Kanchana Wijesekera, our current Minister of Power and Energy, is a young and energetic politician who President Ranil Wickremesinghe brought into his new Cabinet of Ministers.
He hails from the South, and his father, Mahinda Wijesekera, is associated with opposing political parties from time to time, contradicting his own political ideologies. Mahinda Wijesekera started his politics with Leftist political parties, and later allied with Wickremesinghe.
Kanchana Wijesekera would have inherited much in politics from his father. During one of Wickremesinghe’s Premierships, Mahinda Wijesekera was a Cabinet Minister. Kanchana Wijesekera was not known for big politics in Colombo before becoming the Cabinet Minister of the subject for which he is now responsible.
All in all, it can be surmised that Kanchana Wijesekera was given or forced to accept the Ministry of Power and Energy, as no one wanted it. Handling an establishment such as this, especially in a time of crisis, is an enormous task. Besides, this is a Ministry that has to deal with powerful trade unions and other similar bodies, and members of these unions have always been ready to go against and ahead of the Minister.
In the current Cabinet, which is headed by Wickremesinghe, most of the previous Ministers from the administration of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa retained the same or similar posts to what they had held before. President Wickremesinghe would have assumed that this strategy would help the Ministers master their particular field, as they had been working there for some time, gaining experience. This could result in ultimately strengthening Wickremesinghe’s Presidency.
Kanchana Wijesekera notably represents the younger generation among the old guards in the Cabinet. The younger Wijesekera’s entry as the Minister of Power and Energy gave exit to the former Power and Energy Minister Gamini Lokuge. It was high time that the old man left politics for good. All his previous stints in Ministerial posts were commonly judged as being not up to the required standard.
In the early months of his office, there was an understanding that it was a welcome decision by Wickremesinghe to hand over the portfolio to Kanchana Wijesekera. As he was entrusted with a Ministerial post for the first time ever, Kanchana Wijesekera began by finding solutions to the power and energy problems which were, and still are, critical issues in the country.
The young Minister started with satisfying performances. He brought into implementation some new concepts such as the quick-response code (QR code) system. This method paved the way to reducing queues and the long days of waiting for fuel and gas.
Before his system came into effect, many unwanted issues developed within the society on the grounds of fuel and gas shortages. Attacks on fuel stations, robberies, and arguments broke out, in addition to several deaths that unfortunately occurred while waiting in line for fuel. Transportation facilities were almost on the verge of collapse and this negatively affected the supply of goods and essential services.
It seems that all these serious and difficult issues were known to Kanchana Wijesekera and he still went ahead to take up the challenge.
Kanchana Wijesekera’s entry and appointment could be analysed in differing points of view. No one wanted to accept this Ministry at this critical stage, while some claim that Wickremesinghe used this opportunity to take revenge on Lokuge and at the same time, to solve the most burning issues through a trusted person like Kanchana Wijesekera.
Wickremesinghe would have assumed that if Kanchana Wijesekera solved the power and energy crises, it would help him to hold on to power as President in the years to come.
As Kanchana Wijesekera stepped into the Ministry, the so-far-concealed issues began to be revealed. This would not have happened unless he took over the Ministry. As he began by finding solutions to the day-to-day crises, counter-attacks from the other side emerged in various forms. Some even went to the extent of stating that the Minister was not competent enough to handle these issues.
The past five months’ reflect the young Minister's actions in a more positive light, rather than negatively. The Minister and the President urged changes in raising electricity tariffs, while opposing the trade unions and the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), which is chaired by Janaka Ratnayake. The so-called PUCSL members, who are Rajapaksa favourites, go against Wickremesinghe and the Minister.
Minister Kanchana Wijesekera has assured that 90% of the problems associated with electricity supply will be solved by mid-2023. The Ceylon Electricity Board still runs at a loss and only a revised hike in tariffs is the solution, as far as Kanchana Wijesekera suggests.
The young, not-very-experienced Minister faces almost the same problems as onetime Power and Energy Minister Karu Jayasuriya did.
All the efforts of Kanchana Wijesekera so far brought the power cuts down by reducing the blackouts to around two and a half hours a day. However, the Minister warned that it may go up to six hours in January 2023, as there is very little coal in stock. The Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant in Norochcholai and the Sampur or Trincomalee Coal Power Plant Stations are running on limited stocks of coal, which are sufficient up to the end of the first week of January next year (2023).
The trade unions are partially agreeing on certain issues with the Government and the PUCSL. Still, there are possibilities of about 10-hour power cuts, as per the forecasts of the unions. Sources close to the Government say that shipments of coal are expected from Indonesia next month which could ease the crises. Meanwhile, India is lending a hand to sort out the problems. This assistance should be directed to the low-income families instead of religious institutions.
(The writer was attached to the former USSR Embassy Information Department in Colombo)
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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.