{"id":120798,"date":"2021-12-01T18:05:09","date_gmt":"2021-12-02T01:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=120798"},"modified":"2021-12-01T18:05:09","modified_gmt":"2021-12-02T01:05:09","slug":"omicron-could-be-ominous-for-sri-lankas-economic-revival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/12\/01\/omicron-could-be-ominous-for-sri-lankas-economic-revival\/","title":{"rendered":"Omicron could be ominous for Sri Lanka\u2019s economic revival"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Raj Gonsalkorale<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

In\nthe immediate term, all political parties in Parliament should bury their\nrespective hatchets, and agree on a political truce for the next two years.\nThey could take the next step and agree to form a national government or a\nnational governance council for two years. The theme of such a government or\nentity should be responsible governance as the most important political\nactivity now is responsible governance. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri\nLanka\u2019s dependency on export earnings, foreign remittances and tourist earnings\nfor its survival has made it very seriously vulnerable to the effects of the\nlatest COVID mutant, Omnicron. If it spreads and international travel\nrestrictions become widespread, foreign remittances and tourism earnings will\ntake a hit, and it could be a mortal hit for Sri Lanka which is already on the\nbrink of bankruptcy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ngovernment appears to continue with its show of confidence that the economic\nsituation of the country will be resolved. Increasingly, governance ineptness,\ninfighting within the government, a seeming lack of leadership, is dashing the\nhopes of many people who bestowed their hopes on the President and the\ngovernment. Government\u2019s media strategists appear to be in a stupor as they\nhave failed to pro-actively capitalise on the positive activities of the\ngovernment. They have become a reactive, ineffective force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nOpposition, like a set of Vultures, is sniffing a political opportunity\nthinking and hoping they will have a carcass to feed on soon. Some other politicians\ncontinue to wax their eloquence on everything that is wrong but never offering\nsolutions as to how the wrongs can be made right. The TNA and some other North\nEastern Tamil political parties act symbolically like the three Monkeys (the\ndeaf, blind and mute) when it comes to national issues as they seem to be giving\nthe impression they are interested only in the welfare of the Tamils in the\nNorth and East and not Tamils elsewhere, let alone the Sinhala and Muslim\npeople. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nsituation in the country reminds one of Sybil Wettasinghe\u2019s children\u2019s story\nLabugediye Thoilaya\u201d. Sri Lankan politicians of all hues appear to be inside\nthe labu gediya, participating in a political ritual to ward off evil forces\nthat have afflicted Mother Lanka, while the labu gediya has been swallowed by a\nlarge fish as described in Wettasinghe\u2019s story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\ncontemporary Sri Lanka, the labu gediya could be equivalent to the Parliament,\nand the fish, to the country\u2019s foreign debt which could very likely and very\nsoon, swallow the entire country along with the politicians and unfortunately,\nthe people of the country as well. Some may say not so cynically that the\nParliamentarians won\u2019t be missed if so swallowed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nnaivety of the Opposition is only superseded by the reported reliance on\npersonnel similar to devil dancers in the Labugediye Thoilaya by the powers\nthat be, trying to ward off evil that have afflicted them and the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nthe sake of the country and the future generations, one can only hope that this\ncollective tomfoolery ceases, and immediate remedial measures taken to keep the\ncountry afloat until the global economic situation shows positive signs of a\nsustainable recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dire\nneed for a political truce<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nthe immediate term, all political parties in Parliament should bury their\nrespective hatchets, and agree on a political truce for the next two years.\nThey could take the next step and agree to form a national government or a\nnational governance council for two years. The theme of such a government or\nentity should be responsible governance as the most important political\nactivity now is responsible governance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\nshould be the key tasks for a national political consensus when it comes to\nresponsible governance? There are many. However, three key areas are mentioned\nhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\nstable economic management structure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nthe current and foreseeable future, it is unlikely that Sri Lanka will be able\nto earn enough foreign exchange to sustain itself, unless the entire foreign\ndebt repayments are delayed at least for two years by mutual agreement with the\nlending entities. Considering that 45% of the foreign debt is in the form of\ninternational sovereign bonds falling due in the short term, this is going to\nbe hard task. However, mechanisms will have to be found to do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One\navenue would be to seek IMF assistance to take over the short term foreign debt\ncomponent with a longer term, low interest long term repayment arrangement.\nThis alone may not be sufficient and IMF assistance may also be needed to\naugment foreign exchange needs for import of petroleum, food items and\nmedicines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IMF\nconditions for such support will be stringent, but Sri Lanka is slowly but\nsurely heading towards a disaster and may not have any other choice left to\ntake but to agree to such measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nis where a political truce becomes critical. All governments of Sri Lanka have\ncontributed to the perilous situation the country is in, and today, the Opposition\ncannot afford to blow their trumpets saying they can do better, considering\nthey contributed hugely to the perilous state of the country with their\nineptness for four and a half years prior to the advent of the current\ngovernment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So,\nthe problem is a creation of all previous governments, and therefore, the\nsolution too has to be worked out by all political parties who have been a part\nof a previous government. