A paper submitted By  The Sri Lanka Study Circle 

The COVID Attack 

In the first quarter of 2020, the world was plagued by a COVID virus which has, as at now, caused the deaths of over a one and a half million people. 

A tiny bug has literally brought the world -the globalised world – to a standstill with economies dislocated, education retarded, food chains ruptured, ‘goods and services’ chains scuppered and health services disrupted. 

The virus has adversely affected, albeit in different ways, both the purveyors of globalisation and those dragooned into globalisation.  

Globalisation impacted 

Globalisation is a socio-economic and political template created and thrust upon the world by the global money-lenders operating out of America and Europe; it spells out the rules on how the world, as a single unit, should conduct itself, politically, economically and socially.  

This ‘Globalisation’ template broadly established many parameters, such as: The food, the services, the goods, the medicines, each country is permitted to produce and consume: The tariffs  to be imposed when countries engage in trading: The mandatory use of the American dollar in international transactions: Fixing the value of all the currencies in the world to the dollar: Determining the wage rates applicable to each country: Determining the prices payable for the resources of each country: Determining the rate of  interest to be applied in each country: Determining, the total value and conditions of financial loans -including rates of interest and prior compliance requirements- that would be advanced to a country: Coaching countries seeking loans to parrot the geo political script in public fora: and many more.  

The underlying theme in the ‘Globalisation’ template is that ‘private-interest’ shall always prevail over ‘public-interest’ and that the land of a country is, but a mere commodity, to be bought and sold and made accessible to the global money lenders; in the Globalisation model, the engine of development is the ‘Private’ sector.  

These notions are quite contrary to the views of Sri Lanka, clearly enunciated in the Country’s Constitution. Public interest shall always prevail over private interest; the Country’s land is not a commodity for trade but a priceless resource, belonging to all Sri Lankans, that sustains man and nature. 

Globalisation cause of poverty, bondage and loss of Sovereignty  

In the Globalisation template there is no place for sovereignty, for the former colonies of Europe and America; the need, for the architects of ‘Globalisation’, is to possess and control the land and resources of these former colonies. 

To induce these former Colonies to accept the ‘Globalisation’ template, the Global Loan sharks allured the leaders of these countries by zeroing in on their frailties; these leaders thereafter frog-marched their countries into the inevitable debt trap.  

The tactics adopted by the Global loan sharks are no different to the tactics adopted by their local cousins, the ‘Poli-Mudalalies’. 

And the end result of ‘Globalisation’ has been poverty, indebtedness and bondage to the countries at the apex of the ‘Globalisation’ pyramid.  

Sri Lanka is at the base of this pyramid. 

Globalisation wobbles 

With COVID 19, Globalisation has taken a major whack; the countries which contrived the globalised template and controlled the pyramidal structure from their imperious positions, have suddenly found the pyramid wobbly and unstable. 

The countries at the base of the Globalisation pyramid, although ‘wounded’ by COVID, have discovered that COVID has loosened the shackles of ‘Globalisation’; these countries are in a position, now, to free themselves from Globalisation and walk away from this trap of ‘perpetual bondage’.  

American threatens Brandix type operations 

 The Americans too, realise that COVID has caused a situation where some ‘captive’ countries are contemplating escape from their captors; to counter the collapse of the ‘Globalisation’ model and to prevent a mass escape of the captive countries from the bondage of Globalisation, the captors are menacing the captives with the threat of  deliberately infecting them with COVID ; the captors are hectoring the captives to follow the ‘New Normal’ rules which could lead to a situation, like in America, where people are literally  dying like dogs, on the streets.  

There is strong suspicion, among the people, that this modus operandi was adopted in the Brandix-COVID- Cluster- Bomb case; the people are eagerly awaiting the results of the criminal investigations that have been initiated.  

In Sri Lanka, all the post COVID solutions, proposed by notorious American agents, are based on continued activity within the framework of the impaired ‘Globalisation’ template.  

This would be disastrous. Conceding that a vaccine for COVID 19 is found, what happens when, for example, COVID 30 hits us? 

The Government has gone into shell shock; after eight months of COVID it has yet to come out with a holistic plan to tackle the post COVID scenario. There has been no thinking ‘outside the box’ in this regard. 

With the lockdowns, many people have lost their jobs, some work on half pay and others are unable to generate a daily income; their power to purchase food for the table has dwindled. There is uncertainty, gloom and fear in these homes. 

The Plan – Human lives first 

Taking Maslow’s theory of hierarchical needs as a start point, the Country’s slogan should be ‘Human Lives First’.  

The Government needs to adopt a strict zero tolerance policy for deaths by COVID. Within this policy framework the Government must ensure that primary needs of food, shelter, clothing, health and education are provided to all the people.  

In this paper, the Sri Lanka study circle presents a broad outline of a plan to ensure that all Sri Lankans, poor and rich, young and old will never ever go hungry. The plan is in a skeletal form and needs to be fleshed out.  

The COVID attack was a revolutionary attack on human civilization and this plan to provide food, as a response, we dare say, is revolutionary. Many sacred cows may have to be sacrificed in the implementation of the plan. 

The people would have to be put on a war footing to ensure the plan is implemented expeditiously. 

In this plan, the Study Circle recognizes that Sri Lanka is a very fertile country and most, if not all, of the food that people eat can be grown here. And this includes fruits too. 

The project would be a government led initiative. 

Perforce therefore, we need to begin immediately growing all our needs in respect of food by way of crops, plants, creepers, trees, etc, etc after: 

• Making an assessment of population distribution  
• identifying localities where these crops etc would be grown 
• identifying requirement of local organic fertilisers, local non-chemical weedicides, potential anti-fungal and pest control requirements.  
• Identifying Warehouse requirements. 
•  Identifying transport requirements to plantations, warehouses and retail outlets. 
• Doing research and making plans to prevent crop failure and making back-up plans in the event of such failures.     
• Finding markets for excess produce 

In this plan, the Government shall buy all the produce from the farmers, store them in Government warehouses, where necessary, and distribute them to the distribution Centres. 

The people have a choice in buying the food of their liking. 

Print Purple Money 

To provide the people with purchasing power to purchase their food requirement, the Government will distribute, for example, Rs: 30,000/= per month to each and every family.  

From where would the Government find the money to give the people?  

Yes, they will print the money, but this money will be different to the normal currency in circulation; for example, it would be purple in colour and this can only be used for purchasing and selling food. 

The money thus printed will not create inflation since it would be used to purchase the food produced; there would be inflation if the food targets are not met. 

Excess supplies of food produced can be bartered with other countries to obtain essentials which cannot be grown/made here. 

Dump the Dollar 

We shall develop bilateral Agreements with countries, closing the books on previously regulated global tariffs. Wherever possible we shall do barter trading, disregarding the US dollar as the global currency of exchange. 

The ‘purple’ currency will run parallel to the normal currency; the ‘purple’ currency will only buy food and ensure that people have a full plate of food in front of them, always; this is not a burden to the Government.  

With time, Sri Lanka would have a highly developed agricultural sector where production, distribution and research will be at the highest of levels.  

Even if we are plagued by a COVID 20 or 25 or whatever, one thing is certain; no Sri Lankan will ever go hungry or be malnourished.