President Gotabaya Rajapaksa: Leading from the Front
Posted on May 16th, 2020

By a Special Correspondent Courtesy Ceylon Today

Sri Lanka is entering a new era after defeating the spread of COVID-19 and the country is about to commence work. In such a context, the way President Gotabaya Rajapaksa leads the country in the future is of utmost importance.

Since the declaration of the Presidential Election last year up to now, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been working hard. There was even a debate whether he was able to contest the Presidential Election or not. Although he was not as a politician, he gained fame as a public official who tirelessly worked for the benefit of the people. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa embraced the people with just a couple of words – ‘trust me’.  

Following the Presidential Election, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa took the initiative to revive the country in his own way, with a strategic plan. Even though many crisis situations arose, he faced them all with determination, fearlessly. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire country came to a standstill and all products and services stopped.  

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is not at all an unfamiliar face to Sri Lankans due to his invaluable role as the then Secretary Defence during the last phase of the three-decade long war against the LTTE separatists, has taken some impressive steps to ensure people’s safety and well-being after assuming office as the President of Sri Lanka last November. Within merely a few months, he was able to gain fame and respect among the people, especially for his quality of fulfilling the promises he gave to the people during the Presidential Election and in his election manifesto.

Cutting down expenses

As soon as he became the President, he took a number of commendable measures to save public funds by cutting down his expenses as the President. First and foremost, he reduced the number of vehicles and the number of security personnel of his security team was reduced from 2,500 to 800. 

While some were concerned that this move may put the President’s life in danger, the President, through this initiative, proved that the country’s safety is in a good state and that people do not need to fear. According to reports, the number of staff attached to the Presidential Secretariat has also been reduced from 1,400 to 350, and no President who ruled Sri Lanka before had ever taken such an exemplary initiative. 

There were also allegations that the President’s expenses were massive and therefore needs to be controlled. However, today, even Adviser to the President Lalith Weeratunga does not draw either a salary or an allowance.

It is noteworthy that the previous President had 19 vehicles for his personal use but President Gotabaya Rajapaksa only has three vehicles; that is his vehicle and two other escort vehicles. It is also praiseworthy that the First Lady, Ayoma Rajapaksa, does not utilise any State allocated vehicles but continues to use her private vehicle.

Also, even to this date, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa continues to reside in his private residence in Mirihana. If the President decided to shift to the official residence, that would mean a massive drain on public funds. This is an invaluable example set by the President for other elected public officials. His simple attire is symbolic of his modest lifestyle.  

On the other hand, at the time he was elected, the President’s Media Division had 208 personnel, which was promptly reduced to 83. A vast number of vehicles allocated to the Presidential Secretariat were reallocated to various ministries and departments. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa also put a stop to the practice of ordering catering service from five-star hotels for events hosted at the Presidential Secretariat and instead this service is now obtained from the Sri Lanka Navy catering.

The President also cancelled the two senior additional secretary posts attached to the Presidential Secretariat and the 16 additional secretaries were reduced to five. Thus, he has set an example on how to manage a public office with minimum staff with better efficiency, for all the other ministers and MPs to follow.

Another step that was taken by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was, to immediately put a stop to a number of special projects undertaken by the Presidential Secretariat, which could easily be handled at ministry level, and that save a large sum of money for the Government. For example, the funds allocated for the ‘Smart Sri Lanka’ Project alone amounted to Rs 500 million.

As a part of the President’s plans to reduce unnecessary costs and stopping the squandering of public funds, he went on to cut down on the number of staff members who travel with him for official work in foreign countries. 

Also, he minimised the number of foreign trips take by Ministers and other public officials. Instead of telling the people and public officials what should be done to save public funds, he set an example by including only the most essential and most relevant public officials when travelling aboard. 

Instead of appointing his close acquaintances to high places within the public sector, with the support of proper committees, he chose qualified people for the right positions. Some political figures did not like this. This gave a semblance of hope to people who trusted in and voted for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. People highly admired the manner how these appointments were made.


When it comes to reforming and reviving public institutions, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has taken a number of noteworthy steps with the aim of ensuring public institutions’ effectiveness and efficiency. During the past governments’ tenure, people had to face countless hardships due to the inefficiency of public institutions and public officials, and the President stepped forward to ensure that tax-payers’ hard-earned money are put to good use. 

A couple of months ago President Gotabaya Rajapaksa visited in person a number of public institutions including the Department of Motor Traffic (DMV)and checked himself the daily operations of each institution and how efficiently the public could obtain the services they seek.


