May Sanity Prevail in Parliament

Sri Lanka is ailing due to a lack of visionary and strategic leadership on one hand and the culmination of the citizens’ agitation on the other. I grieve when I think of the deaths of Lalith Athulathmudali Gamini Dissanayake and Lakshman Kadirgarmar and, each of whom given a chance to lead this country would have certainly established not only a turning point, but a different planet . 

In the recent past, President Chandrika Kumaratunga did want to appoint Lakshman Kadirgamar as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, but failed. Today we have more law breakers disguised as law makers in parliament, and that is our curse.

There are no quick fixes to the economy.  It will be a long drawn battle for everyone. Whoever becomes the President and PM is irrelevant. Until our house is in order, nobody is coming to assist us. The Government has to guide the people

No plan more pain

Both the Government and the Opposition must understand that no external agency or country will help us unless and until we help ourselves. When we were first faced with the dollar crises, the Indian Government provided us with two to three billion dollar financial assistance. But did we have a plan how to best utilize this? No. We continued without any changes and that is where we went wrong. Ours is a crisis with regards to a serious lack of foreign reserves. Dollar earning ventures are severely stunted. Due to Tourism and foreign remittances dipping down, imports cannot be carried out as before. Our selfish and foolish ministers and officials continues on the free-ride and we are in a serious situation.  The Prime Minister (now the Acting President) should have come up with a plan to resurrect the country, we are yet to see a plan, and perhaps his focus is elsewhere now (understandably).

 No Quick Fixes

There are no quick fixes to the economy.  It will be a long drawn battle for everyone. Whoever becomes the President and PM is irrelevant. Until our house is in order, nobody is coming to assist us. The Government has to guide the people. To its credit, both Lanka IOC and CEYPETCO have been very successful in creating a “sub dealership strata “of fuel distributors across the country. These “sub dealers “are certainly making “a thumping profit.”  A country where a vaccination programme was rolled out successfully to counter Covid-19, we now see glimpses of a better system being introduced to distribute fuel. The young minister for Power and Energy seem to be trying his best and we wish him all the best.

Democratic chase out

The agitators have democratically eliminated the Prime Minister, the President and an entire Cabinet. Those who are left must understand the value of the ‘Aragalaya’. The role of the Speaker is crucial at this time. There are rumours of foreign hands behind the ‘Aragalaya’. However it must be recognized at least now that there are genuine concerns of a large majority of people, as people are starving and their aspirations have been shattered. As a Government and as parliamentarians, we expect all 225 to get together and assure the people that they will bring this country out of this dark era. 

 Both the Government and the Opposition must understand that no external agency or country will help us unless and until we help ourselves. When we were first faced with the dollar crises, the Indian Government provided us with two to three billion dollar financial assistance. But did we have a plan how to best utilize this? No!

‘Aragalaya’ people to discussion

The Speaker needs to bring the ‘Aragalaya’ representatives to the discussion table with all parties in Parliament   in the “unusual absence “of a Prime Minister at this juncture. You must show them respect and recognition that they are a force to reckon with. This is how one manages crisis; through discussion. They have to understand that they no longer can disregard the Aragalaya as just a group of people who are here to rock the boat.  

On the other hand, sanity should prevail in the Aragalaya as well as among all the citizens. Tourism is one of our biggest foreign earning avenues. For foreigners to come, the agitation should settle, peace and sanity should prevail in the country and fuel queues should vanish. It’s no secret that people from all over are willing to visit Sri Lanka, but it is up to the citizens to ensure that they do not cancel their plans.  Car owners must adapt by using public transport. The average person should not pay for “your convenience “. With the new fuel pass system that is being introduced, we hope that this will resolve the issue to a greater degree. 

It’s a crucial time for Sri Lanka. For the sake of the poorest and hardworking people in this country, we hope that starting with the Parliament, sanity will prevail so that we can see a light at the far end of this tunnel.
The writer of this article is a Former Member of Parliament and can be reached on 

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