Presidential poll amid false promises, growing despair

Campaigning at this year’s presidential elections is now in full swing. The candidates who matter have all produced their manifestos of things they will do in the event they do succeed at reaching that all- important 50%+1 votes at the poll. It is also highly unlikely any candidate will be able to reach this magical figure after the first count of ballots. 

All candidates are making promises of the basket of goodies they will present us, in the aftermath of their victory. Like their manifestos, these promises too can be looked on as a ‘pie in the sky’. For instance, two candidates have promised to dissolve Parliament on 22 September -the day after the polls.  

We all know this time around it is unlikely any candidate will receive the magical number of votes needed to grab the presidential chair after the first round of voting. 

The incumbent president himself has promised a Rs. 25,000 pay rise to government servants. The SJB also promised this same sop to public servants, while the NPP has gone a step further, promising to increase salaries in the public service every six months, proportionate to the cost of living! 

Today there are over 1,149,867 state sector workers. The basic wage in our country varies between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 12,000. Last month the government claimed it could not increase salaries of striking non- academic staff of the universities by 15%. 

So how are wages for the entire public sector going to be increased by Rs, 25,000?

None begrudges increasing salaries especially in view of the rising cost of living and amid wages which have remained static over the past four years. 

Today the average basic wage of a worker ranges between Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 16,000. The cost of having two nutritious meals a day costs a family of four over  Rs. 120,000 a month. According to UNICEF, 25% of our children are under-nourished and over 25% of families are living below the poverty line.

 
Amid this dire situation, on 2 August 2024, the IMF team led by Senior Mission Chief Peter Breuer, visited our country between 25 July and 2 August. He emphasised “...maintaining macroeconomic stability and restoring debt sustainability requires further efforts to raise fiscal revenues.   

“The 2025 Budget needs to be underpinned by appropriate revenue measures and continued spending restraint so as to reach the medium-term primary balance objective of 2.3 percent of GDP—a key requirement for restoring Sri Lanka’s debt sustainability. 

Ever since late President JR Jayewardene introduced this system of governance to the country, most candidates vying for the office of President, have promised to abolish the Executive Presidential system. 

None however, has fulfilled this promise. The youngest candidate vying for the presidency this time around, -Namal Rajapaksa- when asked whether he would abolish the executive presidency in the event he was elected, answered with aplomb, ...  “I don’t think abolishing the executive presidency should be another slogan... To do this one needs a 2/3rds majority in Parliament”.    

The presidential candidates seem to be missing the wood for the trees. None of them have clearly spelled out how they hope to get our country out of the economic morass it is in.  

Rather than promising the electorate the sun, moon and stars, our people need concrete answers on how to drag this country out of bankruptcy.  

Our youth need a vision to work toward. Our people are hungry, our children are malnourished, more and more children are dropping out of the education systems. Young people are leaving this country in droves. These are leaders of tomorrow and they are leaving in despair.

Rather than making hollow promises, our presidential aspirants need be more transparent. They need to inform us -the public- how they hope to ‘put rice on the plate’ so to say. 

Let these politicians explain how they can give hope to our young people who are literally being driven out of our country.