From the beginning, the Government’s plan to make proof of vaccination mandatory when accessing public places, which was to come into effect on 1 January 2022, seemed to have no proper plan, even though it was based on sound reasoning – namely, to encourage vaccination and boost inoculation rates. Initially, the Government announced that this regulation would come into effect in September of last year. However, it was postponed to 1 January, and now it has been postponed again.
On the one hand, while the Government always announced the date of enactment of this programme, it never provided specific details about how exactly it would be enforced, and on the other hand, as The Morning reported earlier, even senior members of the Health Ministry were unaware of it. It was only around a week before 1 January that the Government announced the implementation of this programme, which is not at all adequate for a national-level programme of this nature.
This is not the first time the Government decided to implement programmes without a proper plan – more specifically, a practical and people-friendly timeline. During the past year, there were several instances where the Government’s plans proved to be damp squibs merely because it resorted to abrupt plans with no discussions with the stakeholders.
As a matter of fact, one of the biggest crises Sri Lanka saw in the recent past – i.e. the detrimental impacts of the Government’s plan to go organic – was also caused by the Government’s lack of planning, which includes the unavailability of a proper, practical timeline. Initially, the Government did have a plan, even though it was not part of the implementation process, which is as worse as not having a plan at all.
According to the “National Policy Framework: Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour”, promoting organic agriculture was meant to be implemented throughout a 10-year period. However, ignoring that plan, the Government chose to go organic in just one season, instead of in 10 years, and that too with no discussions with the farmers. Even though this urgency is often attributed to the declining foreign reserves and the massive amount of money spent to import fertiliser, a responsible government cannot try to implement a 10-year plan in six months, and try to save foreign reserves at the expense of the lives of a majority of Sri Lankans. The plan was reversed; however, it has created a nationwide crisis in the agriculture sector.
That is not all. It was also reported recently that the Government has decided to postpone the local government (LG) elections, and so far, it has not announced any specific plans about this postponement and how and when it would be held. This decision too attracted criticism from different parties.
If we look at the past few months, the Government depended heavily on promises that had no specific or strong basis or plan. The prevailing scarcity of consumer goods is one good example. Whenever the Government was asked about what it is going to do to address this situation, the Government’s responses were always based on promises and speculations that are dressed up as plans. What’s more, almost all these so-called plans, according to the Government, are to be implemented in a few weeks, even though Sri Lanka did not see those plans being implemented. These responses were extremely common when the Government was asked when and how it was planning to resolve the liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and fertiliser shortages.
This lack of planning affects the higher levels of the economy, the public sector, and governance as well. The fertiliser crisis affected not only the Agriculture Ministry, but also the Treasury, as the Government has had to pay compensation to affected farmers. Openly criticising this policy has seemingly cost several topmost public officials of the Ministry their jobs.
The foreign reserves crisis is also at the centre of this indecisiveness and poor planning. Last week, The Morning reported that the Central Bank will not be conducting a press briefing to update the public on the status quo of the proposed foreign exchange inflows set out in the Central Bank’s Six-Month Road Map, despite promising a media briefing before the year-end at the point of launching the Road Map. Therefore, the media and the public lost the opportunity to discuss the foreign inflows situation, in a context where the Road Map had stated that it would be receiving a total of $ 11.45 billion in foreign inflows between October and December of last year, but had fallen short of the target.
Not having a proper plan, including a proper timeline, is not just an inadequacy on the part of the Government or the authorities. It is also a serious hindrance to the country’s business community and the general public, because their activities and plans rely largely on what the Government announces. When the Government is speechless or is exaggerating its capabilities, it impacts the entire country.
