• SLPP’s ‘one party’ approach in governance key reason for conflict
• Conflicts between SLFP and SLPP beyond repair 
• APC was not to resolve issues between SLFP and SLPP
• A responsible govt. should seek broad consensus on national policies

By Asiri Fernando The key constituent party of the governing alliance, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), has proposed to the Government to stop printing money, seek assistance from a suitable international organisation or country to urgently restructure Sri Lanka’s external debt, revisit the previous Budget, reinstate necessary audit capabilities while improving transparency on Government spending, and downsize the Cabinet, among other proposals, at the All-Party Conference (APC) held last week to find solutions to the ongoing economic crisis which has pushed the country to the brink of bankruptcy and social strife. In an interview about the ongoing economic crisis and the future of the SLFP with The Sunday Morning, SLFP General Secretary, State Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara blamed the ‘one party’ approach of the governing Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) in governance as a key reason why the SLFP-SLPP conflict could not be reconciled. According to Jayasekara, the SLFP is ready to go on its own but is seeking a political culture where policymaking follows broad consultation and consensus. Following are excerpts from the interview: Convening the APC was a key proposal of the SLFP to address the multiple crises faced by the country. Would you say the conflicts the SLFP had with the governing SLPP have been resolved? No, this was not an effort to resolve the differences between the SLFP and SLPP. That was never what we had in mind with this exercise. Historically, when a national crisis needs to be addressed, mechanisms such as APCs have been helpful in the past. Every time the SLFP has been in power and there has been a crisis, we have used this approach. So have many others. We have followed that tradition of seeking everyone’s views to face this crisis. It is clear that this Government cannot overcome this crisis by itself. If the Government can manage this crisis, we would not see the rupee depreciate like it has, we wouldn’t see the public waiting in queues for gas, fuel, or food. This Government has failed, there is no denying that. We [SLFP] do not want to be branded as a failed party due to our association with the Government. The APC was not an effort to give oxygen to the Government. The Government can fail, but we can’t allow the country to fail. That is why we sought an APC. The conflicts between the SLFP and SLPP have gone beyond a point where it can be repaired. We are no longer looking to fix the issues. The Government had ample time to solve these issues. It is clear it does not want to do so. We know that the conflicts will not be resolved. However, I must say that we don’t want to use the problems between our two parties to overthrow the Government. The country is in a crisis, and overthrowing the Government would only aggravate the problems. We are not power hungry to use the unpopularity of the Government to topple it, we as the SLFP will act in the best interest of the country. That’s why we genuinely came up with the APC and I am happy that we as the SLFP were able to table 22 well-thought-out proposals to mitigate the impact of this economic crisis and move towards recovery. If the Government does not act on these proposals, then we will have to consider what our options are afterwards. How do you view the participation of the APC? Only two parties that are represented in the Parliament did not attend the APC. Both main Opposition parties didn’t attend. I think that those two parties not attending is a reflection on the status of the Government. We can see that there are those who are power hungry enough to think that they should not enter into a dialogue with the Government, hoping the Government will collapse. But everyone needs to understand we need to cooperate to keep the country stable and address the crisis. If we don’t, even the next government will find that they cannot govern. What we need desperately is to push this Government to review its policy framework and formulate a system of robust policies, towards a better policy framework that has broad consensus to help the country weather this storm and come out of this crisis. This will benefit the country in the long term. As the SLFP, we have done what we think is the need of the hour. Do you think the APC model can be used again to bring broad consultation and build consensus? I think any responsible government should seek broad party consensus when formulating national policies. A government cannot work as a political party, it needs to build consensus to move the country forward. That is what the SLFP would do if we had an SLFP-led government. In 2022, in modern politics, the SLFP understands that moderate politics must include broad consultations. This is where we must steer Sri Lanka towards. We need a change in the political culture; we need to let go of bygone concepts and move forward together. The SLFP wants to create a political culture where consultation and consensus for policymaking is the norm. What’s the next step after the APC? Will there be another or was it just a one-off meet? Yes, there should be a follow-up programme. The SLFP has proposed a meeting of subject matter experts to seek solutions or alternative means to address the multiple crises Sri Lanka is facing. For example, the current crisis the agriculture sector is facing came about because the President didn’t take advice from experts when implementing his plan; he took advice from a medical specialist. This is a key reason why farmers are facing a fertiliser crisis. It seems that the Government has still not realised the gravity of the impact of its policies. The same goes for power and energy, health, and economic policies of this Government. Another area that needs to be revisited is Sri Lanka’s foreign affairs policy; it is a mess. We as the SLFP want the Government to sit down with subject matter experts, professionals with experience – Sri Lanka has many such eminent persons – and see how the respective policies can be revisited for the betterment of the country. The same goes for religious leaders and community leaders; we feel that they should also be consulted on some matters. Why do you think elected officials failed to achieve what they did at the APC in the Parliament? There are issues about what has been achieved in the Parliament. However, at this stage, we are facing a crisis and it is compounded by several international crises too. This is a special circumstance; Sri Lanka has not faced a crisis of the current magnitude before. We have the failures of the Government, the culmination of a long-term economic crisis, and the impact of a global pandemic, which have all hit Sri Lanka at the same time. With the country on the brink of bankruptcy and amid a worsening economic crisis, what are the key proposals the SLFP put forward to resolve the crisis? The SLFP made several proposals. Firstly, we called on the Government to stop printing money. It does not help the situation; it makes it worse. Secondly, we also recommended revisiting the previous Budget. Thirdly, we proposed that the Government reduce the size and expenditure of the Cabinet of Ministers. We have also proposed that the Government revisit the controversial fertiliser policy. Another proposal we made is for the Government to call for an explanation from the past and present leadership and experts at the Central Bank, Trade Ministry, and Treasury about why there was no early warning from these State agencies about the impending crisis. Also, to find out, if there were warnings made, why they were not presented to the Parliament or were ignored. The bureaucrats are supposed to be experts in their fields and are tasked with monitoring and forewarning of an impending crisis; as far as we know that didn’t happen. We need the Government to be transparent about it.  