By R Hariharan –

Col. (retd) R.Hariharan

The reassertion of democratic polity in Sri Lanka during the year 2024 is the signal achievement of the people of the country, more than its political class. They had shown that the Aragalaya protests, which toppled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Rajapaksa clan from power, mattered in deciding the winners in both presidential and parliamentary elections. They not only elected the National People’s Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake (aka AKD) as President, but also gave the NPP two-thirds majority in parliament

These changes in power politics by the end of 2024 has given a new life to the country’s democracy, wilting under the burden of self-seeking politicians. People voted for the neophyte President AKD and the NPP government because they want a change from the way the mainstream parties ruled them. They had voted the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe combine to power in 2015 with similar hopes. But their hopes were shattered when the duo failed to fulfil their promises. Not only that, their endless squabbles resulted in Easter Sunday terrorist attacks.

This time the people will probably put the AKD government on probation to ensure the government meets their aspirations. The year 2024 has ended with AKD in power for barely 100 days and it is only 49 days since the parliament came into being. It is probably too early to judge the performance of the government under AKD’s leadership.

But even within this short period AKD has taken some welcome steps on both symbolic and substantive issues. Some of the actions of AKD like shunning official residence, swearing in the smallest cabinet, electing the highest number of women MPs from non- political families and giving representation in parliament to visually challenged person, were symbolic. But they reflected the liberal views of the government.

President’s action agenda 2025

President Dissanayake in his brief New Year message has spoken of initiating “a transformative political shift, fulfilling our democratic responsibilities to build the good governance our citizens aspire to.” The primary developmental goals include eradicating rural poverty, implementing the ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ initiative, and building a digital economy.

The “Clean Sri Lanka” initiative, launched alongside the New Year, aims to uplift society to greater heights through social, environmental, and ethical revival. The program envisions a broad national effort, transcending political and communal differences, to instil attitudinal, behavioural, and qualitative changes among citizens. It focuses on improving living standards, eradicating corruption, and promoting transparency and accountability in every sector.

The initiative also includes a dedicated website and app to enhance public participation and transparency. The goal is to position Sri Lanka among the cleanest nations in the world and ensure a prosperous and beautiful life for all its citizens. This is likely to occupy immediate attention of the government so that visible changes are ushered in the country.

AKD’s agenda is likely to focus on internal issues so that the NPP performs reasonably well in local body elections in 2025. The NPP has a weak footprint on the ground unlike mainstream parties which have traditional strongholds. Issues with a long gestation period like reframing of the constitution and even abolition of executive presidency are likely to be deferred.

This means existing foreign policy initiatives involving India, China and the US are likely to continue. It will also mean deferring controversial issues involving India like the talks on the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) to enhance economic and technological cooperation between the two countries which was resumed with 12th round of talks in November 2023. Similarly, full implementation of 13th Constitutional Amendment giving minority Tamils a level of autonomy, which India had been insisting on, is also likely to go down in AKD’s priority. At the same time the issue of Indian fishermen poaching in Sri Lankan waters is likely to be elevated to the government-to-government level as it can help NPP to garner votes in Northern Province in local body elections.

Other issues likely to figure in AKD’s 2025 agenda are given below.

Good governance issues:

Administrative reforms by digitisation of data to enable timely delivery of relief to citizens is likely to be given priority. To curb wasteful expenditure the government has already undertaken various measures:

* Revising security arrangements for former presidents: Starting from January 1, 2025, the government has decided to withdraw members of the tri-forces from the security details of former presidents. Only police officers will now handle their security. The new norm based on security assessments is expected to save over SL Rs1,000 million annually. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s security expenses were the highest at Rs 710 million spent on his protection. Similarly, STF protection will now only be provided to the President and Prime Minister.

* Abolition of the post of Chief of Defence Staff: The AKD government has decided to abolish the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) at the end of the year 2024. This decision comes as General Shavendra Silva, the current CDS, retires after 40 years of service. The CDS post was initially established to coordinate joint operations among the armed forces. However, the new government believes that the post is no longer necessary given the current security landscape, which is perhaps realistic. The AKD government has decided to employ armed forces only in military roles; this may herald the restructuring of the armed forces.

Anti-corruption drive

Since AKD came to power, the anti-corruption drive has been gingered up, resulting in several high-profile cases. The government is to appoint a committee to look for amendments in the Anti-Corruption Act passed in 2023 to block legal and technical loopholes while carrying out investigations. Here are some of the major cases being investigated:

* Central Bank Bond Scam: This infamous case, which has been a focal point of public outrage, involves allegations of large-scale financial fraud during the final years of the previous administration. AKD has revived the investigations.

* Ministerial Malfeasance: Whistleblower Thushan Gunawardena exposed alleged corruption involving high-ranking ministers. His revelations led to a series of investigations targeting corrupt officials.

* Public Procurement Fraud: Several cases of corruption in public procurement processes have been uncovered, involving the misallocation of funds and resources meant for public projects.

* Tax Evasion and Revenue Department Corruption: The IMF recommended immediate anti-corruption measures within revenue departments are likely to continue.

Drive against narcotics trafficking

In 2024, approximately 149,000 individuals were apprehended for drug related offences. During operation Yukthiya, which began in December 2023, led to the recovery of drugs worth over SL Rs 19 billion. With international tourist figures touching two million in 2024, Sri Lanka is likely to further tighten measures against narcotics trafficking with the cooperation of India during 2025.

*Col R Hariharan VSM, a retired MI specialist on South Asia and terrorism, served as the head of intelligence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka 1987-90. He is associated with the Chennai Centre for China Studies.