We are near starvation, Mr. President

by Anu

(July 09, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) I must hasten to write before lack of adequate sustenance prevents me from putting pen to paper, through weakness.

In your desperate efforts to hang on to power, you are unnecessarily throwing away billions of rupees on a crowd of ministers doing nothing more than looking after themselves and their ‘catchers.’ You thought nothing of wasting more billions on a useless ‘airline,’ created solely for your stooges to make themselves luxuriously comfortable.

Now you are going to expend thousands of millions more on a conference that will do no more than boost you inflated ego. When the Maldives, much more well off than Sri Lanka refused to host the conference why did you rush to offer your services at colossal expense to us, the poor citizens? Nothing of any use will accrue to us from this conference.

Incidentally, this expenditure was not included in the budget. So, where is the money to come from? The burden of taxation is already flattening us. Are you planning to impose more taxes, print more money or borrow more billions at massive rates of interest?

Inflation for all intents and purposes is 30 per cent. The cost of living has soared out of sight. We are, truly on the verge of starvation. I want to put a simple question to you. Have you, your brothers, or your prosperous band of advisers etc. ever had to turn a deaf ear to a child’s request for what were earlier everyday items but are now luxuries, such as meat, fish, butter or jam on a slice of bread?

Not once, I bet, unless it was for a ‘necessity’ like an Aston Martin, perhaps.

Month after month we are improving on our ranking in the list of failed states. Even the UN is calling for protection for state harassed sections of the populace. But you and your worthy brothers blithely proceed on your dictatorial trail, leading the country steadily towards destruction. World opinion means nothing to you and we are being progressively ostracised.

Unfortunately, there is no visible hope for us poor citizens as long as the UNP remains torpid with its leadership only promising ‘future action.’ The major part of the JVP makes daily protests but as they are not supported you can continue to laugh your way to further disaster and suffering for us.

God Save Sri Lanka!
- Sri Lanka Guardian