In addition, the President also paid his attention to corruptions taking place in these institutions, and also gave instructions to responsible officials to mitigate these corruptions. It would not be an exaggeration to state that these types of measures helped the President to gain people’s admiration and respect, because of the simple reason that people want to see their tax money being used the right way. What’s more, the President also issued instructions to heads of public institutions to stop displaying of his photo at public institutions, which no President had done before.


In addition, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has given the full freedom to public officials to perform their duties without disruptions or interferences. The freedom of the Judiciary has been ensured. Law-enforcement agencies are not being used to take revenge on rivals; instead, these institutions have been given the full freedom to enforce the law in order to prosecute the culprits of the Central Bank Bonds Scam and the Easter Sunday terror attacks. The Media have been given the fullest freedom and consequently it has strengthened the democracy in the country.


Actions speak louder

In the recent past, most people claimed that the Executive Presidency must be abolished. Unfortunately, several activists and organisations that supported the Yahapalana Government to come to power went on to change the Constitution unnecessarily. 

They also said that Parliament must be strengthened, and President of the country has no significant powers after the passing of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. Power is not something that needs to be given attention unnecessarily. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has proved it by his actions. People are aware of what might have happened to the country if Parliament had power today. However, unfortunately, certain people intentionally act against this.  


The year 2020 started with the outbreak of COVID-19, and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had to face this massive challenge before he could even hold the Parliamentary Election and form a proper government. However, he took all possible measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to give proper healthcare facilities to those who were infected with the virus.

It would not be wrong to say that his foresight and timely actions helped to save Sri Lanka from a pandemic that has dealt a heavy blow on almost all countries across the world. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has not been completely eradicated from Sri Lanka, the decrease in the number of new COVID-19 cases as well as the number of completely recovered persons are concrete proof that Sri Lanka has been able to control the spread of this deadly pandemic significantly. When other countries continue to face hundreds and sometimes thousands of deaths each day, Sri Lanka, with limited resources, has set an example as to how to control the adverse effects of COVID-19.


Both the public sector and private sector, today, have started to recommence their jobs with confidence and with determination. The reason for that confidence is the systematic plans devised by the government to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Advices were taken from experts in the medical field. Also, intelligence units were tasked with controlling the spread of this deadly virus by identifying how it spreads. This move in fact revived the intelligence units in the country. The Police, Tri-Forces and all other defence personnel worked hard, for a common aim.


People’s safety has been restored. People keep hope and faith in those who are working determinedly to eliminate COVID-19. Despite the unfortunate situation the country is facing, essential goods, especially food, medicine and hygiene products, were distrusted at normal prices and sometimes at concessional prices. Even during this difficult time, there was no shortage of medicine and medical equipment, and healthcare facilities were also built and developed to treat people infected with COVID-19.


Fighting back

While ensuring that people are able to obtain essential goods, travel restrictions were imposed to control people’s travelling behaviours and thereby minimise the spread of the virus. Sri Lanka also built and strengthened healthy relationships with other countries, and Sri Lankans living in various parts of the world requested that the government bring them back. 

The President took prompt measures to bring them back to the country and send them to quarantine centres as needed. Also, the President paid attention to school children as well as students studying in higher education centres, whose education was disrupted due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the consequent closing of educational institutions. 

To ensure that these students can continue their studies, new educational programmes were introduced through digital/ online media. In a bid to ensure that people are able to obtain the food they need, especially vegetable and fruit, farming in gardens was also promoted and people were given seeds and necessary guidance. All these activities deserve to be admired and recognised.


Some even said that distributing money to people before an election was a bad example; however, the President stood with the people and helped people who were having financial difficulties amidst the curfew. Some even demanded that the old Parliament be reconvened and that the Parliamentary Election be further postponed. 

They went on to claim that the country is plunging into a Constitutional crisis. Not only that, they also questioned the legality of the curfew, which was imposed for the safety of the people. The President allowed relevant officials to do their duty. During these efforts, the President took the advice of the Maha Sangha and act accordingly. Eventually, the country has come to a stable state.


However, our endeavours will not come to an end until a vaccine is found to treat people infected with COVID-19. There is also an uncertainty as to how this situation may change in future, and it is in this context we have to continue to build and strengthen the tomorrow of the country. It is extremely important that Sri Lanka boost manufacturing activates while limiting expenditures. It is also important that we get the assistance of intelligence who are willing to think fresh and do new work. They all are an asset in this challenging situation. With a load of hopes and plans, today, the country is being reopened to the people.

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