We have also proposed that the Government seeks and consults a reliable international financial organisation or country to assist Sri Lanka in mediating an urgent restructuring of our external debt. Also proposed is to develop a local mechanism and framework to restructure loss-making State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) before an international mediator dictates how they want Sri Lanka to restructure them. Currently, we have no local mechanism to do it.  We also proposed that Sri Lanka should improve its democratic and transparency credentials to build international and investor confidence in our country. To that effect, we have called for the relevant amendments to be made to the Constitution to enable the same. We have proposed to restrict and cut down State expenditure – that message has to come from the leadership, hence the need to reduce the size of the Cabinet and related expenditure. We should also prioritise State spending. We have proposed that a contingency plan be prepared to ensure there are no harmful shortages in the medical sector in relation to pharmaceuticals and for essential food items. This needs to be done soon as we may see the pharmaceutical shortage worsen and impact the medical sector. It is also important to address the widening gap between those who have and those who do not. There needs to be an unbiased and transparent programme to bring relief for low-income families. We have also proposed to reintroduce the price formula for fuel sales. Another proposal made by the SLFP is to have an established plan where fuel supply is prioritised. The electricity crisis is linked to the fuel crisis, which is linked to the foreign currency situation. So fuel supply needs to be prioritised soon. Since 2019, our community has faced a social crisis, due to restrictions, lockdowns, and the state of the economy. People are frustrated. For two years, our communities have not been able to have their cultural events, celebrate, or travel. This affects the minds of the people, particularly children. There needs to be some mechanism to address the psychological climate of our children and young adults. The Government should be mindful of a possible mental health crisis which may be setting in. We have proposed that Sri Lanka needs to bring into law a Compliance Act aimed at reducing wastage and misuse of public funds and resources. We need to strengthen the Auditor General’s Office. We propose that the Audit Service Commission and the National Procurement Commission be reinstated. Such institutions with a Compliance Act can ensure corruption, waste, and misuse of public funds are checked. Have the SLFP or you been consulted regarding the input Sri Lanka is making to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) draft report that has been received? No, we have not been consulted, nor have we been given the IMF draft report. What is the SLFP’s stance on the Government and its handling of the economic crisis? The Government approach to governance, without consultation, is a key problem. In the coalition there are 13 parties. The SLPP failed to see that. You can’t run a one-party government in Sri Lanka. That is proven. Consultation is key, especially during a crisis.  Secondly, the motive behind the tax cuts which were brought in when the SLPP came to power were good. It encouraged people to invest and gave them an incentive. However, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the situation changed rapidly. A similar thing happened with the fertiliser policy – the motives were good; plan and implementation, well... we can see the results.   Also, the strategic moves this Government has made have been detrimental to Sri Lanka’s interest. There seems to be little interest in Sri Lanka’s foreign policy or its policy constancy. The Government has managed to upset both Japan and China. The awarding of the Yugadanavi tender by using an unsolicited bid which didn’t go through the tender process was one such mistake. Given the criticism you and the SLFP have directed at the Government, is the SLFP absolving itself from collective responsibility? How can we be held responsible if we were not consulted on matters of State? We are kept in the dark. The SLFP has been reviving its political organisation and preparing for elections. What reforms have you all brought into the SLFP and is it ready to face an election? We are enacting many reforms. Listening to grassroots level voices is very important. The majority of our constituents are in the rural and suburban areas. Their voices have not been given due recognition for too long. We are currently drafting a gender policy for the SLFP, I think it’s a first for Sri Lanka. We have created a platform for experts in several fields to offer advice and assist us in our policy formulation. We are prepared to face any election; we will move ahead with our game plan and rejuvenate our party. What is the SLFP’s stance on the long-delayed PC Elections? Do you think it should be held soon?  The SLFP is of the view that the PC Elections should be held as soon as possible. It is an important part of a functioning democracy to have elections on time. We have made our representation at the Parliamentary Committee on the matter. Is there a plan to revive an SLFP-led United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA)? Our view is that no party can come to power by itself in a future election. There are plans to revive the UPFA and other fronts the SLFP worked with before. The future needs of the party and how we engage other parties will decide how or when the UPFA will be used. Is the SLFP ready to work with the Group of 10 governing alliance parties? Will they join the SLFP or a new UPFA in the future?  We will need to form an alliance. Whether the SLFP will take leadership in a future alliance remains to be seen. What is important is that we build an understanding between the stakeholders. Once we build consensus, we can build a giant alliance. Who will join us or who we will join with is based on what principles they represent.