Redeem political credibility with honest and credible manifestos

By Dr. Mervyn D. De Silva

(November 09, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian ) No sensible and discerning Sri Lankan voter will dispute the contention that this country has been governed for quite sometime without any sense of direction, patriotism and dedication to the needs and aspirations of the general populace.

The country’s economy has had a perilous passage with the strength of its developmental, natural resource, and human-resource bases being persistently eroded.

The fire sale of the nation’s assets, built over a period of decades with the sacrifices, sweat and toil of the people, to politically influential local and foreign parties, on the diktats of international institutions that have been entrusted to take the market in its most unbridled architecture to the far corners of the world, were hastily embarked upon.

Strong, carefully targeted, government intervention to de-politicise state enterprises, free them from direct political control, place them under qualified and competent professional management and convert them into profitable and competitive undertakings like Singapore’s state-owned Singapore Air Lines, never received even the fleeting attention of the so-called servants of this nation. Perhaps, if that sensible and prudent path was chosen, the question that would immediately arise is, from where else will the commissions and kick backs arrive for the secret bank accounts in local and foreign banks, luxury houses and villas here and abroad, funds for children’s education in British and American universities and all the other closely linked lucre the new rich will die to possess?

Next, the high rate of crime; the rapes, the abductions and disappearances, the brutal murders, the assassinations, both as private agendas and state instigated, the gang robberies and thefts, the swindles, the politically motivated violence and the blatant cheating at elections to gain power, fraudulently. This is more than the required quota of evidence to show that the fabric of our society is being torn apart.

Fundamental democratic, moral, social, traditional and religious values are being trampled upon with impunity by individuals and cliques who yield political, money and underworld mafia power. They have placed themselves above the laws of the country because they enjoy unlimited political patronage.

Are we, the people, who have for so long been piously and vociferously proclaiming our love for the motherland as respectful keepers of the sacred trust bequeathed to us by those who have come before us, and those who are in their thousands sacrificing their lives for the preservation of the territorial integrity of this country, going to live in the selfish comfort of continuing to remain disinterested and complacent? Or, are we not going to come out of our stupor and confront ourselves with the fact that Sri Lanka is facing its greatest threat at the hands of the internationally proclaimed terrorists, and degraded and despicable polity? And should the people not forcefully demand from those notorious time servers who will be calling at their doorsteps, to beg them for their vote, demand an end to the era of political irresponsibility, immorality, indecency and even behaviour bordering on rank animalism?

Politicians should clearly understand that the country’s economic and social problems cannot be solved by burying them and all other misdeeds of past governments under the carpet, expecting the rest of the nation to listen to the homilies of their leaders, who like themselves can pretend to be paragons of virtue. The record of the last government is well known and still fresh in the minds of the people. The record of the PA government, which was given a mandate by the people to clean sweep the political ‘Augean Stable’ of 17 years, but which followed the same policies and style of governance of the UNP and dared to go even beyond, despite solemn promises, is before the people to be seen today.

The time has therefore dawned for the people of Sri Lanka to forcefully demand that all contesting parties present their policies in clear, crisply stated point form and not in vague language that merely confuses the people and be honest and truthful about it.

Even the most crudely designed statistical survey of what is currently in the minds of the majority of the people who constitute the national electorate, will show that their woes are many, and so are their demands as stated in what follows:

(1) The people are fed-up, disillusioned, and disaffected with the old style politics and policies of the UNP and the SLFP led PA that have demonstrated an abysmal lack of political morality and sincerity, whether in government or in opposition.

(2) The people feel they have no control over their lives, or laws and constitutions passed that effect them and have realised that politics is not working for the good of all the people of this country; only for the usual few who have the means to lawfully or, unlawfully usurp power anyhow, somehow.

(3) The people are alarmed at the complete breakdown in law and order, the criminalised politics, politicised criminals and the metamorphosis of the ‘servants of the people’ at a lightning rate, into demi-gods.

(4) They are shocked at the rate at which this country’s constitution is changed, then, gloated over by one party and condemned by the other. And the pre-occupation with frequent and distracting elections.