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\npolitical consensus achieved through a two-year truce should engage in some high\nlevel priority policy settings on economic management, foreign policy, defence,\nfood security, energy, environment and education. These key areas should not be\ntreated like political footballs as they have been for the last 73 years\nendangering the hopes of future generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Measures\nto curb corruption<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly\nthe political consensus must agree on measures to curb corruption, the bane of\nthe country\u2019s society and which has a direct impact on the much sought after foreign\ninvestments. The instability of the Sri Lankan rupee with official rate for a US\ndollar being Rs 203 while the black-market converting it at around Rs 240, and\nthe real value of the US dollar suspected to be more than Rs 300, show the\nvolatility and the instability of the Sri Lankan rupee and why many would be\ninvestors are not investing in Sri Lanka. Besides this, it is widely known that\nbribery adds another impost to any would be investor, and the suspected range\nof this impost is reportedly anything from 10% to 50% of the value of a project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corruption\nhas become endemic in the country and curbing it is in the hands of politicians\nas they are the ones responsible for introducing it and propagating it to the\nheights it has come to now. They need to enact new laws if what is there is not\nsufficient, but very importantly, they need to leave the justice system and the\nlaw enforcement system to carry out their tasks and responsibilities WITHOUT\ninterference. A strong anti-corruption body with strong teeth, including\njudicial powers, is needed to instil some fear in potential bribe takers that\nthey and their families could be called upon to pay for the crimes committed\nand languish in jail even for the rest of their lives depending on the severity\nof the crime. Everyone from the President downwards must be subject to anti-corruption\nlaws and punishable irrespective of whether they are in office or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legal\nframework for media operations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirdly,\nsome measures should be taken through such a political consensus to determine\nhow the politicians and the public should act to facilitate responsible\ngovernance via the media. A consensus on a legal framework for media operation\nincluding, very importantly, the social media is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social\nmedia in particular has become the repository and the facilitator of genuine\nnews as well as fake news. Some information that is circulated via social media\nplatforms is highly irresponsible and harmful to the very society in which such\nplatforms provide the avenues to proliferate information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the intent should never be any curtailment of media freedom,\nresponsible governance essentially has to be considered as a two-way process\nwhere those governing and those being governed should take equal responsibility\nabout what they say and do. There may be many measures that could be taken to\nintroduce a framework for all media operations without impinging on media\nfreedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this regard, Danushka Medawatte<\/a> in an article titled Freedom of\nthe Wild Ass (https:\/\/danumedawatte.wordpress.com\/2015\/09\/26\/freedom-of-the-wild-ass\/)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

states quote Law is an ass\u201d says Charles\nDickens. This certainly seems to hold true in the light of the freedom that is\nenjoyed by media through the protections granted by both domestic legal systems\nand international law. While I am reaping the benefits of freedom of expression\nin making these claims, it needs to be highlighted that certain freedoms require\nto be curtailed and\/or reviewed in order for the other rights to exist. At\npresent, it is possible to note that some journalists exercise their freedom of\nexpression in a manner harmful to the society. It is questionable whether such\npractices should be upheld in light of several recent circumstances. While\nfreedom of expression is, without a doubt, one of the most important rights\nthat perhaps functions as a premise for other rights, it is important to\nestablish the framework within which one may swing one\u2019s fist without striking\nanother\u2019s nose\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medawatte\nencapsulates the view of all fair minded citizens about democracy and media\nfreedom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essentially,\nmedia freedom must be accompanied with responsibility as irresponsible\ncirculation of unchecked, unverified, inaccurate and harmful information is not\na characteristic of being responsible. Since politicians are tasked with the\nresponsibility of reviewing and enacting laws, a political consensus becomes\ncritical in ensuring that any media operation law including social media has\nacross the board support and does not become a political football to be kicked\naround by political parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Major\nsocial media platforms are under scrutiny throughout the world, and bona fides\nof some companies are in question as they have created an impression that\nrevenue and revenue growth is what matters to them and not the means they\nprovide to the good, the bad and the ugly, to propagate information and\nmisinformation, with noble intentions as well as ignoble intentions. The\nproliferators of irresponsible information using social media need to consider\nwhether they are doing a service or a disservice to the society and the country\nthey live in. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Raj Gonsalkorale In the immediate term, all political parties in Parliament should bury their respective hatchets, and agree on a political truce for the next two years. They could take the next step and agree to form a national government or a national governance council for two years. The theme of such a government […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-raj-gonsalkorale"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120798\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}