It was around a decade ago that the people of this country first raised the cry for good governance, having endured years of waste, corruption, nepotism, abuse of power, and what not – all of which had contributed to making life that much harder for the ordinary citizen. In fact it was that cry for good governance that ultimately resulted in the creation of the ‘Yahapalanaya’ regime shortly after in 2015.

Ten years later, the Chief Executive of that original good governance project is the all-powerful President. Unfortunately, despite regular policy statements, there is no mention of governance reform given that the entire economic crisis is a result of putrid governance. It is none other than the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that made this prognosis, following its extensive governance diagnostic – the first of its kind in the world – which found 16 key vulnerabilities in Sri Lanka’s governance mechanism. That being so, there appears to be no appetite on the part of the current leadership to follow through on the IMF’s findings. Despite busting millions on unnecessary expenditure, it is regrettable that there is yet no dedicated programme or allocation for implementing the 16 governance reforms contained in the IMF governance diagnostic.

Politicians in this country, whose primary motive has been the safeguarding of their power and positions, know very well that the average voter is easy to please. A promise here, a promise there and they are easily won over. As a result, regime after regime has resorted to lowering the bar on governance standards and throwing accountability out the window, notwithstanding the crying need for it in the face of the economic crisis, which by any yardstick is far from over. The inevitable outcome of it all is that Sri Lanka is now not only economically bankrupt but also heading towards governance bankruptcy – a precursor of which is the already prevalent moral and ethical bankruptcy in the governance hierarchy.

In a nation where mispronunciation of a word in the National Anthem often leads to a mighty ha-ho, or for that matter even the incorrect depiction of the National Flag, the pronouncement that Sri Lanka is now a part of India by no less an entity than a powerful Cabinet Minister at a public forum in the glare of the media spotlight appears to have been digested with a pinch of salt. Nevertheless, there is no escaping the fact that Sri Lanka’s nation status continues to be compromised by effortlessly capitulating to the machinations of its neighbour. To add insult to injury, at least one Minister appears to be proud of it. As is usually the case, the Minister who made the statement will likely claim that it was made in jest.

But that will count for naught in this instance for the simple reason that he went on to qualify what he said by stating that three international airports were being handed over to be managed by Indian companies and that fuel storage tanks and solar power generation had already been handed over to Indian entities, as well as the issuing of smart ID cards for the 22 million citizens of Sri Lanka. This, in addition to numerous other ‘acquisitions’ such as the east terminal of the Colombo Port and real estate in strategic locations, justifying the ‘part of India’ assertion. ‘Project Capitulation’ appears complete, with even Opposition figures gleefully crossing the seas to pay homage to Big Brother these days. What has however even belatedly pricked the nation’s conscience is the public acknowledgment of this capitulation by a powerful Cabinet Minister.

When Sri Lanka introduced the open economy in 1977 and then President J.R. Jayewardene openly invited the Western capitalist ‘robber barons’ to set up shop here, it no doubt irked Big Brother across the Palk Strait, who no doubt was in no mood to allow its upstart neighbour to upstage it. Consequently, it is no secret that throughout the ’80s, the Indian establishment did all it could to stir the pot through overt and covert support to the separatist movement. All that changed following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.

However, by the turn of the ’90s, the Indian economy was in dire straits – in almost identical fashion to present-day Sri Lanka. By June 1991, India’s foreign reserves had dropped to $ 1.2 billion – just enough to cover two weeks of import needs; annual inflation was at 17%, unsustainably high fiscal deficit was 10% of GDP, and balance of payments deficit was running at 3% of GDP.

That was when India faced its greatest challenge: South Asia’s bedrock was on the brink of financial collapse, staring into a dark abyss that would have had a ripple effect on the whole of Asia. But tough times call for inspired leadership – people of vision and valour. India was fortunate to have two of them manning the levers of power at the time – Prime Minister Dr. Narasimha Rao and his Finance Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

It was these two visionary men who on 24 July 1991 turned the page for India. Forced by circumstances to undertake comprehensive economic reforms, they did what neighbour Sri Lanka had done 14 years before in 1977 – embracing an open economy focused on liberalisation, privatisation, and globalisation and, in the process, unshackling a governance structure rooted in the principle of command and control.

In making the historic and radical move, Finance Minister Manmohan Singh famously quoted Victor Hugo: “Nothing can hold back an idea whose time has come.” The Rao-Singh duo over the course of the next five years then proceeded to do the impossible. Having reached out to the IMF for the first and the last time to date, they built the foundation for an economy that is still growing exponentially 30 plus years later. In the 25 years post reform, India’s GDP quadrupled, exports grew 10 times from $ 18 billion to $ 180 billion, and foreign reserves increased from the paltry $ 1.2 billion to $ 279 billion. As the saying goes, the rest is history – yet very much in the making.

Now let’s contrast this story with its baby neighbour across the Palk Strait. While India has had seven distinctly different prime ministers from 1991 to date – five of them making outstanding contributions towards economic growth – Sri Lanka has been stuck with the same set of leaders who have alternatively taken turns at the podium, each taking the nation back and forth on the economic front, despite the headstart with the open economy, and little to show in comparison to their counterparts next door. While PM Narasimha Rao planted the seed of economic reform, his successors Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh, and Narendra Modi in particular have carefully nurtured them, making India a global economic powerhouse.

One striking feature, common to the post ’91 Indian leadership, is the absence of corruption allegations. It goes without saying that when the top is clean, the rest have to follow. The day that Sri Lanka can say the same of its leadership will be the day that this country will turn the same page India did, back in 1991. Sri Lanka’s meandering economic policy is evident in the President’s address at a gathering last week, where he lamented that he had no choice but to go around the world begging for help. Having been a Member of Parliament for 46 years, a powerful Cabinet Minister for over two decades, Prime Minister on five occasions, and now President, those watching from across the Palk Strait must surely be scratching their heads.

It appears that Big Brother’s brother across the seas is increasingly turning out to be ‘their baby’ – all thanks to distinctly contrasting leadership styles.