KEY TO DEVELOPMENT IS COMMITTED AND ETHICAL LEADERSHIP

BY OMAR KAMIL

The Presidential Election of 1988 was held amid fear of disruption and death threats to campaigners. During the election period, a curfew was in force from 11 pm to 5 am throughout the month from Nomination to Polling Day while the forces of disruption were also enforcing fear psychosis, causing shops, government institutions, offices, and even court houses to close regularly.

From Nomination Day, the candidates Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa, Mrs. Sirima Bandaranaike and Mr. Ossie Abeygunasekara were conducting their election campaigns under heavy security. People were fearful of attending meetings, and attendance at most meetings was limited. The JVP did not run at this election.

Traveling to ‘Sirikotha’ in Battaramulla in the evening hours was a nightmare due to fear of being stopped by violent mobs who opposed the elections. Prime Minister Premadasa’s campaign headed by Mr. Sirisena Cooray held its meetings at the Colombo at Mayor’s residence while the General Secretary of the UNP, Mr. Ranjan Wijeratne, operated from Sirikotha in Battaramulla. Those present at the Mayor’s residence were, Messrs Sirisena Cooray, Jehan Cassim, Imran Markar, F. A. Yaseen, A. H. M. Azwer, Siridharan, myself, and a few others.

As a Municipal Councilor in Colombo, I was appointed co-ordinator of the Northern and Eastern Provinces while others were assigned to co-ordinate the other 25 districts. Due to the curfew, public meetings were held in the mornings and would end around 8.00 p.m. to enable people to get back to their homes before the curfew came into force.

Under these trying circumstances, Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa launched his election campaign in Kandy at a meeting chaired by Hon, E.L. Senanayake MP. In view of the local people being unable to get involved in stage arrangements etc due to reprisals, party workers and supporters from Colombo decorated the stage and surroundings and participated at the meeting.

Election meetings were held throughout the country by the candidates, but under a cloud of uncertainty of disruption by those who opposed the elections. Despite all these threats and obstacles created by the JVP to discourage polling or casting of votes, the people braved the threats and voted in numbers for Mr. Premadasa, giving him over 50% of the total vote cast in the first count.

The economy of the country during this period was in dire straits as the JVP called for a boycott of Indian products and imports from India, disrupting the of Colombo Port with wildcat strikes and many shipping lines bypassed Colombo calling at neighboring ports instead. The conflict in the north and east of Sri Lanka was a further burden on the economy.

President Ranasinghe Premadasa assumed office on December 20, 1988, at a time when Treasury reserves had dwindled to a very low ebb and was barely sufficient to service three to four weeks of imports. Oil imports too could not be made as the establishment of Letters of Credit required at least two months requirement of foreign exchange to be held in the Treasury.

Upon assuming office, one of the first acts of the new president was to appoint Retired Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. H. N. S. Karunathilaka, as the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, He was immediately sent off to Washington to finalize a Standby Agreement with the IMF (International Monetary Fund).

Although stringent conditions were laid by lending agencies such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, the president confidently renegotiated the terms and conditions of the agreement without burdening the people with additional taxes.

The Privatization Program of the IMF was effectively transformed to a people friendly “Peoplization” (a new word coined by the president) with the ownership of plantation lands being retained by the government in respect of the estates vested under the Land Reform Commission (LRC), Janatha Estate Development Board (JEDB) and Sri Lanka State Plantation Corporation (SLSPC). Nine Regional Transport Boards were established in all the Provinces and each Province was called upon to manage the transport services without seeking funds from the Treasury.

The requirement of the IMF to prune the numbers employed in the Government sector led to a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) being introduced through Treasury Circular 44/90, whereby those above 50-years of age could retire on pension.

The management of estates vested in the LRC were leased for 30 years to quoted Regional Plantation Companies with previous plantation management experience and this arrangement reduced the burden of the Treasury paying workers’ and staff wages and salaries hitherto funded by it.

All these innovative measures helped to reduce the burden on the Treasury and the economy began to pick up slowly. In order to increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), the President introduced a 200-garment factory program expanding the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) concept enabling factories located throughout the country to enjoy benefits previously restricted to areas under the Greater Colombo Economic Commission (GCEC) which was replaced by the Board of Investment (BOI).

