By Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda –

Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda

Deep Rooted Expectations of People

It is an undeniable fact that the citizens in this country have endured immense suffering for several decades under previous regimes due to their mismanagement of the country’s economy and their corrupt political conduct. It is in view of instituting a totally different regime that people gave a landslide victory to the National People’s Power, (NPP) led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD). His victory is a manifestation of the people’s deep-rooted and shared expectations of a better future for the country, requiring the need of governance that prioritizes integrity, social justice and economic reform.

The very election of Anura Kumara Dissanayake to Presidency, someone who comes from an ordinary rural background and not educated in a Colombo elitist school as it happened at all times except once, is certainly a remarkable change in the Sri Lankan political scenario.

Following the presidential victory, the NPP secured a two-thirds majority in the November 2024 parliamentary elections, securing 159 out of 225 seats, a number which it never dreamt of. This reflects the people’s disillusionment and their dissatisfaction with previous regimes and the confidence they placed in AKD’s leadership.

AKD’s Plan for the Country

Now what are President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s plans for the country? He has a long-term and a short-term plan as well. I mention just a few of them here. He plans to develop a productive economy, hold negotiations with the IMF, promote the IT sector and introduce digitalization, develop tourism and the fisheries and agriculture sectors.

As regards the short-term plan, he is keen to alleviate poverty and promote the general welfare of the population. The anti-corruption programme and Clean Sri Lanka programme and instilling a new outlook through the “Punarudaya” programme (a renaissance) are some of his priorities.

Undoubtedly, those noble plans are very much appreciated by everyone. A number of world-renowned experts have arrived in the country to voluntarily serve the government without pay.

However noble those plans are, there is also a strong opposition led by those who were rejected by the people, campaigning against the NPP government in an effort to regain power.

It is true that the government has full control over the parliament because it has 159 out of 225 seats. Yet, consolidation of its position at the village level is so crucial to withstand the opposition’s campaigns that it shamelessly conducts by exploiting the unresolved problems which were created by themselves during their misrule.

The Most Important Factor in Development

Perhaps knowing the cruciality of maintaining a close bond with the grassroots people, the NPP government had plans to establish the “Kottasa Sabha” of local councils. The whole purpose was to engage village people in governance and in the development processes. By doing so, the NPP administration aimed at securing broad base support towards itself and also to counteract the opposition campaigns.

Above all, the establishment of closer bonds with the people at the grassroots level was seen as the most vital and crucial agenda for an NPP government. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has consistently emphasized the importance of establishing close connections with people at the village level. Moreover, people at the grassroots level were invited to engage themselves in addressing local issues and participating in the reconstruction of the village economy. It is more than obvious that he envisaged the most recognized strategy which will enable bringing about genuine development and a better future for people.

In fact, the failure of the successive governments has been due to the adoption of a “top-down approach” as a development strategy. Accordingly, the development policies and plans were designed by the so-called experts or central authorities without proper consultation with the local communities. From their perspective, development was understood as building Airports, International Conference Halls and Express Highways, Tallest Towers and so on. The benefits of such top-down projects hardly reached the poorest or the most vulnerable communities.

Often in such development projects there have been hidden agendas which brought benefits to a few who wielded political power rather than the citizens of the country and the funds allocated for development were channeled for other projects aimed at political interests rather than genuine community upliftment. As a consequence, those governments had neglected the real needs of the rural populace.

Alternative Structures

The establishment of such a mechanism in every village to lift the village economy and to engage people in governance has been one of my expectations as one who voted for the NPP. Only such a political arrangement will empower people at the grassroots level, giving them a direct voice in governance, to decide on resource allocation and planning. It is an alternative approach which should foster community participation in decision-making, focusing on small-scale, locally-driven projects which consider the specific needs of the communities. Any “people friendly development” can come about only by directly involving village communities in the decision-making process and ensuring their voices are heard by those in the hierarchy.

The establishment of such institutions are useful not only for economic reasons but also for political reasons. If people feel that they are part and parcel of the governing body, they will boldly and voluntarily encounter or confront any opposition and also defend the NPP government. Unfortunately, such a mechanism is yet to be realized.

Had it been implemented, it would have encouraged people’s participation in governance and ensured decision-making that is inclusive, transparent and responsive to the needs of local communities.

In the absence of such a process in development or in politics, people become mere objects of the bureaucrats and politicians and consequently they become deprived of their true identity. On the contrary, people ought to enjoy their freedom and become subjects of their own destiny.

Benefits “Kottasa Saba”

When the “Kottasa Sabha” was first introduced, I thought it would serve the purposes mentioned above. Moreover, if this particular idea was implemented it would have been used as a very effective means of educating and enabling the citizens to play their political role as subjects.

Education means awakening people to their creative energies found within themselves but not recognized by them as yet. In an unjust society such as ours, the creative capacities of people are also suppressed. Hence there is a need to stimulate and awaken them prior to involving them in development and political processes. Hence, educating the people at the grassroots level in the ideals of “punarudaya” should have been a vital element in development processes and in NPP politics.

Contrary to our expectations, the interest in the “Kottasa Sabha” did not last beyond one or two preliminary meetings. Another possibility was to organize a cooperative system at village level for various purposes such as capital formation, production and also distribution. For some unidentified reasons neither the “Kottasa Sabha”, nor a cooperative, nor any other system has materialized to activate those marginalized people.

Foretaste of a Future to Come

People, when voting for Malimawa, expected a better future for themselves and their children. However, no government can bring down the heavens on earth in a matter of two months, especially in a country which faces a situation of bankruptcy and total erosion of decent and healthy political culture.

However, people who voted the NPP government into power have also the responsibility to safeguard it from falling into a situation of complacency, where one takes things for granted. Strangely, some already, even fear to engage in constructive self-criticism, while some others seem to enjoy a false sense of security. If we continue to live in a state of such complacency, we only invite the “enemies of people” to come back to power.

Instead, let us by promoting the ideals of Malimawa and its political philosophy and by taking the initiative to construct alternative structures at village level which should enable those people who have gone through decades of suffering and who have been denied access to power sharing and deprived of their rights, to participate in the processes of governance without any fear and hindrance. By doing so, we can build a situation for people where they can foretaste in the here and now the better society which is to come in future.