Sri Lanka: Before Perish

 

It is time to leave the political favouritism and party-based politics but make a genuine effort to bring the nation back on track. All this can only be done based on strong decisions taken by the President in the next few hours.

Editorial

The social agitations against the current government are relatively different from the previous protests in Sri Lanka. No one can presume how this social unrest is going to end. If the President wants to resolve this serious crisis, he must immediately implement several drastic decisions. In other words, it is the moment for President to take robust decisions by listening to the strong voices being raised against his family members throughout the society. The President must seize this opportunity to perform his duties while other members of his family in the government must voluntarily relinquish their portfolios. We feel that it is a responsibility that should be fulfilled by them as a token of gratitude to the President. 

At this juncture, it is vital to regaining public confidence in the government and the confidence of countries and organizations such as reputed creditors who can help the country. This will ease the debt restructuring and ensure that essential services are maintained without interruption. What the country needs at the moment is a legitimate mechanism to reduce the recession it is facing. The Governor of the Central Bank as well as the present Minister of Finance, who have been disgustingly deceived the public with various false arguments without taking necessary actions in last two years must be immediately removed from office and held accountable while replacing them with several reputed economists who have maintained professional dignity with an understanding of national and international financial management. This is an economic crisis, and we need economists, not rhetoric tainted by greed for power or unprofessional liars. 

The next few months are very crucial, tough times are ahead. Political stability must be established to mitigate the growing social unrest and prevent social anarchy. It is important to continue the All Party Conference convened by the President at least once a week and to give a positive response to the public. It is important to have a 24-hour operational room with professionals in government agencies until the current crisis is resolved to some satisfactory level. It is time to leave the political favouritism and party-based politics but make a genuine effort to bring the nation back on track. All this can only be done based on strong decisions taken by the President in the next few hours. It may be painful to his family members but certainly, the history will absolve him. If not, the whole country will perish due to the pitiful desires of a few power-hungry politicians.