Political stability fundamental to economic revival: AKD

In the midst of an unprecedented economic and political crisis, the NPP’s approach has resonated with many who blame the wrong policies followed by the two main political parties for the last 74 years for the country’s present predicament. In this light, the NPP and its leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake have managed to broaden their appeal, possibly with a view to increasing their representation in Parliament and elsewhere at the next round of elections. The Daily Mirror sat down with AKD to dissect the present political environment and learn about their plans.  

Q  You have consistently maintained that the declaration of assets by politicians is inadequate and depicts an inaccurate picture. What do you believe is the best mechanism to determine the ill-gotten wealth of politicians?

Corrupt politicians do not have assets under their names. Their ill-gotten wealth is usually hidden with their relatives and family members. In other instances, assets are even registered under their close associates’ names. A declaration of assets and liabilities will not reveal these details. Only a thorough investigation will be effective.  
What we propose is a special investigation commission to conduct a thorough analysis of all the data. There are numerous parties involved that can provide information and data for these investigations.  
Concerning our assets, we have nothing to hide. We are open to an investigation anytime. As mentioned, we do not declare assets because this is not the correct way.  

Q  Claiming assets, how should it be done?

The existing legal framework is adequate to claim assets. Under the “Prevention of Money Laundering Act”, if a citizen cannot prove that their earnings were lawful, they are liable to forfeiture. Furthermore, under the “Public Property Act”, if the offence to public property exceeds the value of 25,000 LKR, bail is not provided, and the suspect must show exceptional circumstances to obtain bail.  

If you take the “Bribery Act”, the bribery or corruption commission has the power to conduct investigations and file cases. You also have the “Code of Criminal Procedure Act”.  
We have a capable Criminal Investigations Department. The investigative commissions are also strong. We have highly competent lawyers in the AG’s Department to file cases. But what has happened is all these institutions and mechanisms have been put under the thumb of politicians. That is why while an individual is in jail for stealing a coconut, politicians roam freely while pocketing millions of dollars worth of public money.  

“A political culture built on honesty, selflessness, and politicians who abide by the law should be the foundation of building our nation, not a political system infested with corruption, mismanagement, and politicians who are above the law.”  

Recently, the Attorney General’s Department withdrew numerous indictments against politicians and officials. Most of these cases were filed by the then AG Jayantha Jayasuriya, the current Chief Justice of Sri Lanka. Ironically, the cases filed by him are being withdrawn in his courts. We see a total breakdown of the justice mechanism and its affiliated institutions.  
Never shall a corrupt individual punish another corrupt individual. Only a non-corrupt political movement can eliminate corruption and punish responsible parties, and that is only us.  
We have filed numerous complaints, but only the government has the power to conduct investigations. Some allege that we are hypocrites, jealous and vengeful because we consistently highlight these issues. But the majority of the people have now realized that such corruption has taken place and that justice needs to be meted out to these crooks in power. Therefore, the next step is to form a new government that is capable of doing that.  

Q  What’s the NPP’s stance on the 21st Amendment?

The 19th Amendment at that time was flawed. It was born out of greed for political influence by Ranil Wickremesinghe and Maithripala Sirisena.  
We have presented 7 key proposals to be included in the 21st Amendment:  

1. Scrap the powers of the President to hold and take over ministry portfolios.  
2. Dual citizens should be barred from holding important positions at state institutions.  
3. Prevent MPs from shifting sides in Parliament.  
4. The powers of the presidential pardon should be limited.  
5. Include a time limit on the current Parliament as an interim provision. Propose to limit the term of the Ninth Parliament to two to three years.  
6. The bribery commission or the CID should be empowered to audit and investigate the assets and liabilities of parliamentarians.  
7. Secretaries to Ministries be appointed through the Constitutional Council and not at the President’s or ministers’ discretion.  

Q  If there was a parliamentary election right now, how would you rate your chances?

We are optimistic about our chances. It is absolutely necessary to change the country’s current political system and economic trajectory. As a political party, we are fully prepared to solve the crises plaguing our country and are ready to contest the election at any time and win.  

Q  There is a chance of a no majority in Parliament for any single party. In this case, how do you see the political stability unfolding?

I think the people will make the right decision because they have experimented enough with the leaders of the major political parties. We invite the people to make a different choice and experiment with a new set of leaders.  
Not just us, but there are other honest and non-corrupt leaders in parliament. In a case where no party wins a majority, we are open to forming a government with them under our leadership.  

Q  What are your thoughts on privatizing State-Owned Enterprises such as SriLankan Airlines? 

