As another year comes to an end, Sri Lankans from all walks of life will begin to reflect on the year that was and proceed to make the customary New Year’s resolutions. One thought that will likely influence those resolutions is whether this nation is in a better place today than it was a year ago.
While the answers will differ depending on whom you ask, the general consensus is that although major change was anticipated at the beginning of 2024, not much has changed at the end of it. From a journalistic perspective, the installation of a new leadership decidedly remains Sri Lanka’s headline of the year, but its penchant thus far to continue with the status quo basically sums up the rest of the story. In other words, while the people in authority have changed, policies largely remain the same. It is for this reason that people are still questioning – and awaiting – the promised system change.
Indeed, 2024 was a historic time of change for Sri Lanka. The year yielded not one but two significant elections at which the political change the people had in mind came about, with the mantle being handed over to the party that was at the forefront of the change movement. People were ready to let bygones be bygones in favour of positive change. But it is what has happened and not happened since then that appears to be fuelling an increasingly palpable sense of disenchantment yet again.
With the new National People’s Power (NPP) regime having completed 100 days in office as of last week and with the year coming to an end, people have once again been compelled to carry out an audit on their aspirations from one year ago – something they assumed would not be necessary this year.
Granted, cosmetic change has indeed taken place with less of a fuss on ceremonial events, less security for VIPs, and some trimming of perks for politicians. But at the end of the day, all that should amount to some tangible benefit to the people, which unfortunately does not appear to be the case.
In fact, the allocation for the President for the first quarter of next year is almost identical to the allocation for the former President in the first quarter of last year – a President whom the current regime lambasted as being extravagant and wasteful. The story is not much different with the rest of the ministerial allocations, with a total of 52 ministers and deputy ministers being put on the public payroll.
Ever since the historic events of 2022 that saw the nation hitting the nadir following the official declaration of bankruptcy and subsequent eviction of an elected President and installation of an interim one, the people’s primary aspiration has been corruption-free governance. The failure of the former interim administration to recognise that aspiration and consequently not doing anything in that regard in the two-and-a-half years it wielded power resulted in it being thrown out lock, stock, and barrel at two consecutive polls this year, despite it being credited with having restored the economy from bankruptcy – a substantial enough achievement to assure handsome electoral rewards under normal circumstances.
The results of both the Presidential Election in September and General Elections in November this year were a clear pointer to the mood of the nation, with people ignoring this significant achievement in favour of a rookie outfit that promised an end to corruption. Now, 100 days down the line, nothing much appears to have taken place on that specific score, with the regime conspicuously silent on the subject. The big fish it tore to shreds on election platforms as being corrupt to the core are still out and about doing their thing, while the regime looks the other way.
People are asking for results not because the regime has completed 100 days in office or for some other reason, but because it was this leadership which during campaigning promised that ‘dozens of rogues’ would be locked up within the first week in office, hundreds in the first month, etc. So now people are reminding those who made these promises to honour them.
To make matters worse, a couple of court jesters appear to have been let loose to take the heat off the subject. But instead, these jesters seem to have done the opposite by conveying the message that election promises should not be taken seriously and that lying is one’s democratic right. Going by the backlash on social media, it is fair to assume that the manoeuvre has spectacularly backfired, compelling the party hierarchy to allegedly issue a gag order on its ministers. As a result, ministers and their deputies have been avoiding the media like the plague – quite a dramatic change from 100 days ago, when the same individuals were drawn to mics like moths to a flame.
Having made all manner of allegations prior to the elections, including that the high cost of living was due to corruption and ministers pocketing huge commissions on imports, prices remain the same today, if not higher, like in the case of rice. As one wag commented, the price of a kilo of white rice six months ago under the allegedly corrupt regime was Rs. 180 but now, under the so-called corruption-free regime, it is Rs. 230 a kilo.
Another issue that had a significant impact on the recent election outcome was the promise to expose the masterminds behind the Easter Sunday massacre of 2019. The profound impact of this issue on the electorate can be gauged by the political fate of Ranil Wickremesinghe at two consecutive polls; first punished in 2019 while being Prime Minister on the failure to expose the masterminds, and once again as the country’s all-powerful President from June 2022 to September this year, despite promising a Scotland Yard-led investigation. Voters made the point twice that they needed to be taken more seriously. It is a point that the present regime must take due note of if it is genuinely interested in its longevity.
It is in this backdrop that, over the course of the last 100 days, the only update on the investigation that has supposedly been launched by the new regime has come from Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, who has been quoted as stating that he is satisfied with the progress. One is at a loss to understand whether the Cardinal has assumed the role of official spokesman for the regime on this specific matter, in the absence of an official statement.
After all, it is not only the Catholic Church that can claim victimisation from the terror attacks, but a whole gamut of others as well. They include every citizen of this nation as they were deprived of tourism earnings for several months, an issue identified as one of the cornerstones of the economic crisis that ultimately led to bankruptcy. Besides, 43 foreign nationals paid with their lives and those families too need to be kept in the loop as much as the stakeholders of the three five-star hotels who collectively lost millions if not billions due to the attacks.
The general perception that not much progress has been made on this investigation can easily be corrected through an update from a relevant minister or other official, if in fact progress has been made as indicated by the Cardinal. After all, there is very little that the regime could boast about after 100 days in office and every bit of positive news should be conveyed to the public with the least delay.
Having gone back on the majority of promises, including on foreign policy, reduction in cost of living, reduction of utility prices including fuel and electricity, and safeguarding the local farmer by banning agricultural imports including rice, and not a single rogue being caught despite having in its possession 400-plus files for the last five years, the regime can certainly do with some positive news. As far as the people are concerned, they step into another year which, like the last, is pregnant with hope and not much else.