Sugath Kulatunga

Many parties try to read a systems change factor  which was not there into Gota Go home cry. Aragalaya focused only on  the single objective to send Gota home. The core of the Aragalaya consisted of an urban and semi urban subculture of long haired persons of unconventional appearance who reject conventional values. They were more the Ranil’s Bracelet wearing and jean clad generation of veteran youth. The fact that the battle cry was the anglicized Gota Go Home was zeroed on this subculture rather than the youth in general. It may have been more effective if the slogan was Gota Gedara Pala.

 The significant participation of the JVP elements had no effect on the ideological stance of the Aragalaya. Religious groups and minority elements which joined later were there to fish in muddied waters. Bar Associations support was an enigma which perhaps was political. The intellectuals and artistes marked their presence only for future reference. None of these peripheral groups added to the one and only cry of get rid of Gota. They never had any notion of what next. These and the main Aragalaya did not have even a clue on systems change.

A turning point in the people’s protests came with the violent demonstrations on 31 March in Mirihana close to the residence of the President. It was under these circumstances that on 3rd April 2022, all 26 cabinet ministers except the PM resigned en masse.

The Galle Face Aragalaya demanding Gota Go Home started on April 9 almost a week after the resignation of the cabinet The Galle Face Aragalaya demanding Gota Go Home started on April 9 almost a week after the resignation of the cabinet and cannot take credit for that change.

Aragalaya would have secured wider support from the community if it addressed the critical national issues which need urgent change of systems. A few of the major issues which need attention are defined below in brief.

• Power Sharing: The country has been burdened with a power sharing system imposed by India, which nobody wanted. It has become a massive white elephant and continues to be a security threat and encourages separatism. Power sharing should be on the principle of subsidiarity where it is shared with the lowest level in the administration which can manage it. In Sri Lanka it is at the district level. This is a vital systems change which needs attention for political stability and better governance .
• Balance of Trade: The root cause of scarcities, queues and deprivations is the lack of dollars to import these essentials. The country has been import dependent rather than export oriented. Since independence SL has neglected export dependent growth as the path of economic development and covered the yawning trade gap with borrowings. Most IMF interventions in the past have concentrated on import liberalization. The past system of meeting a balance of payments through borrowings must be replaced with a system where this is achieved through a balance of trade with exports matching imports. The system must prioritize export development. This is a primacy for a change in the present system which encourages imports and discourages local production.
•  Youth participation in governance: The energy and enthusiasm of youth have turned into destructive militancy due mainly to the absence of a power sharing by youth at the center and a place in the governance system. This has been a problem affecting the women of the country as well, who are today a majority in the population. A major system change must be introduced to resolve this situation and make people’s sovereignty more meaningful by creating a second chamber in the Parliament for youth with equal participation for males and females.
• Productive Employment: World today is driven by science and technology. Most countries have adopted education policies which prioritize their systems of education to meet the demands of science and technology which cover STEM education and vocational training. Although vocational training was a recommendation in the Kannangara proposals as far back as 1944 this aspect received scant attention.

 Taiwan is an Island smaller than Sri Lanka with a similar population. It was a predominantly an agricultural economy. Today it is a high tech powerhouse leading the world in a number of high tech industries. It has a per capita income of 36, 000 dollars. At the beginning of the 1980s, Taiwan increased the ratio for senior vocational schools and general high school to 7:3. By 2012 there were 155 senior vocational schools, 14 junior colleges, and 77 universities/colleges of science & technology, totaling 246. It is the education system that has sustained the significant development of this small nation. Our education system must be revamped if we are to progress in technology and expand into high valued exports and create productive employment. It cannot be left to the University Grants Commission or the FUTA.

• Presidential system: The existing Presidential system is a hybridized jumble of  a presidential system and a parliamentary system. The cabinet is formed with members of the legislature violating the principle of separation of powers. With a large number of members of Parliament serving in the cabinet it makes the legislature a rubber stamp of the cabinet. Minsters who should be confined to make law become involved in the implementation of the law. The Cabinet is formed not with the best talent in the country, but of members of Parliament selected on their political strength. In the US system the Cabinet is a technocracy consisting of members tested for their ability and aptitude. The legislature (Congress)controls the finances and uses its authority to ensure that the laws they passed are being enforced the way they were intended to be. The oversight responsibilities of the Congress apply to the federal bureaucracy as well as to elected and appointed officials. US system is better as it maintains a strict separation of powers and the cabinet consists of professionals.
• Right of Referendum: This is a powerful tool in many democracies to ensure the government keeps in touch with the pulse of the people. Referendum is as expensive to hold as a general election. In this context a Referendum has been invoked in the country only once and that too for the wrong purpose of extending the life of the Parliament.

