By Sunil J. Wimalawansa –

Prof Sunil J. Wimalawansa

Part 17: Sri Lanka—Changing Pillows to Cure Headaches: 20^th Amendment—Current Needs for Strategic Planning

Despite the seriousness of the ongoing crises in Sri Lanka, no advances have been made to resolve the political, financial, or social calamities. Instead of resolving issues and reappointing the same old failed folks into the cabinet, near-total lack of law and order. Besides, it uses taxpayer-paid government employees, including the legal team and the police, only to protect themselves (i.e., abuse of public funds) and to work against the public interests, demonstrating that neither the president nor the new cabinet intends to improve the situation. It is the complete opposite of what the country and the Aragalaya want. Ironically, the emerging evidence suggests that they further strengthen the powerbase, autocracy, and the status quo.

The lack of authenticity and competence among the executives, current political party leaders and senior public administrators in Sri Lanka (and some other countries) disregard and willfully neglect the current and future public needs, which is astonishing. Shockingly, a similar trend is seen in some other counties toward authoritarian ruling emerging and becoming normality. The USA, Australia, Canada, UK, and Germany are a few examples where such is spreading like cancer, consisting of a similar breed of politicians.

Many believe that it is partly pushed by the global agenda of the World Economic Forum and the World Bank. They feed the fuel of promises (hope) of rapidly becoming rich and extreme ego and strengthening powerbases and firm control of these gullible political leaders. They also use costly gimmicks like the green-new deal, extreme liberalism, initiating ethnic conflicts and wars to sell their lethal weapons, episodically occurring climate change, etc., forcing to waste funds and suppressing the growth of other counties. Today is COVID; what is there for tomorrow? Sri Lanka is participating in this longer-term disaster. This is going to be a lose-lose situation for the world.

Poor judgments and flawed legislation

Serious errors of judgements made by the executive and the legislative branch of administration in Sri Lanka over the past few years are bewildering. Wrong policy decisions continue to harm the country, its economy, prosperity, and the population. One can vividly see the current adverse outcomes from those erroneous decisions on ongoing political, economic, and social chaos.   In addition to the rampant corruption and bribery taking (expecting a bribe with most governmental transactions, including commission-based decision making), the country has become a lawless society. Consequently, the existing state of affairs has become dysfunctional.

Sri Lanka needs to end its dependency on individual leaders (many of whom ruined the progress and prosperity of the country) to save the country: they have wretchedly failed over the past 74 years. The reality is that the people’s trust in politicians and government administrators and institutions, including municipalities and provincial councils) fallen to the rock bottom. These deteriorations have continued to erode democratic institutions.

Dysfunctional governments fail to safeguard food, medicine, energy, and sovereignty

Sri Lanka should also not rely on fossil fuels and diversify into renewable energy, eyeing energy sufficiency. While this should have done decades ago, the steps taken by the government were not coherent and insufficient. Instead of solving the problem, government officials erected enormous roadblocks to prevent energy sufficiency based on politics and commissions (bribes), not the energy policy. Consequently, the country depends on imported fossil fuel (i.e., petrol and diesel) and strained precious foreign reserves. Thie current crisis highlights the importance of this.

While a country cannot become self-sufficient in everything, one should have a strategy to develop some aspects for its competitive advantage. Besides, strategically getting rid of external dependence on energy, essential and staple foods, and internal security and sovereignty. The country had 74 years to develop national policies in some areas, such as water, irrigation, power/energy, natural gas, sewerage disposal, etc. The lack of such is disastrous and hinders the process of autonomy.

Longer-term strategic planning and implementation of policies are needed

Most laws enacted and gazetted directives by the government over the past seven years were to protect themselves and give business opportunities to their supporters, not the public. It is time that the country takes a step back from the current chaos and engages in a detailed environmental scanning (like a five-day retreat with brain-storming sessions). This should encompass and evaluate the values of political, economic, social, and technological events, availability, potentials, and global trends that positively (and negatively) influence businesses, people, and the country. Finding would lay the foundation for developing policies for the country’s benefit.

The information gathered through a systematic environmental scanning should be synthesised into strategic, short-term, medium-term (three to five years), and longer-term (5 to 15 years) fits for the country. Based on a strategic relevance score, identify what is most relevant for a given period and pertinent for the sustainable development of Sri Lanka and to come out of the current economic mess. These must consider as “living” documents, subject to modification based on new information and data. The strategic relevance score can include a weighted score that considers pertinent strategic fits, logistic ease, fiscal responsibilities, and anticipated benefits for the set mission and goals based on changing priorities and opportunities during a given period.

20th amendment must revoke through a democratic process

With the 20^th amendment, the executive branch stole the public’s freedom and the independence of the judiciary, Commissions, and the police. Strengthening the power of one person is not what the country needs now or in the future. Nevertheless, the removal of grossly excessive executive power (e.g., abolishing the executive presidency) must be done systematically in a democratic manner, such as a nationwide referendum for people to decide what is best for the country.

Constitutional Council initiated by the 17^th amendment, together with the Council of State and six Independent Commissions, are crucial for the governance, fairness, professionalism, and checks and balances in Sri Lanka.

As its architects designed and intended, the 20th amendment eliminated checks and balances, which gave the politicians and administrators a free ride to loot the treasury. With the abolition of the Constitutional Council (for appointments) and five Independent Commissions, the 20^th amendment removed the essential checks and balances and investigated complaints against the government and its employees (e.g.., bribery, brutality, etc.), like chairpersons, directors, the police, and military.

However, the current watered-down 21^st draft amendment must be considered a worthless, yet another “change of a pillow to cure a headache.” Apparently, the justice minister removed several critical items from the draft amendment to please the president. These must be re-inserted. In the interim period, over 40 critical government departments were newly included under the president now. This indicates that the president has no intention for devolution of power (i.e., promises to mislead the public but no action). Instead, he desperately continues to strengthen his power and control. With such dilution of the draft amendment, the true intention and the purpose of the 21^st amendment are at stake.