With the caretaker Government going through its learning curve and Parliamentary Election around the bend, the Government’s attention may be fixated on multiple crisis, be it about Udaya Gammanpila, who released the committee reports linked to the 2019 Easter Sunday attack, or responding to the former President Wickremesinghe’s criticism of alleged failure to enact public sector pay increments which he had planned, or dealing with the complex affair of negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
However, the average Joe who is struggling to get by, feels little of that effort, and that’s why the State must not delay in addressing the meat and potatoes of governance, the deliverance of basic social products.
The impact of the current economic crisis on Sri Lankans has been significant. While we often hear about the increased levels in malnutrition, especially among children, and the significant rise in poverty. It is commendable that the State is moving to address some of those issues. However, attention is hardly paid to the day-to-day issue the public face in the street or at vendors.
Over the last five years, the road network of Sri Lanka, be it in urban sprawls or in rural areas have fallen prey to lack of maintenance and repair. With the onset of rains, many roads which had small pot-holes grow in size making commuting on such surfaces a hazard. One such road, the Himbutana road in Mulleriyawa, has seen dozens of potholes which when filled up with rain water is extremely hazardous for motorists, especially motorcyclists, who fall into them and are tossed around like garlic cloves in wok. There have been a number of accidents, one where a father, mother and infant nearly ran off the road after falling into one such waterlogged pot-hole. Such issues are commonplace across the island. A three-wheeler driver who is stationed in the near vicinity of the death trap, bemoaned lack of action from the Government, a member of the leftist alliance in power, he spelled out the frustration of the masses about lack of progress regarding the day-to-day social products and services which people rely on.” I have complained to our local party organisers, we have a strong network, but the State is still inactive, and the public are questioning us, who went door-to-door to campaign for our President. Why is nothing being done? We expected a Government of ours to act more quickly,” he said.
Similar issues are faced when people go shopping, with cost of living still soaring, and incomes depleted, the ordinary Joe’s shopping list is small. However, many complain about price gouging by errant-vendors and markets. “Despite much talk on the TV and what we have read in the papers, about price control on eggs and coconuts, we still pay a very high price for them when we buy food,” a State service nurse, a mother of two said. “I have two kids, both in school, eggs and small fish were what we could afford to give them for protein, but now, even that’s out of reach,” she complained, questioning why the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) and the Government was lethargic in taking action against errant-vendors. Being unable to afford food to feed one’s children is an unbearable issue for parents.
There is an argument that it is not fair to expect an interim government to tackle a myriad of issues swiftly is not without some merit, but the new administration has taken swift steps to solve some of the emblematic criminal cases, chase corruption and fraud-related issues, and has reopened the can of worms which is the Easter Sunday attack investigation. For a caretaker Government that is confident of accomplishing such tasks, bringing the prices of essential food items down, and getting authorities to at least begin basic maintenance of roads and transport infrastructure shouldn’t be difficult. And that is also the public perception. After all, do we need a Government with a Parliamentary majority or a full Cabinet to control prices of foods such as eggs, coconuts and, to patch up roads.