What President Wickremasinghe should show now is Leadership (with a capital L) and it is on this that I attempt to elaborate below a few fundamental but overarching principles.
by Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne in Montreal
When the chips are down in this country, we stand together…the then Congressman Richard Nixon
Now that Sri Lanka has a new President who is seemingly unacceptable to the people who are still protesting in the streets, but nonetheless received a convincing electoral victory in Parliament, one wonders whether he will offer a plan for revival or a philosophy (Chintanaya or thinking process). Far be it from me to have any claims to pretension of political wisdom (or any other kind of wisdom for that matter) I believe he should opt for the former that would go at least some distance in appeasing the grossly deprived masses. It is incontrovertible that any such plan must be well thought through, based on a coherent thinking process and fundamental approach. Responsibility for the thinking should devolve upon the President himself and the blueprint and implementation of the plan should rest with intelligent technocrats who have vision and integrity.
 |
| The first action of the President-elect - addressing the troops |
What President Wickremasinghe should show now is Leadership (with a capital L) and it is on this that I attempt to elaborate below a few fundamental but overarching principles.
Firstly, Sri Lanka seriously needs a course correction toward a leadership that transcends the unsustainable economic policies that the country was riven by as a result of mismanagement and corruption. The splitting of communities and classes should be obviated by a robust and progressive economic policy. As an immediate corollary, the President should start work on preparing to pass the governance of the country to the new generation of the educated and technologically savvy youth representing both the millennials and the Z generation. They are the students of today who will turn out to be the most effective leaders of tomorrow. As shown in the sustained protests in Sri Lanka, the youth in particular have demonstrated a capacity to lead themselves. The strongest steel comes from the hottest fire, as someone once said. This does not necessarily mean that the sage gerontocracy that remains in the country should be totally ignored. They could remain in a purely advisory capacity. I believe Sri Lanka needs the advice of “generativity” as the social psychologist Erik Erikson called experienced politicians (without their holding the reigns of government and governance) and a young, highly qualified technocracy to run the government. I remember Indonesia in the mid/late seventies was overhauled by what was then called “the Berkeley Mafia” a group of PhD economists of Indonesian nationality from UCAL Berkeley. Sri Lankans need a similar group to be at the helm now.
Secondly, compelling measures would have to be taken to obviate the erosion of public trust. To achieve this goal, those in both government and governance must show leadership inside out. They should personally exude values and beliefs that emerge from their inner selves in preparing a mission and vision statement for the country. As Socrates said, “ an unexamined life is not worth living”. Leadership must reflect courage of convictions, character, and capacity. A desire for good government and governance must lead to a will to act and end in actions. In the words of Henry Adams, a leader must have “ a helm to grasp, a course to steer and a port to seek”.
The President, Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers must identify their collective strength. For this, proven expertise and not mere political experience should be the main focus in appointing those at the helm. The new team should seek nothing but excellence in facing the current crucible. They should eschew what the celebrated and wise Thomas Seligman called “learned helplessness” (being resigned to the misery visited on one by philosophizing about it) and show resistance and revival by embracing the crucible.
Those governing the country should constantly engage the nation through effective and credible public speaking that convinces the public. In an earlier article in this journal, I mentioned that a new government must ensure inclusive governance at all levels: there should be; fairness and inequality in all aspects of policy and decision-making; people should have a greater voice even beyond a representative democracy in shaping the direction the country is taking so that they will expect more opportunities to participate in and influence the strategic vision and daily affairs of the country.
One of the most important facets of a leader is awareness of history, which is garnered through being influenced by past models of proactive leadership. For this a certain amount of reading and erudition will be necessary. As one leader said, “every reader is not a good leader, but every leader is a good reader ”. Linked to this factor is the compelling necessity to be engaged with the rest of the world and to convince those who have the resources and power – both countries as well as institutions such as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) and the International Monetary Fund.
Finally, good leadership is always anchored on the ability and capacity to inspire the people. For this a leader has to prove his honesty, integrity, intelligence, and competence – qualities that the people would be both inspired and impelled to arrogate and ascribe to themselves through examples set by those at the top. Actions take by the leadership of the country should strongly focus on promoting unity and eliminating hatred, starting from the legislature, and percolating to the people. This brings to mind what President John F. Kennedy said to the people of the United States on the day of his inauguration in 1961: “Let the world go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans – born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard, bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage…in the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger…and so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country”.
In the past, Sri Lanka has had both honest and unscrupulous leaders, where unhappily the latter have far outnumbered the former. It is time to change course. The thinking process that leads to a plan of action for the country must essentially be teleological and comport with the true meaning of the social contract theory which posits that people should live together in society in accordance with an agreement that establishes moral and political rules of behavior.
It's time to get together.
 and it is on this that I attempt to elaborate below a few fu...){kind=link}
Post a Comment