    In our democracy the people can use the power of franchise in selecting a government only once in 5 years unless the Parliament is dissolved earlier. In between elections the voice of the people is muted. This makes people to resort to demonstrations and Aragalayas. The government also takes decisions on conjecture. A typical guesstimate decision was the overnight ban on chemical fertilizer.  It was done with good intentions on the advice of a small coterie of pseudo experts, not anticipating an adverse response from the farmers. What the country needs is a mechanism to consult the people and for the people to show their response at an intermediate level between the Parliament and the grassroot constituency, which the people themselves can make it operative

Fortunately, we have such a representative constituency at the grassroots where a new constituency of around 8000 elected members of Pradeshiya Sabha and local authorities could be introduced. While the government can invoke a referendum at the will of the President or on a simple majority of the Parliament expressed in a secret ballot, the people could also demand a referendum to express their will with a simple majority of the new constituency registered in a secret ballot.

• Venture Capital: Government of Sri Lanka had established the National Development Bank for the purpose of promotion of industrial, agricultural, commercial and other development of the economy of Sri Lanka having regard inter alia to the development of the rural sector. One of the objectives of the NDB was to undertake development projects, including pilot projects, in order to achieve the purposes of the Bank. Unfortunately, the NDB acted like any other commercial bank and was finally privatized by CBK who was on a selling spree. It is no more national but continues to call itself national.

       In view of the absence of any other financial institution to provide funds for innovative investments with risk, the EDB Act provided for investments in selected export projects. A special Division was created in the EDB to evaluate projects and participate as a Venture Capital provider in innovative pioneering projects. Through this facility a number of pioneering projects were established. But a subsequent Board of Management not only abandoned the concept of venture capital but disbanded the EDB division with its trained staff.

   The absence of a venture capital facility led to the sale to India the patent rights of the nano urea project of the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC). This is a serious lacuna in the Banking system which must be filled.

• State Owned Enterprises: Efficient management is the key to success of any enterprise in the public sector or in the private sector. A good management is able to set up new organizations and introduce even an untested system effectively. A good example is the CTB where with nationalization a brand-new system had to be set up to operate a massive island wide organization. This was successfully accomplished by a handful of administrators seconded from the civil service. Until the CTB became the job bank of politicians it was run efficiently providing an essential service and making a profit. There are small SOEs which can be merged. There are others which only act as middlemen or conduits. They can be eliminated. Some others have become irrelevant as the original objectives of the enterprise have ceased to be valid.

Counting a chairman and a managing director for each SOE, the estimated 573 SOEs would consist of over 1100 personnel at the management level. At present these individuals are picked on an ad hoc basis where political loyalty becomes the dominant criterion. Most of these cronies have no long-term interest in the success of the enterprise and are only keen to please the minister and would stoop to corrupt practices.

With over 550 SOEs there is a dire need for a special permanent cadre of around 1000 top managers to run these entities. This number exceeds the cadre in SLAS Special Class and Class 1 which at present is around 700. This cadre should be professionals seconded from the national management cadres or selected out of present holders. Both officers on secondment and in service personal should be absorbed through an examination and interview by an independent Corporation Service Commission. They should be placed in 2 or 3 grades and given a high-level training in business management. Their salaries should not exceed the salaries of the parallel SLAS grades but should be entitled to profit sharing. The posting of individuals into specific posts should be based on the needs of the job description of each post. This is a major system change that demands attention.

• Welfare Handouts: Welfare handouts like Samurdi should be better targeted. Instead of the monthly dole granting a lump sum to start off a productive operation should be considered.

• Feasibility studies: Small and Medium Industries sector is considered the engine of economic development. There are many concessions accorded to this sector like low interest loans. At present the Banks confine themselves to only the evaluation and approval of SME projects. They do not play a role in the identification of projects and developing project profiles and feasibility studies to make them available to prospective investors. This is the policy followed by established development banks in India such as the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. (NABARD). It is also the practice of Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) of Pakistan. (www.smeda.org.pk) The participation of the Banks in project identification and development would also result in channeling scares resources into priority sectors of development and would contribute to the reduction of project failure.

    The EDB with its provision for venture capital could restart the Projects Division to carry out prefeasibility studies in export-oriented projects.

   It is also time that SL focus less on country promotion of FDI and promote investments in identified projects where at least prefeasibility studies are available.

Above are a few areas where systems change is essential and the Aragalaya and supporters had not even a clue.