Don’t give up on Sri Lanka

By Remy Jayasekere

Chartered engineer

Periodically, we have presidential and parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka. After each election, the supporters of the winners hope for a better future while the defeated lick their wounds. The winners try to support the government while the defeated criticise and obstruct every move of the government. After the last season of elections the situation was no different. However things have changed after less than a year of the new government. It is difficult to find any support for the government now. The people who supported the governing party are disillusioned. The pandemic has contributed a lot to this but there are many other factors involved.

More than 20 million people live in Sri Lanka, each needing food, shelter, education, healthcare and many other services. Most people work hard to get these, with differing levels of success. As in any other country, people complain when they fail to get what they want. Their frustrations are reflected in what they write in mass and social media. Somebody reading these may think that people have given up on the development of this country, because they paint such a bleak picture. Most people are disillusioned and downhearted. Among other things they highlight corruption, political, racial and religious divisions, poverty and lack of leadership. Country’s financial debt is a major concern as well. Most of these claims appear to be true and have contributed to the mess the country is in today. Many, are trying to get out of the country as quickly as possible. However, we cannot give up – we need to soldier on. If we gave up, the situation would become even worse – more violence, increase in poverty, hunger, frustration and chaos.

The brunt of such criticism is aimed at the government. It is hard to justify getting a member of the parliament, the latest luxury car when there are thousands of schools without toilets or running water or when hundreds of thousands of children in the country are malnourished. The bond scam, Easter Sunday bombings have been investigated but no culprits have been found and punished so far. Both sides of politics seem to be equally corrupt and incompetent. More importantly they seem to protect each other. French philosopher Joseph de Maistre said that countries get governments they deserve. One wonders how this applies in the Sri Lankan context. Are we corrupt as a society to end up with such corrupt governments? Do we have to bribe every step of the way to get things done? Principals of schools are caught taking bribes. Remembering giving bribes is equally as bad as receiving one, what can we do to get rid of this menace?

Then we have our divisions – political, racial and religious – each responsible for massive bloodbaths. It is hard to find another country in the world that has a continuing history of such violence – 1958, 1971, 1983 (1983 – 2009), 1989, 2009. Then, when we thought bloodletting had ended, 2019 happened. In all these events, Sri Lankans were killing other Sri Lankans – Tamil Vs Sinhalese, Government Vs Sinhalese youth and in 2019, Islamic terrorists attacking Christian churches and hotels. Some accuse foreign powers of inflaming prevailing tensions but successive governments and political parties have created and made use of these divisions for their political advantage. If we are to succeed, we need to rise above these petty differences and act as one nation under one flag and end these uncivil wars. Our differences do not have to be raging fires destroying everything in their paths. We will always have our differences but the challenge is to live in peace and harmony in spite of our differences.

As a result of the above and a multitude of other factors, our economy has suffered. In round figures, we are a nation of about 20 million people with a nominal annual GDP of about USD 80 Billion.

Therefore our per capita annual GDP is about USD 4,000. While this is high in comparison to our neighboring countries, it is very low by world standards. Singapore’s number is above USD 60,000. Even more alarmingly, the annual production in the agriculture sector is 8% of GDP or about USD 7 billion. This sector employs one third of the population (about 7 million people). Therefore, the annual per capita product in the agriculture sector is only USD 1000 (7 million people producing USD 7 billion ) and their incomes are at a similar level. This is one of our biggest problems – a third of the population doing things the same old way and being condemned to eternal poverty. To illustrate what is possible, in the Australian agriculture sector, 300,000 people produce AUD 60 billion worth of goods, annually – per capita product of AUD 200,000 or about USD 150,00. The difference between the two countries seems to be the size of farm, level of technology and mechanization, education, training and commitment. This also explains the difference in the living standards of farmers in the two countries.

Healthcare is the key sector at the present moment, because of the pandemic, and so it should be. In addition to what I have written above, to develop our country, there are so many other sectors such as education, infrastructure, services and unity of the nation that need to be addressed.