Our policy is that specific industries should always remain under the state machinery, irrespective of the situation, because these industries play a pivotal role in state security and economic affairs. However, we understand that some SOEs should be privatized to realize their full potential. We can make it a case-by-case basis and decide on the institutions that should be privatized.  
A major reason for incurring losses in SOEs is the politicization of these enterprises. Politicians have used SOEs as a tool to provide jobs for their supporters, thus making it impossible to run them as profit-making enterprises. We will make sure that these malpractices are eliminated when we come to power.  

Q  Culling the public sector is required as of now. Our public workforce as a percentage of our population is higher than India and Singapore. What’s your plan to reduce and optimize the public sector, considering that a massive portion of the budget is required to pay their salaries?

For instance, if the treasury receives 1 LKR, 0.58 LKR is used to pay the wages of the public officials. When you take into account our economy, this is both unsustainable and inefficient. While this is the case, there is also a shortage of public officials in certain segments. For example, the health and education sectors need more staff, while most other institutions have an excess of public employees.  

One of the leading causes for this is the perception amongst youth that only a public sector job provides social security. If we build confidence that jobs in different industries such as agriculture and services can provide the same level of social security, there will be a marked difference in the segment of the population interested in public employment. There should also be a broad appeal for youth to be involved in small and medium-scale entrepreneurship.  
Regarding government officials, we need to look at increasing productivity and limiting new recruitments. Mass removal or restructuring of public sector employees is not viable because it can create substantial societal problems as their livelihoods would be threatened.  

Q  What are your solutions for the current economic crisis?

There are no immediate solutions—the crises plaguing the country result from long-term economic malpractices and a toxic political culture. We need innovative economic strategies with a new political system to find a sustainable solution, which will take time. A political culture built on honesty, selflessness, and politicians who abide by the law should be the foundation of building our nation, not a political system infested with corruption, mismanagement, and politicians who are above the law. We will definitely bring about this change and create a true public servant capable of serving our people with honour.  

The only immediate solutions are restructuring debt, obtaining more loans, and building confidence amongst our migrant worker community to remit money through official channels. Foreign remittances from our migrant workers amount to around $600 million per month. In addition, the next tourism cycle will be critical as there will be an uptick of tourists with more countries opening up. Therefore, we need an immediate plan to increase our share of tourists in the coming season.   

Q  The PM recently mentioned that more money must be printed to pay the salaries and wages? How do you assess the impact of this on inflation?

According to the Central Bank, inflation is at 33%, while food inflation is over 45%. But the real data indicates higher figures. The silver lining is that we are not yet facing hyperinflation; we still have a chance to bring it under control. However, if we print more money, we might face a situation of uncontrollable inflation because money printing, coupled with the drop in our manufacturing and services sectors, will compound inflation.  

There is a real danger of people being unable to survive the next few months. Fuel and milk prices have both increased by about 400%. This inflation is unbearable for the people. You can see people protesting daily; some fight at fuel stations while others close off roads. When the situation worsens, people’s reactions could become unpredictable and violent. We, as a political party, fear this outcome.  

When things turn violent, society can descend into lawlessness and chaos. I kindly urge people to act with restraint and patience because lawlessness only helps the corrupt politicians in power. We should stand together for a new economic and political system through democratic reforms.  

Q  Do you believe the government has the mandate to govern in these times, considering that they came to power with a ⅔ majority?

People clamour day and night for Gotabaya Rajapaksa to go home, but he stubbornly remains the President. The country’s Prime Minister is Ranil Wickremesinghe, who suffered the most humiliating defeat of the UNP in its history and could not even garner enough votes to enter Parliament. So how can the Government claim they have a mandate?  

Q  Is the only solution going for fresh elections?

The government should propose a short-term plan, preferably a 3-6 months plan to manage the crisis and then go for elections to form a new government that can bring about political stability. Political stability is fundamental to economic stability and is the foundation for economic revival. Therefore, we are willing to support a short-term plan to manage the crisis as the opposition.  

Q  Has the “Aragalaya” lost steam over the past few weeks?

To a certain extent. One reason is the length of time. Also, the violent protests on the 9th of May allowed people to vent their anger and frustration that had built up until that time. Thirdly, the deepening economic crisis has severely hindered people’s ability to join peaceful protests. The long lines and the struggle to earn a pittance to survive gives people no respite. Fourthly, new developments in the government have given the people a ray of hope. But as evident, the living costs have risen further, and there is a real danger of rapid unemployment. Therefore, it would be unwise to say that people’s frustrations are abating. I’d put it as “still waters run deep”.  

Q  There is an allegation that the JVP is behind the “Aragalaya” and other protest campaigns. Is there any truth to this?

