Cost-cutting: Travel by example
Orders from the Presidential Secretariat to the public sector to cut expenses have extended to foreign travel. The Foreign Ministry which arguably has to spend the most on foreign travel given the nature of its work has rebutted a news item last week in this newspaper that its officials travel Business Class.
Given the high cost of air travel nowadays as airlines try to make up for lost revenue and international travellers rush to catch up on lost time due to the near three-year Covid restrictions read with the Government's economic crunch, these are long overdue orders.
As further cost cutting, the Foreign Ministry and the Government must explore the cost-benefit of continuing with diplomatic missions in countries like Poland, Cuba, Brazil, Seychelles etc., and divert those savings to add muscle to the missions in India, China, Japan etc., and in Europe, which play a crucial role today in the economic recovery of Sri Lanka. Cost cutting, though, is not the only way to safeguard revenue reserves; there are ways to make money, especially by consular services that are provided.
In the larger scheme of things, cost-cutting in the public sector is the name of the game in these trying times. The private sector has already been forced into it for sheer survival, and its workers are taking the hit, so why not the public sector? Government Ministers must provide leadership in these matters and such Presidential directives ought to have been extended to them. There may be times when they must travel comfortably and not look sleepy and dishevelled when they go for their important meetings upon landing. It is, therefore, good that the Presidential Order has exemptions to be individually approved by the Secretariat. But these must be exceptions to the rule, not become the rule itself.
Ministers must lead by example. That is how morale is lifted. The Irish President recently flew back home from Poland on Ryan Air, a budget airline. Field Marshal Montgomery ate the same rations as his soldiers during World War II to win their unwavering support to go into battle as partners achieving one goal.
Political leaders, including ex-Presidents still active in politics are not only occupying state bungalows, but renovating them with swimming pools on government account. In the past, these leaders took planeloads of officials and hangers-on on foreign junkets. Aircraft were used like they belonged to them. Credit cards with government accounts were used to party. It was carnival time without a care in the world as to who was to pick up the bills that piled up. The ordinary people are now left to settle the arrears.
These presidential orders must, therefore, extend to Government Ministers and ruling party MPs while checking on those Ministers who slip through the net by saying their "friends" paid for their air ticket and hotel accommodation.