The need for a potent force as the Govt. reneges on its pledges
The government has not fulfilled its pre-Presidential and General Election promises and what the masses should do unlike the Joint Opposition efforts is not to topple the government, but to make it keep to its pledges.
It appears that the Government is incapable of arriving at a consensus on even a single crucial policy. Every issue seems to be left in suspense pending a conclusion. The Parliamentary debate on the Constitutional amendments has been postponed without fixing a date for its resumption. There is no agreement on the main features of the Constitution; President’s powers, Executive Presidency, devolution of state power, unitary state, federalism, state religion, North East merger, electoral system etc., which have repercussions on the country.
Neither is there a firm decision on any of the major development projects. Even in the ongoing Expressway projects there are conflicts in nonpayment of due compensation for those who sacrificed their ancestral lands. Nobody seems to know how much of land is to be allocated for the Hambantota project. There is no transparency at all. The President says the Hambantota project is not finalized, but the Prime Minister goes ahead and starts it and receives the fury of the people in the South.
The Prime Minister’s committee for reconciliation recommends the employment of foreign judges, lawyers and prosecutors to conduct the legal cases against armed forces accused of war crimes. However, a Minister who is one of the government spokesmen totally rejected these recommendations.
Some Ministers are voicing contradictory views on the next Presidential candidate stating that President Maithripala Sirisena will be the Presidential candidate of the SLFP in 2020. But Minister Rajitha Senaratne, the Cabinet spokesman says there will be no Presidential election in 2020 and President Sirisena has not changed his stance that the Executive Presidency should be abolished. Minister Susil Premjayantha speaks about the difficulties in maintaining the coalition with the UNP. These kinds of utterances reveal the deepening conflict within the government.Yet the President says no one could topple this government until it runs its course. The Prime Minister says the government is performing excellently.
These are crucial matters that may influence the people. The monetary down turn which is continuing, could have its roots in the vagueness and unpredictability of strategy, arising out of the intrinsic contradiction between the two parties. The economic development of a country cannot afford hindrance due to uncertainty within the government. In a ruthless and highly competitive world such delay could be disastrous and cause irreparable damage.
A government incapable of solving its internal problems obviously cannot have the capacity to govern a country. But it still proclaims that it will endure no matter what happens at the expense of the people. The only solution hence is the formation of a broad national force, consisting of specialists in different fields, scholars, dignitaries, intellectuals etc., to bring the country on the precise pathway to progress.
Sunil Thenabadu