The Galle Face “Aragalaya” is a collective, peaceful protest. It functions so well because there are no political party agendas behind it. Therefore, it should remain free of political agendas.  
As the NPP, we have our political agenda. We organize peaceful protests to help innocent farmers, fishers, and the ordinary people that have risen against this corrupt system. We have protested even before the current “Aragalaya” sprung to life.  
We represent the people that have been wronged and are struggling every day due to the failed policies of successive governments that have resulted in this economic catastrophe.  

Q  Is the NPP responsible for any of the destruction caused on May 9? The government claims a large number of those arrested in connection are JVPers?

Let me clarify. People have a misconception about our struggle in 1988/89. What we are doing is trying to change this misconception. For example, even when our party members were being killed before, including the Katuwana incident of 2012, we continued to operate democratically and stood for protecting the democratic principles.  
We were the architects of the two landmark pieces of legislation that strengthened democracy in the country. The 17th and 19th constitutional amendments strengthened the people’s power. Yet, look at the current government. They were responsible for the 18th and the 20th amendments that directly undermined the essence of democracy.  

“The crises plaguing the country result from long-term economic malpractices and a toxic political culture."

We have always maintained that today’s conflict is not an armed one; it is an ideological conflict that the country needs. Our institutions are built on values of democracy, and we support progressive agendas for the country. We believe in just causes and stand for just mechanisms.  
Any violent conflict does us no good and does not bring us a political advantage in any scenario. Furthermore, we absolutely have no intention of tarnishing our image and reputation by being instigators of any violence. Therefore, we categorically deny all these false allegations about the violence that erupted on the 9th of May.  

The May 9th incident was regrettable and should have never happened. People were looking for an outlet to release their frustrations and anger, and the government provided the necessary impetus. It was a retaliation by the common people, and we were not in any way connected to any of the violent clashes that erupted.  
The government is doing their utmost to pin all these allegations on us by promoting conspiracies. They know they cannot defeat us intellectually or ideologically, so they resort to these cheap and dishonourable tactics. We believe that people are intelligent enough to analyze the facts and come to an informed conclusion.  

Q  Will the face of the Aragalaya change in the future?

We have a genuine fear about how people would show their dissent if things escalate. People are becoming confrontational; we fear them becoming violent. Our sole focus is to prevent any kind of violent protests and are therefore doing our best to form citizens’ committees in every city.  
However, the government wants violent protests to ensue—to use them as an opportunity to suppress a myriad of other crises plaguing the country. We urge the people not to fall into this trap.  

Q  Will Ranil become the saviour of the Rajapaksa family?

Ranil Wickremesinghe became Prime Minister due to several reasons. At that time, the Rajapaksas had their back against the wall and had no way out. The President was in a bunker, the PM was hiding in a navy camp, and some Rajapaksa offspring had to flee the country temporarily. The first demand was for Gotabaya to resign, but they salvaged the situation by appointing Ranil as the PM.  

There was also a discussion that someone within the SLPP should take up the reins as the new PM. The name being discussed was Dullas Alahapperuma, but it was rejected. Because, if an SLPPer were selected, the SLPP would have split into two and a new powerful faction would have been created around Dullas Alahapperuma. Secondly, Nimal Siripala was also discussed, but it was rejected for similar reasons.  

Thirdly, for the same reasons, Sajith Premadasa would not have been given the position. We, the NPP, will never be offered the PM position because we would not just be a threat to their political power, but also the sole threat to exposing their crimes, corruption, and underhand dealings. Ranil, on the other hand, was the perfect candidate. He was no political threat to their existence.   Wickremesinghe is a discarded leader. He has no political power and poses no threat to the Rajapaksa regime or the SLPP. This made him the perfect candidate for the post of PM. In terms of protecting the Rajapaksas’ interests, Ranil is ideal, as demonstrated during the previous regime. His political influence and power are almost non-existent. His sole existence and future are dependent on the SLPP and Basil Rajapaksa.  

The SLPP believes that they can use Ranil’s network to obtain foreign loans or sell national assets to interested parties abroad. This is why Wickremesinghe has become the solution to the woes of the Rajapaksas. However, this is in no way a solution to the crises faced by the people.  

Q  If you are invited to join hands with the government to overcome this crisis, what is your stance?

We have no hidden agendas or underhand dealings with any political parties. We also have no personal animosity towards any political party or politician. In this case, if Gotabaya Rajapaksa presents an actionable plan to address this crisis, we are ready to discuss it anytime. However, I think he has to understand that he no longer has credibility as a leader in society.