(5) And they are confounded when political parties that come into power, renege on promises made in their manifestos, adopt new anti-people policies and claim that they were given a mandate to do just that — even to set the country ablaze!

It is quite clear now that the people have become helpless victims of the destructive politics of our corrupt self-seeking political leaders and the global economic disorder presided over by the G-8 countries.

As a developing country, we see our independent policy-making capacity being eroded and we adopt policies made by other entities, which on balance, are detrimental to us. Global institutions have become major makers of an increasingly wide range of policies that were traditionally under the jurisdiction of national governments. To meet these challenges and defend our interests, we need patriotic, hawk-eyed, qualified, competent and experienced legislators, who can understand the intricacies of modern scientific and technological subjects and the language of geo-politics.

Today, the emphasis that has been placed on privatisation, foreignisation and export oriented industrialisation, is seen as justification for over-looking all our social concerns and authentic development itself. Look at the near collapse of the administrative/management machinery of government and the law and order authorities that have become paralysed on account of politicisation. Look at the confusion in the field of education, our universities and our schools, state hospitals and the transport sector. Yet, while the people grind their teeth, fighting the ever increasing cost of living, large sums of state funds are doled out to the ‘anointed’ and spent on frequent unproductive globe trotting jaunts by politicians and the politicised administrative vassals.

Feeding the hungry and helpless, caring for the sick and disabled, providing employment for the younger generation, taking the lead in ensuring a sound education and recreation for the young, providing efficient and affordable transport, removing the barriers to make accessibility to resources on behalf of the poor and marginalised and providing dignity and security to senior citizens: these are the very purposes of economic activity, not some policy options that can be tossed aside.

The people, the majority of them, from all accounts, would rally round candidates and parties that stand for:

(1) A nation that will reach a state of balanced development through sustainable economic development that respects the ecological environment, social development, and the development of civic society.

(2) A socially oriented market economy that is consonant with the dictates of economic and social justice and which would be intrinsically Sri Lankan in character and moulded by the imperatives of national development objectives in all its forms.

(3) The management of the economy in a manner that Article 25 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which reads: "Everyone has a right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widow-hood, old age or lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control," is achieved.

(Incidentally, this declaration was adopted and proclaimed on December 10, 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, which is all but forgotten in the context of the increasing suffering, that half of humanity endures because of an absolute shortage of will and morals nationally and internationally and especially by the G-8 countries).

A few of the other demands can be summarised as follows, highlighting the more important ones:

(1) The people desire the preservation of the unitary state and the national identity of Sri Lanka.

(2) The people want absolutely clean elections to ensure the return of people’s representatives through free and fair elections, by the exercise of Universal Franchise, which is the cornerstone of democracy.

(3) The people want an absolutely independent Judiciary, Public Service, Bribery and Corruption Commission, Auditor-General, Police and Security Services.

(4) The people want an unfettered media with the blatant abuse of the state owned media stopped forthwith.

(5) The people want and yearn for an exemplary form of governance that is knowledgeable, intelligent, skilful, accountable, transparent, disciplined, that spends wisely and has a certain spiritual and moral vision of life.

Finally, overall, there has to be renewed study and search for an alternative political system that will bring politics within a controllable framework, which will not only ensure true participatory democracy within a unitary state, but which will provide true devolution and sharing of power at the centre. In such a participatory political structure, the role of the politician, the public service and the judiciary are clearly defined and as required in any authentic democratic governance, the opposition too becomes part of the government. Vide, draft by W. B. Wewegama, (1996) ‘A participatory democracy, within a unitary state.’

As the elections draw closer, all patriotic citizens are duty bound to realise the mighty power of their vote and use it wisely by casting it for men and women of integrity, even crossing the political divide, considering the depths to which parliament and the polity has been dragged down. Then, perhaps, there could be some hope for building a politically stable, economically strong, socially just, united and peaceful nation, with a value system that regards all our identities, all our cultures and our common heritage with pride. I truly hope that a beginning can be made on these lines, after the General Elections.

-Sri Lanka Guardian