Prof. N. A. de S. Amaratunga

Presidential candidates as usual make promises that they as well as the voters know can never be fulfilled in this country under the present circumstances. One of them said he will make Trincomalee a surapurak”, a city fit for the gods! Why didn’t they do all this when they were in power? Their promises are absurd and sound hollow. Yet they go on making fools of themselves. Only a very few has spoken meaningfully and come out with a plan that has a semblance of feasibility. When will this foolishness stop.

Most of these politicians, even those who promise a change, seem to be bereft of original ideas for solving the burning problems the country is faced with. It is impossible to discern what the change they propose is. It is easy to say they will stop corruption which is entrenched from top to bottom in this country but they must tell how it could be done. They say prices of essential goods including fuel would be brought down but wouldn’t say how. Some say they will renegotiate the terms and conditions of the programme that has been agreed upon with the IMF but no alternative scheme has been presented. They say there will be no poverty under their watch but how poverty could be alleviated is not shown.

The underlying cause of most of the problems they say they will solve is linked to the economy of the country. These problems cannot be solved without substantially improving the economy. The economic ills cannot be treated by following the same policies that we have adopted since 1977. The essence of the economic model we have adopted since 1977 is we spend more than we earn and take loans to meet the deficit. Our habit of taking loans has been so bad that at present the total debt amounts to more than 100 % of the GDP. Only the very rich countries like the US have such high debt rates. During 2023 the total foreign loans rose from  USD 53 billion to USD 55 billion. None of the presidential candidates has a clear policy on foreign debt and they have not spoken about how the debt burden could be reduced. They must tell us how they would improve the economy in clear terms and not just say they will do it.

Another urgent problem that needs a clear policy is in the health secter. At present the government hospitals cannot cater to the needs of the people. Medicines and materials available are woefully inadequate. Corruption is rampent. The ministry of health is ill from head to toe and needs urgent treatment which none of the candidates seem to have dealt with.

Education secter has deteriorated to such an extent that school dropouts are rising by the day. Free education is a myth with tuition classes doing the bulk of the teaching from year one to year twelve. The syllabuses of these classes are too heavy and full of unnecessary stuff. By the time a student reaches year twelve he/she is burnt out and often a nervous wreck. How these problems will be sorted out must be shown in clear terms.

I would like to propose that the presidential candidates pay attention to the following;

1. Achieve self sufficiency in all essential goods that could be produced locally
2. By this means 40 – 50 % of foreign exchange could be saved and the unemployment problem would be solved to a significant degree
3. Debt burden would be gradually reduced to a manageable degree.
4. Focus on poverty alleviation and nutrition of the less affluent.
5. Focus on education of the less affluent
6. Free education and free health should be available only to those who cannot afford to pay for it.
7. Stop import of luxary items until the country reaches developed status.
8. Do away with some of the political institutions which are a huge drain on the economy which do not serve any purpose.
9. Instead of devolution of political power to the periphery have a system of power-sharing at the centre. Administration could be decentralized at district level.
10. Scrap presidential system and transfer executive powers to   the parliament

Prof. N. A. de S. Amaratunga