STATE OF THE NATION
BUCKLE UP AND TIGHTEN THAT BELT, BOYS!
Wijith DeChickera feels if an ethos of austerity is to challenge our country in the short term, its political leadership must set an example
As Sri Lanka celebrates 74 independent years, several challenges cause citizens concern while governors forge ahead with martial festivity in national celebrations. If recent crises are symptomatic of the country’s health, realistic diagnoses bode ill for a healthy nation in what is increasingly looking like a challenging year ahead.
A disconnect between people and their representatives is evident in their respective lifestyles.
In the face of the fuel crisis, commuters face the prospect of forgoing superfluous excursions or resorting to carpooling. Yet, at a ceremonial opening of the picturesque 41 kilometre stretch of the Central Expressway recently, the powers that be were blatantly escorted by embarrassingly supernumerary high-powered security vehicles.
Extravagant convoys ‘protected’ these politicians and their cohorts in a style the rest of the state can hardly afford for itself – much less extend to insensitive (or is that arrogant and apathetic?) governors. A far cry from the lone Maybach that drove the head of state to parliament in bygone days…
Lionising politicos is nothing new in our ‘shame and honour’ culture. We honour rogues (or worse) – and shame be on them who think evil of it!
But this self-indulgence comes when our cash-strapped nation is arguably a single international sovereign bond (ISB) repayment away from bankruptcy.
The welcome improvement to national infrastructure drives over the broken backs of a citizenry staggering under unbearable burdens, the skyrocketing cost of living and numerous hardships caused by shortages of essential goods.
So reported congestion on the newly opened artery in the heady rush of a gratis ride on the first day after opening the Mirigama-Kurunegala stretch with five interchanges redounds to the canny insight of our political masters as much as the ‘free lunch’ mentality of the vast majority of the masses.
The choice of electorate to develop first, ahead of a provincial council election, is telling in itself. Oh freedom, what liberties are taken in thy name!
Of course, the demographic availing themselves of such handouts doesn’t correspond to the segment of the populace that is visibly suffering the most. But for the food, forex and fertiliser crises hamstringing the country, perhaps the backbone of the nation – a third of islanders are engaged in agriculture – would have also clambered aboard the political bandwagon.
It wouldn’t have mattered that this instalment of development, which is inching along at snail’s pace three-quarters of a century after shaking off the yoke of colonial bondage, came at a cost of Rs. 150 billion. Nor would any but the discerning have remembered it was another administration that initially mooted this project.
Under the guise of growth, successive regimes have ripped off the people in the name of progress by shamelessly subscribing to patronage politics. Cronies and compatriots inimical to the cost of corruption benefit, to the detriment of the national interest and voter wellbeing in-between elections.
That cost is borne by commuters et al. who cling precariously to jam-packed trains or sweat it out in decrepit buses while the elected swan about in super-luxury SUVs.
Far from the madding crowd, analysts have examined the true cost of Sri Lanka’s borrowings over the years… if only so that the people and their elected representatives alike could live beyond their means decade after decade. Now this generation is paying for 74 years of profligacy.
While there is merit in blame being laid at this government’s feet for part of the present pass to which we’ve come, by virtue of rapidly dwindling reserves inter alia caused by ‘inspired’ tax cuts, let’s not forget the abysmal failures by successive administrations to bridge fiscal deficits and rein in inordinate expenditure – or rationalise national spending on white elephants such as redundant ports and airports – some of them demonstrably geopolitical Trojan horses.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka requesting China to restructure its debt while pointedly avoiding a similar appeal as regards possibly salvific reprofiling at the hands of the IMF speaks volumes for our political and ideological leanings.
While Western fuelled speculation about the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’ falling into a ‘Chinese debt trap’ may be alarmist at best or envious at worst (after all, China owns a negligible percentage of our external debt burden: historically, 2–15% – the major share of up to 50% is in ISBs secured by bilateral and multilateral investors), there is no doubt our flawed ‘pearl’ continues to be eyed by regional powers and neo-empires.
If China plays hardball though, and push comes to shove, and Sri Lanka has no recourse but to reach out to the International Monetary Fund for a 17th time, there doesn’t have to be ignominious grovelling.
We have the corporate boardroom brains that recently critiqued the Central Bank’s tendency to play the Finance Ministry’s role… and we can save face at the eleventh hour (as did Ecuador, for example) – to say nothing of saving the nation from hyperinflation and a miserable penury – with a win-win bailout package.
Going forward, we may need a formalised professional body to manage not only the quantum but also cost of debt – as do nations such as the US and UK with similar debt to GDP ratios as Sri Lanka.
