By Dinesh Weerakkody
Margaret Thatcher’s election slogan in the seventies titled "Put Britain Back to Work" which contributed largely to her election and also led to Thatcher making many friends from a society that saw little economic or social progress, is what Ranil Wickremesinghe or Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga needs to tout. It should be backed up by a process of reforms and liberalization. Many analysts say that after many years ‘we’ are seeing the whole gamut in crisis proportions, not merely the economy but politics, security, society, the whole lot. In the last few months, all the problems have come to a head together, and if there is no change to the way this country is managed in the next six months, the Sri Lankan economy will most certainly be run into the ground. The importance of good governance for national development should never be underestimated by the people of this country. Good governance requires men and women who are not only honest, but also competent and capable of taking decisions based on merit and performance. It is only civil society that can and must take action against all those politicians who have robbed this country by voting them out of office. Singapore’s admirable discipline and progressive leadership are things that our political leaders should get excited about and try and emulate if we are to get out of this economic crisis.

We all know Kumaratunga called for elections because she did not want to hand over power to the UNP. So, in a bid to cling on to power the government proceeded to handout giveaways costing around Rs. 11 billion, immediately after the dissolution. No one knows how the money will be funded. The public should be told how the government is going to raise this Rs. 11 billion. Printing new money will heap more burden on the tax payers. Even if a competent government is elected, it will take a long time to erase the adverse effects of wrong policies. So, we should not expect a UNP government to work wonders with the economy overnight. Also, so far our opposition parties has been only successful at lambasting the government for not taking steps which are necessary for the survival of the open economy. It is time they convince the public that they can provide a better life, given the opportunity and win the December 5 election. Given the current crisis and the action taken by some of the opposition parties, many people are of the view that our politicians have only been successful in creating more chaos. The government and the opposition should come to terms with the fact that they are elected by the people and paid by the tax payer to look after the interest of the people and not their self interest. The present situation in the country reminds me of a statement made by a former US President Ronald Reagan in a presidential debate in 1984 where he said: "There are so many candidates on the platform that there are not enough promises to go around". Our politicians on both sides are not doing anything constructive to win the confidence of our people because the vast promises of jobs and hand outs have not really materialised as far as the common man is concerned. At least now, our party leaders must tell the people how they plan to resolve the North-East problem. The people cannot be fooled any more and the future of this country depends entirely on correct political leadership.

Many politicians criticize the public service for many of their problems. Sri Lanka has a ratio of one public servant to about 20 citizens. The accepted norm worldwide is about 1 for 220 citizens. Furthermore, the productivity and quality of the public service has deteriorated. What we need from the public service in general is decency, discipline and work accountability to put our nation back on its feet. In fact, some of the public servants don’t know what is expected of them. Today, the tax payers’ monies are used to even provide security for their families and they move around in the most expensive cars. In order for them to survive in those positions, they are willing to carry out any of their ministers’ orders. Those who get elected on December 5 must stop appointing incompetent public servants and appoint persons only on merit. Without an efficient public service this country has no hope of developing into an NIC.

Then our rural sector where the bulk of our people live, has been neglected and some of the regional rural development banks are virtually doing no business at all. The poverty situation in the rural sector is also increasing. Inflation and the increases in the cost of living is cited as a reason for this situation. In Sri Lanka, the percentage of population living on less than a dollar a day has increased. The new government, on an urgent basis, must create avenues for the rural poor to obtain subsidized credit and by having effective welfare schemes to ensure that our rural poor have the opportunities to escape severe deprivation.

Our civil society must realize that they need to elect leaders capable of leading Sri Lanka to be a nation that its people are proud of and happy to work and live in. Only the return to a rule of law and a work ethic of integrity and hard work will ensure a future for generations of Sri Lankans yet unborn. Our leaders must never be afraid to insist on the highest standards of work and productivity and the government should work in partnership with the people to secure a lasting peace and a prosperous nation. If not, as Dr. Mahathir Mohammed, prime minister of Malaysia once said, "We are, what we deserve to be, if we are not prepared to work hard, we deserve to be left behind". As a nation, we have fallen behind our regional neighbours and it is the duty of the government and the responsibility of the opposition to support the government to put the nation back to work.