Challenges for the new Cabinet

With the swearing in of the new Cabinet of Ministers, President Rajapakse could be considered as being fully prepared to take on the challenges facing the country. It is clear that the best talent available to the President is in the Cabinet and we wish the new team of Ministers and Deputy Ministers all the best in the endeavours they would have to take on in the task of national rejuvenation.

As could be seen, the country is not being burdened with an overblown Cabinet and this alone is a commendable measure. We hope it will remain this way because the Cabinet of Ministers and their deputies should not be seen as incurring wasteful expenditure. After all, a Cabinet of Ministers is only a means to an end and the end is all important. That is, national development.

The latter aim should be achieved with the most effective means and ushering "Jumbo-sized Cabinets" would prove counter-productive if national development is lost sight of in the scramble to lavishly distribute Cabinet portfolios. We are glad that President Rajapakse has been guided by a sound sense of priorities in deciding on the size of his Cabinet and we hope this would prove a precedent worthy of emulation.

Accordingly, work could now begin on the national development front without further ado. To begin with, we would like to see redoubled efforts by the Government on clearing the flood havoc, now that President Rajapakse has ordered the quick initiation of flood relief measures.

The crisis situation brought about by the floods encompasses many of the developmental issues a government of this country faces and the relevant Ministers could consider the floods a valuable opportunity to develop their talents and fine-hone their skills.

It is clear that unplanned "development", urban sprawl and the exploitation and abuse of natural resources have contributed considerably towards the flood-driven destruction. Herein are tasks for a number of our new Ministers and their deputies. May they handle these responsibilities with great diligence, is our plea.

The flood havoc, however, is only the tip of the iceberg. A multitude of other challenges awaits the new Cabinet. Chief among these is the launching of the development process which forms the core of the 'Mahinda Chintana'.

Thus far, "development" has been largely skewed and lop-sided with only a minute segment of the populace gaining from it. It is the aim of the President to take development to all sections of the people and the new Cabinet would do well to ensure that the people are well and truly empowered, for, this is development in the true sense of the word.

Not second in importance to economic development is national unity and there is no better way to achieve this noble aim than by resolving our conflict peacefully, in accordance with the legitimate aspirations of all our communities. In this task the Cabinet would do well to remember that they represent the entirety of the Lankan citizenry with partiality towards none of them.

It would be also timely to recollect that democratic governance is based on accountability to the people. President Rajapakse himself has set the correct tone for governance by saying that he would be a "trustee" and not a "master". We hope this would be a cornerstone of governance from now on. Many a government has earned the displeasure of the people by ignoring this hallowed principle. However, without it good governance would be an illusion.