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Challenges for the new government

by Anil Pagoda Arachchi

The decision taken by the government to cease hostilities as a very positive gesture in response to the temporary ceasefire declared by the LTTE is invariably to bring forth new dimensions to the procrastinating war that has made the country's economy bleed to death. It is time we realised that this problem has to be looked at with different perspectives which can address the changing phases of it with a different insight. Therefore, the new government is expected to delve into socio-economic and political dynamics which have emerged from the attempts taken by the previous regimes to solve the problem and how the Tamil community in general and the LTTE in particular responded and reacted to them from time to time.

The most formidable challenge for the endeavours now being made by the government to find an amicable solution to this problem through discussion is, as it has been for decades in the modern political history of the country, nothing other than chauvinism which has the potential to raise its ugly head again and again. At this juncture what the country needs is a leader who can take decisions for the good of the country and its people without giving into the pressure that is highly likely to be mounted by the extremist elements of the society.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is bestowed with this ability and he is expected to take this brave decision by those who crowned him as the premier with a big majority at the recently held general elections. It was quite evident that when he was accused even over the government media of having a secret deal with the Tamil terrorists, the majority from all the communities seem to have kept their confidence in him.

The writer believes that there are two important things for both the government and the LTTE (and of course all the others as well) have to realise in order to bring a settlement to this boiling problem. First, the problem has specifically to be looked at by taking into consideration what it is today rather than going into a historical exploration of it. This does not necessarily mean that the causes which helped to aggravate the problem are to be completely ignored. What I try to say is that it is time we put a halt to hair-splitting logic of trying to prove who first colonised this resplendent island and whose traditional homeland it is particularly in our attempts to come to a settlement. Secondly, all the communities are required to sacrifice from what, they claim, belongs to them. These two areas tend to create emotional waves among the people and the government must be sensitive and strong enough to deal with them very intelligently.

Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe's visit to India will definitely help the government to erase the dark patches of the bilateral relations between the two countries during the former UNP regime headed by both J. R. Jayewardene and R. Premadasa. It is truism that the foreign policy of that government largely antagonised our neighbour, which consequently paved the way for India to interfere with our internal affairs. Therefore, one of the challenges this government has to face is to show India our willingness to seek its support to see an end to the ongoing problem. The new government has to understand the present situation with new perspectives. Since the dynamics of Indian politics show an inclination towards America, this task will probably be easier than it had been in the shadows of the fading cold war.

The collapse of the economy under the government led by the People's Alliance was due to the fact that it did not formulate a comprehensive national economic policy. Therefore, another challenging task is to initiate on both a short-term and long-term broad economic policy which can create the necessary environment for launching efficient and productive development programs based on the genuine needs of the people and the country. Welfare programs, as can be seen from the experience of the Samurdhi Movement, are not a solution to eradicate poverty. They must be related to well-planned development programs which lead the people particularly at the grassroot level to get involved in a productive process that can provide opportunities for them to go up the social ladder while giving them a pride for what they do. These programs should not make them be identified by the community at large as dependents on the government coffer, but as those who contribute largely to the development process of the country.

It is no exaggeration to say that during the previous government the efficiency of the public sector hit rock bottom to a greater extent because of the bureaucracy and poor supervision. To bring in effectual and successful machinery to put back the public sector on the wheels is yet another challenge faced by the new government. This machinery must be able to drastically change the lukewarm attitudes and particularly the lethargy of the hierarchy of the officers including the minor staff of all the government departments and institutions.

As has been done in many other countries, bringing in expertise from the private sector into the public sector would definitely solve a lot of problems. In Sri Lankan context, the writer does not think that depoliticisation itself would pave the way for the efficiency of the work of all these places; but there has to be an extensive continuous supervision over it at all the government departments and ministries.

Swindling public money has always been in the limelight, but rarely have we seen those responsible for it being brought to book. Therefore, there has to be an independent body to probe into all the allegations and sue the culprits. Expediting the establishment of the much-talked about independent commissions can be seen as the only foreseeable answer to this question.

Rural development seems to have been ignored over the years. For this, rather than adopting a top-to-bottom approach the government can venture on rural development programs with a bottom-to-top approach which, if implemented successfully, will be able to tap the expertise of the rural youth thereby giving them an opportunity to explore the available resources in their own areas and to plan development projects accordingly. This can be incorporated with the other movements such as Janasaviya and Samurdhi programs.

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