Sri Lankans hope for stable government, decisive decision-making - Poll
Ayear-end poll by the Business Times and polling partner Second Curve saw respondents hoping and expecting “stable government and decisive decision-making” in 2018. (See Page 1 for poll results).
But it also revealed that most respondents are disenchanted with the way the country is being run and have no illusions of a ‘great future’ as promised by either ruling party or opposition politicians.
One respondent said the current government is one of the weakest Sri Lanka has had and this is why street protests will continue.
“A law should be passed so that street protests can only be held in areas which will not cause inconvenience to the public. At one time the Government said they were going to do this. What happened?” he asked in an email response.
The two polls received a lot of comments. Here is a sample:
Comments from email On transparency and governance:
Wrongdoers must be exposed publicly with stern action devoid of any political affiliations. Rewards and bonuses must be performance related not "no choice" gifts from the taxpayer. This is a long (and winding) road. The Constitutional Council had laid some ground work. The Bond commission has been a deterrent. The RTI will help. But as long as we do not have permanent secretaries at ministries don’t expect much improvement. We need efficient and timely delivery of services. Since January 2015 many steps have been taken to strengthen the independence of the Elections Commission and to hold free and fair elections, establish independent commissions and improve transparency and governance, increase tax collections and reduce the fiscal deficit. However there are allegations of interference in some of the functions that should be independent of the Executive. Even if these are true the overall situation is far better now and the country is moving in the right direction. Transparency and governance was promised by this government when it came to power. But look at what has happened; politicians are engaged in giving jobs, awarding contracts, selecting sportspersons, and so on. The entire public sector is run by politicians. This