By Sunil J. Wimalawansa –

Prof Sunil J. Wimalawansa

Part 11: Sri Lanka—Changing Pillows to Cure Headaches: President’s Resignation & Appointing Interim President

Finally, after months of procrastination, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister (Ex-PM) reluctantly resigned due to public force, not as requested by his president-brother. Ex-PM, who resigned in disgrace, is responsible for most of unwanted loans obtained by the country (purely due to commissions and for pilferage) that pushed the country into bankruptcy and propagated 9^th of May, street violence.

Due to poor management and other reasons, the president lost the confidence of 90% of the people in the country. Now, he does not have the mandate to stay in power. He must immediately resign without further gimmicks and procrastination that harm the country. That would prevent further riots initiated by his ex-PM brother’s supporters using unscrupulous and uneducated municipality Mayers, with his blessings. However, these attacks continue with changing tactics and new targets that would disrupt the country further.

President must resign now

Despite his apparent illegitimate appointment in violation of the constitution, his flawed “persistence to stay in power” as the president will only worsen the conditions for everyone, including himself. It will exacerbate further violence, deaths, and destroying property. The more he stays as the president, the higher the likelihood of people making him personally responsible for violence and harm. He has no option but to resign without creating further misery for the people and the country.

Since the resignation of the PM, there has been no cabinet or government now. Reshuffling the cabinet or persuading other power-hungry MPs and so-called leaders not even elected to the parliament to set up a new cabinet is worthless and harmful to the country. The only and the best option for the president is to quietly resign and let the MPs elect a new interim president. Anything else (tricks) other than this is unconstitutional and unsustainable.

Instead of appointing another unwarranted new cabinet (title of this series of articles; “changing pillows to cure headaches”), as per the constitution, let the parliament elect the most suitable candidate by a simple majority as the interim president discussed in the previous article. F/M Sarath Fonseka seems the most robust and capable candidate among the current parliamentarians for the interim president.

The most suitable person for the interim presidency

Undoubtedly, a few MPs vehemently oppose his appointment for personal reasons. However, such private objections are irrelevant for this crucial appointment. The selection must be based on the person’s ability to make impartial, non-political, firm decisions. Decisions and actions to better the country, benefit its people and overcome financial bankruptcy.

This would allow the interim president to appoint a ten to twelve-member interim multi-party cabinet based on their commitment to the sovereignty of the country, profound understanding of the situation and subject matter expertise. Other options available were discussed in previous articles.

President, IGP, army commander, etc., must stop further destruction of the country. Let the multi-party interim administration decide the best way to stabilise the political system and resolve the conflicts and the crisis peacefully, without involving thugs, police, and the army.

What is next

The president is now desperately trying to appoint a new multi-party cabinet (too late for that), a sudden change of heart. Without a PM, the parliament was dysfunctional and considered dissolved. That was yesterday (9^th of May), why some ruling party dishonest MPs desperately had a gathering at the PM’s office in Temple Trees, tried to prevent his resignation. This was to protect their jobs, perks, and power to abuse the system and not for the country’s benefit.

Dissolution of the parliament could be considered a blessing in disguise, as the current parliamentarians have no clue to solve the crises and produce ANY solution to date.  None of them has any new or constructive ideas to resolve the ongoing issues and conflicts. Under these circumstances, their absence from the parliament would be better than their presence. It would be cheaper for the country to shut down the parliament until February 2023. A saving of multiple billions of rupees otherwise wasted to maintain worthless parliamentarians.

Next set of priorities for the interim president

The priority for the interim president is to calm the population and prevent any initiating any further riots. The former PM initiated yesterday’s insurgences through his purposeless and mindless gangsters. He must address the nation openly and honestly based on facts immediately after assuming duties. He should assure the populous-the nation, with simultaneous translation in Tamil (or at least translate into Tamil and broadcast a bit later), assuring that he will do his best and his goals and targets to achieve within the next few months of his temporary presidency.

He must promise that he and the interim cabinet will diligently turn around the misery within the next months, placing the country first. He must also ensure the public of the abolition of the executive presidency, replace the trained constitution with a new one, and hold free and fair elections before February 2023.

An immediate action plan for cost-reduction and economic development

Economic development of the country is critical, but it needs to tie to the quality-of-life indices and human well-being. These include but are not limited to literacy, relevant skills, well-being indexes (low maternal and child mortality and higher life expectancy), sustained potable water and food security, and most importantly, health and the happiness of the populous.

Besides, economic growth must associate with reducing poverty and unemployment (raising from the bottom up), reasonable income distribution, and equal access and affordability to education, nutritious food, and healthcare. Without these, economic growth would be artificial and non-sustainable, as happened in the past decade, benefiting only a small percentage of privileged groups of people.

Bridging funds and curtailing costs

Bridging funds from the IMF would allow the interim government to get the house in order and demonstrate responsibility and accountability. It would improve the international atmosphere by obtaining grants or additional borrowings at a significantly lower cost while increasing local exports to narrow the budget gap. In the medium term, it will allow the development of sustainable mechanisms to enhance local revenue and transparency and regain international trust, including tourism.

The actions needed include a comprehensive array of sensible austerity policies to reduce government expenses, reduce the current government size by at least 40%, and stabilise the monetary status and exchange rates, in conjunction with transparency and free-market trading policies. The country has achieved none of these. Nothing will materialise without significant structural changes in the government and the entire corrupt system. Politicians keep talking like parrots with zero constructive ideas or actions: MPs are all about grabbing power.

It is essential to regain the lost credibility in the international arena. The country has achieved none of these. Moreover, nothing will materialise without significant structural changes in the government and the entire corrupted system from top to bottom. Current politicians keep talking like parrots to maintain or gain power. They have zero constructive ideas or taken actions benefiting the country. The current politicians at all levels are all about grabbing power; the country comes last on the wish list.

Firm decisions needed to reduce government costs

To prevent future fiscal chaos, including bankruptcy, and the need for loans, the interim government must start enacting laws to eliminate extensive subsidies that successive governments have dished out to the populous to attract votes. These include fuel, electricity, gas, agrochemicals, and free education and healthcare. Some of these, like fuel/oil and electricity, require prompt elimination, while the others could be reduced over time.

The administration must explain clearly, the intended elimination of each of the subsidies to the public in all three languages. Why does the government have to do such, and how and when these measures will be implemented? While removal of subsidies invariably will cause hardships for the population, people will soon get used to it. These are necessary to get out of the impending bankruptcy, financial stability, and long-term success and prosperity of the country.

*The next article will discuss additional methods of reducing government costs and improving food security.