Crafting a future for the nation
It has been clearly identified that the devastating circumstances the country faces are the outcome of prolonged economic mismanagement and default policymaking. Hence, probing into the chaos will bring no advantages to any stakeholder any further. Instead, a suitable and sustainable resolving mechanism must come on to the surface. In this context, I believe the following would be highly beneficial both in the short and long term. Addressing the issues of a country of such high intensity is always challenging and multifaceted.
Initially, the administration of the country would be better placed in the hands of a committee consisting of religiously selected, patriotic state workers, young people etc. There should be a group of leaders with no more than nine members at the helm of the hierarchy as the decisive factor. Below this layer, there can be a maximum of 50 to 75 intellectuals to support the leadership for farsighted policy and decisionmaking. This leadership team must remember that the country does not have a single minute to waste. Therefore, prompt implementation of any finalised, productive pronouncement is always anticipated.
Basically and immediately, the agricultural economy should be strengthened. Herein, wherever farmland is found unused, it will be taken over by the state for a period of two to five years. During the state ownership, all the bare lands will be cultivated with the use of excess labour in tri-forces and government servants such as development officers, grama niladharis, and so on. If so, farming the entire Sri Lankan land would be within a matter of one week. Thereafter, it is only caretaking of the farmed land until the harvesting period dawns. At the end of the first six months, the harvest would reduce the shortage of rice and other food essentials.
Simultaneously, greater focus should be on renewable sources of energy. In the first phase, all the state-owned institutions will be provided with access to solar power. This includes all the schools, hospitals, ministries, and sea and airports. In addition, wind power generation, specifically in the coastal belt, will be initiated.
Young entrepreneurs who can run vehicles with water or electricity will be provided with adequate capital and infrastructure to establish manufacturing plants representing each province at the outset. Public transportation will be highly prioritised here. Facilities in the passenger buses and trains will be made mandatory thereby a greater majority will make use of developed public transportation for their regular travelling and transportation. All these young innovators will be summoned to the Presidential Secretariat along with their comprehensive feasibility studies so that soon after the discussions and finalising stages, they will commence the manufacturing process.
Likewise, the preliminary stage would be completed within a fortnight. Based on its ups and downs, the second phase will be continued with the intention of the commencement of the third stage straight away, and this represents each district. By now the country is blessed with experienced teams of manufacturers in the automobile industry. Within the next quarter, all existing public modes of transportation will be converted into luxury buses or trains with plenty of amenities for passengers.
Once public transportation has been upgraded to such standards, all the team players are given the legal authority to commence their own manufacturing plants to upgrade all the existing private vehicles. Thus, transportation- related problems such as traffic congestion, pricey transportation, and inconvenient and time-consuming travel are quickly addressed.
Not only this but the legislative reforms as well as the next presidential election must also be looked into. A complete shuffle or amendment to the Constitution must be regulated so that no leader will ever bring the country back to this devastating situation. Constitutional law is always placed at the top of the priority list when making and implementing whatever policy decision. Any government employee, who encourages politicians to violate the law resulting in penalising the general public and their future, must be prosecuted and fired from their position. The timely reforms to the Penal Code are also considered highly essential.