The NPP Must Know that ‘The Snow Falls Silently’

As many as over 500 Student Development Officers took part in a protest near the Ministry of Education head office and demanded that they be made permanent in their chosen profession

We were in a mighty hurry to vote for Anura Kumara Dissanayake as the President of Sri Lanka. We showed the same urgency to bring in Gotabaya Rajapaksa when Sri Lankans flocked to polling stations in 2019 to vote and elect the country’s eighth Executive President. Bringing in that second Rajapaksa as President spelt doom, despite baseless predictions that the former military man was able to turn the country around. When he failed the 6.9 million voters who backed him, they were ‘as silent as falling snow’. with President Dissanayake in the saddle, we are waiting with fingers crossed during these challenging times. 

When the recent protest near the Ministry of Education by School Development Officers (SDOs) took place in full swing, we were made to go into reflection mode. These SDOs were teachers who were performing in their roles for the past five years, but not on a permanent basis. They were demanding permanent employment. The ‘big man’ of a prominent teachers’ union said the other day that teachers were expecting to win their demands without resorting to strike actions with the advent that Dissanayake is is now the President of the country. That recent protest shock the regime because there were injuries to the Police and protesters. As many as over 500 SDOs took part in the protest and demanded that they be made permanent in their chosen profession. 

One thing must be said right now and that is that this government needs some time to deliver on its promises. But what the government is reminded is that this is a nation where people’s tolerance levels don’t run deep. We can remember what happened between 2001 and 2004 when Ranil Wickremesinghe was the Premier and Chandrika Kumaratunga was the President. The biggest achievement for Wickremesinghe during these short four years was bringing the Tiger Rebels to the negotiating table and striking a peace deal. But most projects started by him didn’t continue and critics said that the Prime Minister’s UNF government had an impressive macro plan, but not a micro plan. 

Deja-vu Already

Aren’t we seeing something similar now? President Dissanayake has promised to bring corruption and wastage to zero and also bring to book all those who swindled money while in state service or serving as members of the parliament. Some ‘small fish’ have been caught in the corruption net, but we want to see former ministers and top government officials be brought before courts and made answerable for their actions which caused losses to past governments or inconvenienced the public. 

President Dissanayake must up the ante in terms of food production and distribution of essential goods. The question doing the rounds is ‘where has all the paddy gone’? At the time of writing, ‘Nadu’, which is one of the most prominent rice types sold in the market, is being sold at an exorbitant amount of Rs 230 per kilogram. A coconut is being sold between Rs 190-200 per nut at present; prior to that a coconut was sold at Rs 120 in August 2024. It would be beneficial for the National People’s Power (NPP) led government to take hold of uncultivated or loss making lands which have private ownership and convert them to state run agriculture projects. There is a school of thought that in a country like Sri Lanka, the state must have a significant hand in the production and distribution of essential goods, items that the commoner buys. For the record, Sri Lanka is among the top Asian countries in the world where its citizens use a large percentage of their salaries just to purchase their food and groceries. Unofficial records taken after studying the vibe of shoppers at supermarkets put the percentage of the salary spent by the commoner on food itself at 60%. 

Pre-election time, this year, we read in newspapers where food and consumer analysts stated that a family of four needed hundred thousand rupees a month, just to have two square meals a day. What about paying for schooling, tuition, medicine, utility bills and making premium payments for loans outstanding? The government must take note that even though the salaries of employees remain stagnant, the same subdued feature cannot be expected when it comes to people dealing with their own agitated emotions.  

This regime must realise a fact pretty fast. It is that the NPP government came to power when the people of this country were just after a revolution. Though the revolution was a failed one, the people were in the mood to rebel again; this mood continued even during the entire tenure of caretaker President Wickremesinghe. The latter, being a seasoned lawmaker, ensured that the essential goods were readily available and priced reasonably. The incumbent president Dissanayake can take a cue from Wickremesinghe on the above mentioned key area which cannot be neglected by a regime at any cost. What Wickremesinghe did to ensure that essentials were available for the people and his defeat at the Presidential elections are too separate things. Wickremesinghe’s defeat was related to him not being popular with the masses. 

Rice and Curry 
Problem

We have a rice and curry problem in this country if this writer is to put it in simple layman’s terms. Rice and curry will soon be a very expensive food to put on the table. The teacher’s salary issue must be solved. This government’s micro plan needs to be reviewed and the sooner they do it the better. Wickremesinghe told the people of this country at a press conference just prior to the elections to consider voting for him because he carries the most experience. For those who opposed his views, he had this to say: “If you wish to vote for a new party, best of luck to you guys”. Those words are now resonating in our ears!