Why not a national government?

by Oscar E V Fernando

Formation of a national government has been referred to by several writers, and this was a plea made by this writer on many occasions with different regimes, the last being on print media, October 5th 2005, before elections; it was said 'incidentally, and perhaps eventually, with a new twist in destiny, the same plea for a joint peace council and a national government may have to be repeated in a different political composition'.

There would be no better time for a national government than this-if sanity is the order of the day!

The fact is that the vote bank is almost equally divided for decades apparently for no valid reason, and this has been kept so by some politicians. The issue at hand being that;

* The original party that got divided had full cohesion and, this was evidenced by their policies for power devolution and the economy; the break up was an immediate post independence family feud: should this feud continue to determine the destiny of our nation?

* Till very recently, one party was for private enterprise and the other was for private enterprise with a human face, now with a national twist; and both parties were for negotiating the problem of political power devolution on a federal basis-with some now in a grey area!

* If the divergences of the two major parties are not that significant, then why not consider a national government-why indeed?

* Even power devolution on a federal basis will not pose unsolvable problems of consequent separatist notions, if there is unity, sanity and vigilance in the south.

* A complete socialized economy and an unbridled capitalistic economy are now historical concepts-at least as far as the developing world is concerned.

* In this country, up till very recent times the contrasting political hues were, blue, green and red-the last becoming not so red latterly-taking a compromising stand on regulated private enterprise: these compose the bulk of the present parliament; as stated, many of them are apparently amenable to power sharing on a federal basis too.

* The recent red addition to the political camp, namely the JVP, need not be kept in watch dog status, but must certainly be persuaded to join in the national government as this is a very strong nucleus of youthful talent to be harnessed; the two major parties in combination may not have difficulty in taking up this Herculean task!

In such a context the only reason that keeps a concept of a national government at bay could be the heavy cost of maintaining a large executive. But should it be so?

We have:

A central government; with a host of parliamentarians consisting of Cabinet ministers, state ministers, deputy ministers and other members.

Provincial councils-a recent Indian legacy; introduced mainly to appease Tamil aspirations for power sharing now proved futile as it is power devolution within a unitary constitution; consequently all these councils have become a white elephant to the exchequer and a burden to the people.

Local government bodies-an age old British legacy-worth considering reforms-including the fossilized mayoral garb! Government Agents going down to the level of Grama Niladharis who may not feel secure with institutions such as the public service commission in disarray-with no finality on the constitutional council.

All these political institutions overlap in powers, consequently making a politicized bureaucracy impotent in the face of problems at grass roots level; this situation has contributed to stagnation and corruption leading to that faceless society with no officer taking the rap for any misdeed or for any unsolved problem.

Haven't we had enough of wild goose chasing after-district secretaries, municipal commissioners, provincial council secretaries, district council secretaries, parliamentary ministers, provincial council ministers, local government ministers and members, Members of Parliament who know next to nothing of a town he represents, glorified provincial governors - finally ending up with some Grama Niladharis who would only twiddle their thumbs until the needful is found!

Glories of Sri Lanka indeed!

It is the traditional-hora-police game-due to the inability to locate exactly where power resides in this Babel of Tongues!

If prevention of forming a national government is due to the cost of maintaining a top heavy executive; then -

A solution may be found in dismantling the hotchpotch that is described above at least to some extent: consideration may be given to-extending the political arm of the central government, simultaneously depoliticizing the bureaucracy, changing the line of responsibility of local bodies and completely dismantling the provincial councils.

With a view to formation of a national government a well represented Coalition Cabinet may be nominated, under the leadership of the President, with the extended arm of Parliament implementing decisions of this Cabinet at grass roots level, together with the local government officers coming under such a depoliticized bureaucracy.

This is however; Easier said than done; but must be considered in view of our brinkmanship in achieving this colossal indebtedness to the world with consumerist spending-what with white elephants etc. Would donors consider writing off our debts in such a spendthrift situation with our never ending merry-go round of election after election-another soon upon us-perhaps another item for the Guinness Book of records!

In such an exercise, the increased cost of forming a national government with extra state and deputy ministers will be minimal even if it is doubled; provided these elected worthies sincerely 'minister to the people'. They may be allowed to continue enjoying all the perks that could be met by dismantling the prevailing white elephants; this could be justified without allowing this country to earn the category of a failed state that may invite foreign intervention-probably the desire of some interested parties.

The whole exercise is also made easy if - Commercial enterprises now undertaken by statutory boards and corporations are taken over by the private sector; in such an eventuality the Coalition Cabinet Ministers could lay down regulatory policies for the private sector; with a depoliticized bureaucracy implementing such policies.

Other than Government Authorities for regularization such as for Finance, Plantations, Industries and even NGOs the economy could be manned by the private sector.

In consequence, would not a top heavy Parliament become useful for legislation as well as close grass roots level implementation together with the depoliticized bureaucracy and the local government officers; and make all other political bodies redundant?

All those others in Parliament who are not in this Coalition Cabinet, with their solemn swearing to serve-king and country, would have sufficient on their hands to serve the voters and ensure their come back to Parliament again!

Also, such an interim term of parliament with a stable term for the President, could ensure that all constitutional reforms contemplated so far are implemented. Will our members of parliament stand up to such a service to the nation; or will they continue their search for greener pastures?

The bigger question being whether the search is for-king or country!