None of the above can be achieved without committed and competent leadership. The sad state of Sri Lanka’s socio- economic development since independence is a good measure of the success or lack of It, of all past leaders. The present political system does not allow outsiders or new leaders to get in easily – No Donald Trumps, Emmanuel Macrons or Jacinda Ardern. We saw what happened to Nagananda and Mahesh Senanayake. However good you may be, you cannot helicopter in and win elections in Sri Lanka. There were a few exceptions such as Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Sirimavo Banaranaike, where family connections were crucial in their victories. As history in Sri Lanka and elsewhere has shown recently, armed struggles are out of the question – they do not succeed but only cause suffering and death for many. Unless something unforeseen happens the only way forward to a successful future seems to be talented people, taking up politics, and becoming leaders.

As a member of the common man brigade of Sri Lanka, what will I do to help and not give up on Sri Lanka? Here is my wish list.

First of all, one will consider becoming a political leader, if one has the necessary attributes, especially a vision for developing the country. It is just one good leader a country needs – Lee Kwan Yew developed Singapore to be what it is today almost singlehandedly. Everybody cannot become the President but there are many in the teams who can influence outcomes. If I have the ability but do not take up the challenge, how I can I blame the others for messing things up.

I will become an activist and an agent for change. I will campaign vigorously for a just society through mass or social media or by any other means. The need of the hour is to build a united country of love, compassion and inclusion. I will campaign against corruption and division – racial, social, political and religious. I will set an example by living according to these values.

I will do an honest day’s work at work. If we all did this, our workplaces will be happier and our country will benefit through increased output. The people who deal with us also will be happier.

I will learn as much as I can, on as many topics as possible. It is education that enables people to widen their horizons, identify opportunities and succeed. If I have the will and time, learning is so easy now, with so much information available on the internet.

Keywords in development these days are mechanisation and automation. Automation is going to make life much worse for countries like Sri Lanka. As an example, imagine rich countries developing machines to make clothing automatically and hugely reducing the labour content. They are working on this already. The need for importing clothing will dry up as they can produce their clothing themselves. I will try to be an agent of change in this field – think of mechanisation and automation wherever we can. Mechanisation need not be fancy. They can be improved ways of harvesting vegetables, drying your clothes or making string hoppers.

Governments cannot develop countries by themselves. They can create the right framework for businesses to thrive. It is mostly the private sector that grows food, manufacture goods and provides services. The higher the output the higher the GDP. To contribute towards this, I will start a business when I can. Consider the impact it will have, if a million people started new businesses. In most countries, while big businesses are important, the engine of growth is small and medium enterprise (SME). Most of what we consume including food, manufactured items and materials and parts for our service provision are imported. I will look at the opportunities these present and start my business and become rich, contributing to the development of the country as well.

All the above will be irrelevant, if in a few years the world has problems due to climate change. Climate change is going to change our weather patterns and sea levels. It is the duty of everyone to contribute towards reducing the effects of climate change. I will be an activist on this front and do whatever I can do and encourage others to the same as well.

If we do all the above, Sri Lanka will gradually develop but we should not expect quick results. Even if our GDP grows at the unlikely but very attractive rate of 10% annually, at the end of 2025, our annual per capita GDP will still be around USD 6000 – still a developing country. Development is a long- term game and requires patience, persistence and perseverance. The challenge is not to be disappointed but to keep working at it.

Finally, I will help those who are less fortunate than me. Sri Lanka is the 6th most generous nation on the planet but we need to keep giving even at a larger scale to minimise the suffering of the poor.

We should take note of what President Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country”. We cannot give up now. The country needs a lot of “doing” by all of us. The future of our children, friends, relations and countrymen is at stake. We need to build a country that respects alternative viewpoints, inclusive of minorities and listen to all voices and accommodates the will of the majority. The situation seems grim but if we persist and work hard to achieve our goals, the results could be very pleasing.

May Sri Lanka prosper!