A RICH MIX READY TO EXPLODE AT ANY TIME

Wijith DeChickera observes the ‘gas cylinder’ of local politics – and keeps a safe, wary eye on hazardous pointers to an explosive year ahead

The mystery of exploding gas cylinders kept the authorities at bay, and users at home and in eateries wary, not long ago… regarding a volatile possibility that was avoidable – if the social contract for safety standards was not in the unsafe hands of jugglers such as shifty entrepreneurs or their political patrons. Users faced an inflammatory dilemma due to a rich mix of pungent elements – from poor regulation of consumer products in the local market to perennial challenges posed by patronage politics.

This only too often favours key players under near-monopolistic conditions wherein LPG isn’t the only consumable that’s being tampered with…

‘It’s the economy, stupid!’

PR merchants initially pinned the blame on unsafe domestic practices or faulty equipment that was not their responsibility, underlining the propensity of the profit motive – whether in business or politics – to compromise hapless consumers of products, services and a sociopolitical-economic culture that’s rotten to the core.

It was a scary time when the worst aspects of our failing system were highlighted, against a skyline glowing with the embers of gutted kitchens. These range from abysmal safety standards to a proclivity to cover up the sundry messes created by appealing to patrons in high places.

If the price that poorer segments of a hard-pressed populace had to pay for corruption and political chicanery is symptomatic of the ills suffered by the people in 2021, it’s also indicative of the firefighting any conscientious powers that be will need to do in the year ahead – if figures in authority don’t get their act together in the national interest.

And there are uncanny parallels between explosive sociopolitical problems of a year gone by and the pitfalls of one to come…

ARBITRARY ACTION The first misstep in the LPG fiasco was tampering with the tried and tested propane-to-butane ratio of 30:70 – tweaking the mix up to the 50:50 range, which courted disaster for unsuspecting housewives, chefs and restaurateurs.

While cost savings – if not eventual profits – would accrue to the LPG business, buyers were sitting on a powder keg that blew up soon enough.

Appeals to the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) in the aftermath of the first deadly explosions revealed the CAA to be a paper tiger initially, in addition to reportedly hidden political hands protecting miscreants.

A parallel with arbitrary action by the state’s governors was the decision to transform our agro-economy into an organic ethos overnight. While the end result of this green policy is salutary, the bottom line was not so much the consumers’ health; but rather, sparing the outflow of precious forex dollars down the chemical fertiliser importation drain.

The jury is still out on long-term benefits for a healthy society in 20 years compared to a hungry one in 2022…

That the government has entrusted the greening of the economy to the newly mooted presidential task force under army command suggests there is more to the matter than the purely agricultural – in fact,
it smacks of geopolitical alignments and other vested interests of the state’s recent trajectory towards a militaristic model.

BUREAUCRATIC BUNGLING In the LPG fiasco, the company concerned tried to pass the ball to anyone who couldn’t field it.

First, it was consumers’ fault; then faulty technology; and finally, following a spate of explosions islandwide, the CAA’s recall of gas cylinders pinned the blame on the manufacturer and/or distributor.

This administration too has not been above passing the buck… whether faulting farmers for hazardous practices causing chronic kidney disease, schooling principals and teachers at being agents provocateurs for the political opposition and disdaining disaffected trade unions as saboteurs.

However, myriad gazette notifications followed by unapologetic policy reversals have seen musical chairs being played over the state’s stance on fertiliser in particular and the agro-economy in general.

Only one man – at the very top – is sticking to his guns… though one would be forgiven for seeing it as a smoking gun. It’s indicative that critics who were laughed at over accusations of paternalism, authoritarianism and militarisation weren’t wrong.

CONSUMER CHALLENGES While cylinders were exploding in homes, the circular arguments in the house over who was to be held responsible and what norms of accountability must prevail did little if anything to bolster the citizenry’s confidence in ‘pass-the-blame’ parliamentary politics.

Whether it is dangerous supplies, dire shortages or dirty stockpiling by commodity mafias boosting prices into the stratosphere (post price control formula imposition and almost inevitable rescinding), it’s the consumer who’s usually short-changed.

DOMESTIC DILEMMA This then is the scene at home, now that the dust has all but settled on the silly season.

If none of this concerns you, the dreaded prospect of an all-round crunch that may come ahead of the prospect of bankruptcy – Sri Lanka being US$ 437 million in the red after 1.4 billion dollar payouts in December 2021 and January – might.

Gaseous governors spewing hot air have rigged the monetary policy mix – and now it’s ready to explode!

As schools commence their new terms and socioeconomic turmoil troubles a no longer serene Serendip, despite ongoing vaccination drives and promises of no more power cuts, one wonders what revisions may have to be made to the next generation’s academic curriculum.