This helped to locate factories even in the remotest parts of the country to provide employment to workers near their homes so that the wages they earned would be circulated in the village.

All these steps brought prosperity throughout the country and within a short period of two years, the foreign reserves which were barely sufficient for three weeks imports increased to five and a half months. In addition, incentives were given to the tourist industry to build hotels and resorts all over the country.

President Premadasa identified the best men for the jobs that needed to be done. Among them were Finance Secretary R. Paskaralingam, Secretary to the President K.H.J. Wijayadasa, Chairman BOI Lakshman Watawala, and retired civil servant Baku Mahadeva appointed to chair the National Development Bank among others.

Mr. Karu Jayasuriya, a successful businessman, was appointed to head the Government Owned Business Undertaking (GOBU) of United Motors Ltd which was vested in the state by the previous government. This institution was privatized and within a short period its shares were sold through the stock market. This innovation was a resounding success with the share prices trebling in the first month.

All these and many other innovative measures introduced by President Premadasa resuscitated the local economy despite of the conflict in in the North and East. In 1991, the JVP leaders and their cadres were arrested and peace was restored in the South of the country.

While the country was returning to normalcy and the economy being stabilized, foreign investors came here to be a part of developing Sri Lanka. Among them was the developers of the high-rise Twin Towers in the Colombo Fort.

With the JVP conflict brought under control, the President appointed a committee headed by Prof GL Pieris, Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo, to submit a report on the youth unrest in the country. This report revealed that wherever poverty was at the highest, the insurrection was the most intense proving that one of the prime reasons for youth unrest was unemployment and poverty.

The US Quota for manufactured garments was distributed among factories countrywide and higher incentives granted to those located in the most remote areas as well as where the youth unrest was at its worst. Within a period of 18 months over 150 garments factories were in operation in many parts of the country including the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

Each factory was required to employ 500 female workers giving youth an opportunity to be employed in their own villages without trekking to the city. Prosperity started spreading throughout the country even to the remotest villages affected by both JVP and LTTE insurrections. The country was on the road to recovery, villages began to reawaken and progress and development was visible all around.

The president’s initiatives in other areas of development too were noteworthy. All projects commenced were monitored by officials specially assigned for the task. The president and his team ensured that they were completed and implemented within the stipulated time frame. President Premadasa brought about a total transformation in Sri Lanka. He was successful as he identified the right team of capable public officers to undertake a daunting task and ensure timely implementation.

The economic situation of Sri Lanka in 1988 with an ongoing North and East conflict coupled with JVP insurgency in other parts of the country was much worse than the economic crisis Sri Lanka faced in 2022/2023. Fortunately, astute leadership along with persons of integrity being appointed in the right place were the reasons that the country was able to come out of the crisis by 1990.

President Premadasa was not only able to win the hearts and minds of people of different communities but also won the confidence of the international community and funding agencies. This made top world business leaders and conglomerates come to Sri Lanka and invest here helping to rejuvenate the economy.

In today’s context, there’s much to learn from the recent history of Sri Lanka. It’s evident that even organizations like the IMF and other funding agencies are willing to engage in renegotiation of credit terms with leaders who can win their trust and confidence. This is crucial as it prevents the imposition of huge burdens on the people through increased taxes in various forms. It’s important to remember that the success of state-owned enterprises at that time was largely attributable to the appointment of professionals and skilled personnel assigned to manage various Institutions.

What the country lacks today is strong leadership with vision and determination to ensure that targets are met within set periods. President Premadasa had a commendable track record of identifying the right person for the job and constantly monitoring progress which ensured that projects were completed as planned.

Sri Lanka awaits a dynamic leader of vision to set the country right and develop its true potential. Hopefully, the necessary qualities will be available among those aspiring for the presidency later this year. Fortunately, Sri Lanka is not lacking in such talent; it’s just a matter of identifying and empowering them to lead effectively. The people now have the opportunity of electing leaders of the calibre of H.E. Ranasinghe Premadasa, a man of determination with a vision to develop the country, providing equal opportunities to all the people of the North, East, South and West.

(The writer was a senior local politician in Colombo who served both as Deputy Mayor and Mayor of Colombo in the nineties and a term as Ambassador to Iran)