The Government cannot resolve these crises overnight. However, at the very least, it can be expected to be certain about what it wants and can deliver, and tell the country of its future moves. The failure to do so will only produce ambitious and unrealistic plans, which may turn out to be the very reason for its downfall.Ambitious plans, unrealistic timelines
03 Jan 2022
Ambitious plans, unrealistic timelines
03 Jan 2022
From the beginning, the Government’s plan to make proof of vaccination mandatory when accessing public places, which was to come into effect on 1 January 2022, seemed to have no proper plan, even though it was based on sound reasoning – namely, to encourage vaccination and boost inoculation rates. Initially, the Government announced that this regulation would come into effect in September of last year. However, it was postponed to 1 January, and now it has been postponed again.
On the one hand, while the Government always announced the date of enactment of this programme, it never provided specific details about how exactly it would be enforced, and on the other hand, as The Morning reported earlier, even senior members of the Health Ministry were unaware of it. It was only around a week before 1 January that the Government announced the implementation of this programme, which is not at all adequate for a national-level programme of this nature.
This is not the first time the Government decided to implement programmes without a proper plan – more specifically, a practical and people-friendly timeline. During the past year, there were several instances where the Government’s plans proved to be damp squibs merely because it resorted to abrupt plans with no discussions with the stakeholders.
As a matter of fact, one of the biggest crises Sri Lanka saw in the recent past – i.e. the detrimental impacts of the Government’s plan to go organic – was also caused by the Government’s lack of planning, which includes the unavailability of a proper, practical timeline. Initially, the Government did have a plan, even though it was not part of the implementation process, which is as worse as not having a plan at all.
According to the “National Policy Framework: Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour”, promoting organic agriculture was meant to be implemented throughout a 10-year period. However, ignoring that plan, the Government chose to go organic in just one season, instead of in 10 years, and that too with no discussions with the farmers. Even though this urgency is often attributed to the declining foreign reserves and the massive amount of money spent to import fertiliser, a responsible government cannot try to implement a 10-year plan in six months, and try to save foreign reserves at the expense of the lives of a majority of Sri Lankans. The plan was reversed; however, it has created a nationwide crisis in the agriculture sector.
That is not all. It was also reported recently that the Government has decided to postpone the local government (LG) elections, and so far, it has not announced any specific plans about this postponement and how and when it would be held. This decision too attracted criticism from different parties.
If we look at the past few months, the Government depended heavily on promises that had no specific or strong basis or plan. The prevailing scarcity of consumer goods is one good example. Whenever the Government was asked about what it is going to do to address this situation, the Government’s responses were always based on promises and speculations that are dressed up as plans. What’s more, almost all these so-called plans, according to the Government, are to be implemented in a few weeks, even though Sri Lanka did not see those plans being implemented. These responses were extremely common when the Government was asked when and how it was planning to resolve the liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and fertiliser shortages.
This lack of planning affects the higher levels of the economy, the public sector, and governance as well. The fertiliser crisis affected not only the Agriculture Ministry, but also the Treasury, as the Government has had to pay compensation to affected farmers. Openly criticising this policy has seemingly cost several topmost public officials of the Ministry their jobs.
The foreign reserves crisis is also at the centre of this indecisiveness and poor planning. Last week, The Morning reported that the Central Bank will not be conducting a press briefing to update the public on the status quo of the proposed foreign exchange inflows set out in the Central Bank’s Six-Month Road Map, despite promising a media briefing before the year-end at the point of launching the Road Map. Therefore, the media and the public lost the opportunity to discuss the foreign inflows situation, in a context where the Road Map had stated that it would be receiving a total of $ 11.45 billion in foreign inflows between October and December of last year, but had fallen short of the target.
Not having a proper plan, including a proper timeline, is not just an inadequacy on the part of the Government or the authorities. It is also a serious hindrance to the country’s business community and the general public, because their activities and plans rely largely on what the Government announces. When the Government is speechless or is exaggerating its capabilities, it impacts the entire country.
The Government cannot resolve these crises overnight. However, at the very least, it can be expected to be certain about what it wants and can deliver, and tell the country of its future moves. The failure to do so will only produce ambitious and unrealistic plans, which may turn out to be the very reason for its downfall.Kapruka
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Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!