Pragmatic manifesto

A few days ago this column commented on the manifesto of the New Democratic Front candidate Sarath Fonseka. Today the Manifesto of the UPFA candidate President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been made public. What follows is a casual glance at the manifesto.

Compared with the manifesto of his chief opponent which resembled a primary school student’s essay the manifesto of the President is a well thought out visionary document containing a practical program to be implemented during his second term in office.

The program outlined is both comprehensive and rich in content. Comprising 14 chapters it touches on almost all aspects of governance. Actually it is a continuation or an extension of the Mahinda Chintana Manifesto that was the basis of his program at the Presidential election of 2005.

The Manifesto begins with the economic objectives of economic prosperity and equitable distribution of wealth. It sets an ambitious goal of doubling the per capita income from US $ 2,000 to 4,000. In fact, it is a continuation of the same tempo of economic growth for during the last four years too the per capita income doubled from US $ 1,000 to 2,000.

An interesting goal set forth in the manifesto is to make Sri Lanka a focal point of the global economy by making it a trade, air, naval, power and knowledge hub.

Much emphasis has been given to the development of the rural hinterland in association with Provincial administrations, poverty alleviation, development of gender equality and welfare of women and children.

Welfare of war heroes, public servants, estate workers and other working people are some other priorities marked in the manifesto.

Development of power and renewable energy, improvement of Information Technology and Communications, making students and teachers acquainted with new knowledge, tourism development, uplifting of the Ayurvedic system of medicine, development of agriculture through developed extension services and application of modern technology, assistance to local entrepreneurs with special emphasis on the SME sector are some of the other priorities listed in the manifesto.

On the much discussed question of Constitutional changes the President promises in his manifesto to give more powers to the Parliament, make the Executive Presidency a trusteeship and reform the existing electoral system to a hybrid form where first past the post system will be augmented by a national proportional representation system. There is also a proposal to introduce a Second Chamber after consultations with political parties.

No question has been left unanswered in the manifesto. On the most important question of a stable and durable peace the manifesto says that the end of the war has ushered in a new atmosphere has been created to discuss the issue with an open mind free of threats and intimidation. He expresses confidence that it would be possible to arrive at a national consensus on the issue as a foundation has been laid in his first term of office through the All Party Conference deliberations.

The Manifesto also spells out a large number of physical and social infrastructure projects that would uplift the livelihood of the people in the Northern and Eastern provinces and link the two provinces with the rest of the country.

It also promises to ensue freedom of movement to all persons in the country including the North and the East and to remove the High Security Zones taking into account the security concerns of the country and the people.

The manifesto also aims to create a disciplined society with high morals where law and order prevails. In this respect too the President expects to take forward what he has already started with several programs such as the Mathata Titha.

Now the manifestos of the main contenders are out, we hope the campaign will focus more on the way forward and what each candidate wishes to do if elected.

The Mahinda Chinthana Manifesto is a document really worth serious study.