Promotion of discipline, equity and social justice

Speech by Prof Rajiva Wijesinha MP in the Committee Stage of the Budget in discussion of the votes of the Finance Ministry on Friday

The two themes that seemed to reverberate were those of submission to the International Monetary Fund and carelessness in dealing with the International Community. There were charges of inconsistency this morning from the Brains Trust of the Opposition, Kabir Hashim, who failed singularly to grasp that this budget is based on three very simple principles. They are fiscal responsibility, social justice and national unity and security. The last of these had for obvious reasons had to predominate in the past few years, and it is satisfying that now the Opposition too at least pays lip service to this principle.

But their new found conversion to patriotism should not blind them to the need for continuing engagement with those who support our national goals. They should certainly be ashamed of encouraging demonstrations against the IMF, and I hope the Opposition Brains will refrain from such cheap debating points in the future - unless indeed he was hoping to be taken seriously.

I suspect, that the cacophony raised against the IMF is entirely due to jealousy that our engagement with the IMF has been positive. Imagine the hysteria of a different sort that the Opposition would have engaged in, if the last tranche had not been forthcoming. Certainly the IMF does not issue blank cheques, of the sort the Opposition Leader boasted of earlier, and which led to such damage to the country, when the Government’s spendthrift policies in which he cut his teeth were encouraged with no heed for justice or equity of any sort, so that terrorism was able to rear its ugly head.

No, the IMF advices and discusses conditionalities, and any prudent Government will accept conditionalities when they are congruent with national interest. What no Government that depends on the support of its people will do is accept conditionalities that are not congruent with national interest. Unfortunately we have had a few instances of such conditionalities, and we have had to reject them.

Misrepresentation

However, this should not, and will not, preclude continuing engagement with those who suggest such conditionalities. Experience indicates, that often these spring from misjudgments, and from people being misguided. The External Affairs Minister made clear from where such false guidance came and, while the Opposition Leader made a valiant attempt to explain away the plain English of the United States Senate report, we have had enough and more examples of such casuistry to swallow such explanations.

There is however some light at the end of this tunnel, for a country that has suffered too long from misrepresentation by those who should know better. Perhaps the highlight of Sajith Premadasa’s speech , which indicated a national consensus regarding the sad decision of the United Nations Secretary General to appoint a panel which does not seem clear itself about its responsibilities, was his reference to some European ambassadors consulting him about GSP+.

Sadly, in the first few years of this Government, many European ambassadors - and indeed some UN officials - believed the myths propagated by the Opposition, that the Tigers were too strong for the Sri Lankan Forces and that the Government would fall because of crossovers.

That belief has changed over the past few years, and it is my belief that we now have in this country international representatives who understand the mutual confidence that the people of this country and the Government have in each other. I believe they, including Neil Buhne, have done their best to overcome some of the prejudices put in place by their predecessors who accepted the Opposition Leader’s advice, as cited by the United States Senate, to continue to pressurize the Government. I am therefore delighted they have begun to consult those with a more adult conception of what the role of an Opposition should be.

GSP+ and human rights

Trade matters we will continue to engage, and continue to build up trade relations, with countries in Europe as well as elsewhere. The loss of GSP+ is to be regretted, but the price we were asked to pay would have been regretted even more. This does not mean that there are not areas in Human Rights in which we have identified actions that must be taken, and these will proceed. But, as the communique signed by the President and the UN Secretary General indicated with regard to another context, such measures are the responsibility of the sovereign elected Government of this country.

I draw attention to some inconsistency in the comments of the Opposition with regard to the other two goals of this budget. Kabir Hashim, who was a Minister when the Education budget was ruthlessly slashed, will grant that social justice was not high on the Government agenda. But, more remarkably, though the claim then was of fiscal responsibility, the 2003 budget - a copy of which I still treasure, as an example of how not to conduct Government - made clear that several Ministries had no operational funds at all, they were created simply to provide jobs for the boys.

This practice began in the time of the Jayewardene Government, and the country has continued to pay for a job for at least one of the boys of those distant days. But this Government was finally able to cut down on such unnecessary expenditure, and the presentation of the budget makes clear that rationalization will continue.

We can only hope, that as the Opposition also tries to rationalize, we will find support for the positive measures of the Government, constructive criticism of areas in which improvement is possible, and thorough commitment to the unity and security of this country, with the promotion of discipline as well as equity and social justice.