Can the Govt. prevent 2021’s baggage of woes overflowing into 2022?

Despite several countries including India scaling down or cancelling their New Year celebrations in the face of the fast-spreading Omicron viral infection; thousands of Sri Lankans, having thrown the much publicized health guidelines to the wind, were seen dancing and dining their cares away at the Galle Face Green, 5-star hotels and at parks and roadsides to herald the New Year with a bang and a blast of good cheer.  

We are six days into the New Year and despite the sound of fire crackers and other celebrations, the crossover from 2021 to 2022 dawned on this Island Nation with the news that the price of a kilogramme of imported milk powder had been increased by Rs.150 and a 400g packet by Rs.60; the minimum bus fare increased to Rs.17, the price of a 50-kg bag of cement by Rs.100 while fuel prices were increased on December 21 for the second time last year setting off a chain reaction effecting other sectors such as transport, electricity and water supply.

Amid the alarming news of a looming food shortage triggered by the fertilizer fiasco and price increases of essential commodities pushing the cost of living through the roof, people are queuing up in large numbers to buy domestic gas and kerosene with an equally large number of people seen queuing up to buy milk powder, which is so hard to come by these days. Listening to people, spending or wasting their time in long queues for hours each day, relating their woes is heartbreaking indeed and well expresses the feelings of the ordinary people caught up in this predicament for no fault of theirs.  

Last week we carried the news of the warning issued by airline industry sources that General Sales Agents (GSAs) and local airline offices have for months – because of the current dollar crunch – fallen into arrears with regard to remitting the dues payable in dollars to principals abroad for the services provided by the airlines and as such there was the likelihood of airlines reducing flights to Colombo. 

In this backdrop came this weekend’s headline news that Kuwait Airways was pulling out its once-a-week flight to Sri Lanka from this week while several other airlines placed in a similar situation were said to be taking stock of their future plans or options. Thousands of migrant workers who use the airline to travel for employment to West Asian and Gulf countries would be the hardest hit by the Kuwait Airways pull-out. In its case however, there were also concerns about high landing costs in Sri Lanka, said to be among the highest in the region, even though there was no shortage of passengers for the airline, which offered some of the cheapest West bound flights out of Colombo.

The rumbling in the airline industry is of course bound to seriously impact the recovery of the tourism industry, which is one of the main sectors that the government is heavily banking on to bring in much-needed foreign currency revenues into Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, media reports say the foreign currency crisis with the severe shortage of US dollars in Sri Lanka’s banking sector has now spread to the export sector as well with shipping lines demanding that the relevant freight charges be paid in US dollars. This message is said to have also been formally and informally conveyed to leading exporters, including those in the tea and rubber sectors.

Be that as it may in none of these afore-mentioned instances has any government leader, politician or public official claimed responsibility or has been held accountable for the mess and muddle which has descended on Sri Lanka and its citizens. Take for instance the series of gas-linked explosions – nearly 900 from November up to the date of writing -- killing and injuring several consumers. Against the background of fear and anxiety with householders wondering what is in store for them when lighting their cookers; Litro Gas Chairman Theshara Jayasinghe says it would take another three weeks to resume the normal supply of gas cylinders that comply with the standards specified by the Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI). But he says nothing about why it took so long to recall the defective gas cylinders and as to who in the first place ordered the composition change, which is now found to be the main reason for the explosions and about the compensation the company intends paying to the victims? 
In these circumstances and especially when it is the people, who will have to pay for the negligence of the powers that be, will Sri Lankans have any reason to sing and dance in 2022?