the executive presidency, dual citizens, independent commissions and constitutional council and many more. But we were of the view that the all-party government must be formed first and then go for constitutional reforms as it needs a long constitutional and political consultative process. Removing the executive President is a long and time consuming process that requires a referendum. My position is that we must first establish confidence among the global community and financial agencies to obtain enough funds to address the immediate issues at hand. But it has fallen through as the so-called all-party government did not materialise.

The only way to bring normalcy and establishing political stability is to pass the 21st A with a consensus of all stakeholders to the issue. We must create an environment to convince investors that Sri Lanka is an ideal place with the measure of ‘ease of doing business’.

QAre you confident that Basil Rajapaksa will let you all to pass the Bill with a two-thirds majority?

There is no issue here at all. I agree that he was a strong figure within the SLPP in the past. But he cannot wield power outside his party and influence MPs to change a collective decision of the government anymore. He is not even an MP now. Therefore, Basil’s influence on the SLPP and the government will not be decisive anymore as they both flourished on each other’s power. This power base has been dismantled and as such Basil’s bargaining power is limited.

QIn that case, don’t you think there is merit in the demand of the main opposition SJB that says the party is ready to take the responsibility of redeeming the country and nation out of this economic, political and social quagmire - quagmire under an all-party government if and when they both leave?

That is a very unlikely thing to happen. We all can ask the President to leave. But it is extremely difficult to get rid of him when he refuses. We need a middle level solution. Gotabaya Rajapaksa has agreed to introduce the 21st A and prune his powers. Don’t forget that some in Parliament are against the 21st A and adamant on retaining the executive presidency in its present form. But a large majority of lawmakers are of the view that most of the executive powers must be vested with the legislature. We must grab that opportunity and do the needful.

QThe SLPP leaders, who promised a blissful and euphoric future for Sri Lankans and their siblings at the last Presidential and general elections, now are going behind all approachable countries begging for money to import food, oil, gas, medicine and other essentials and to repay loans. Sri Lanka has become an international beggar.Can you think of a time when the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’ has stooped to this level?

After the independence, up to 1948, we had a surplus in our current account. There were no budget deficits. But after that problems started as we spent more or we imported more than what we earned or what we exported. In 2021, we have spent two and half times more than the government collected as stat revenue. With the start of this negative and risky state administrative policy, Sri Lanka resorted to obtaining huge loans from global financial agencies and donor countries without thinking about the outcome. Today, Sri Lanka’s total debt portfolio in the next 25 years or so is US$ 51 billion or about Rs.18,200 billion. Certain foreign loans have been obtained in extremely higher interest rates. A good case study on poor economic management for any student of political science or economics. The situation has further exacerbated as a big portion of foreign loans have been spent to maintain a welfare state. Today we have no rupees for recurrent expenditure like to pay salaries and pensions to public servants or dollars to import essential commodities and industrial raw materials. This is why Sri Lanka has been branded a ‘failed state’ like Lebanon, Somalia or Sudan. For example, Lebanon’s GDP had fallen to US$20.5 billion from about US$ 55 billion in 2021, while the real GDP per capita fell by 37.1%. Sri Lanka is no different, thanks to the rulers in the last few years.

My opinion is that the 21st A has to be passed with the consensus of all stake holders and restore political and social stability before talking to our creditors and donors. At the same time we must open the economy with tax concessions and other facilities creating an environment to convince investors that Sri Lanka is an ideal place to bring their money and offer them the opportunity of ‘ease of doing business’.

The President and the SLPP leaders got a mandate from 6.9 million voters at Presidential poll in November 2019 and a lesser number at the general election in August 2020 respectively with a two-thirds majority. At the moment, the SLPP is in power in Parliament as it still has the numbers. But the ground situation is much different. Besides, the newly appointed Prime Minister is someone who lost his seat at the last general election. Do you think both could fulfil their commitments pledged?

No and yes. Ranil should be given some breathing space for him to deliver. Up to now, he has not shown any ability to suggest that he would be successful. Yes, the government is very unpopular. But I don’t think this is time for an election. After May 9, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa changed the cabinet three times. People are not agreeable with some of the newly appointed ministers. But they are working in an extremely challenging environment. We must wait and see as to how they perform.

QNearly 20 SLPP ministers, deputy Ministers and top officials aligned with the SLPP government have been acquitted from their court cases of corruption, misdeeds, misappropriation and other crimes with the Attorney General withdrawing the cases against them in the last two years drastically eroding the confidence in the judiciary and the AG’s Department among the public. As a seasoned lawyer, what is your suggestion to arrest this sorry state of affairs in the administration of justice?

If we go back to the period 2015 and after, we have seen that they have appointed a special branch called the ‘Financial Crime Investigation Division’ (FCID) to go into the misdeeds of politicians in the previous Rajapaksa regime. Many of the charges framed by the FCID against suspects were politically designed. That is why most of the cases collapsed. Some cases filed by the Bribery Commission had technical faults that led to the withdrawal of the case. However, some of them have already been re-filed. It is up to the AG, the Bribery Commission or the Police to see to the successful conclusion of these cases. However, I believe that the AG’s department and the bribery commission must be fully devoid of political influence. It is a known fact that Police are working to please their political masters. That is why a big majority of cases filed by the Police collapse.

QThe appointment of outsiders like military officers and close friends of the President to key public offices and to the top management of state-owned enterprises has been proved a disaster. The action has demoralised the public service as never before. No satisfactory performance seen at these establishments under them either. A considerable number of senior public officers have resigned in disgust alleging political influence, nepotism, corruption and misdeeds at their respective establishments. This is the efficient, corruption-free, scientific and futuristic administration promised by the SLPP through its policy declaration of ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour’. Your comments?

I am against the appointment of military officers to run vital state establishments. It has brought disastrous results. Certain important and strategic government institutions are supposed to manage only by senior public officers. Take for example Health, Education or Agriculture Ministries. They must be headed by senior public officers. The action taken to appoint military officers to state establishments and semi-government establishments has failed. I think President Rajapaksa has learnt a lesson from this.

QRanil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister and leader of the UNP is a total failure and has obliterated the second oldest and the largest political party in the country, the UNP. He is alleged to have destroyed the economy during the Yahapalana government. That is why people in this country demand in one voice for him to quit with President Rajapaksa. Do you believe that he could deliver and fulfil the aspirations of the people as he pledged upon assuming office?

He is an experienced politician. He inherited a badly managed economy in 2015. But he had to confront many problems at the very beginning of the Yahapalana government with a scandalous central bank bond scam. Other than that, what he is trying to do is laudable. Therefore, we must give some leverage to show results. It is good that he came forward to accept the premiership. But he must be very careful not to repeat past mistakes. I hope that he will be a success.

QSri Lanka will be in the spotlight at the 50th annual sessions of the UNHRC between the period June 13 to July 08 that are in progress right now in Geneva. The odds have stacked heavily against Sri Lanka following the May 09 incidents. This stigma on Sri Lanka would no doubt affect the thinking pattern of donor countries, global financial agencies and investors in Sri Lanka. Does it not?

Yes, indeed. It was a very bad move. The May 09 incident will definitely affect to change the thinking among the global community in a negative way in Sri Lanka. The worldwide publicity given to arson, killings, robbing and attack on unarmed protesters have seriously damaged the image of Sri Lanka among the global community. The only way for damage control is to let the law takes its own course and punish perpetrators.