Presidential dreams of the future

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa certainly had his most important field day as he addressed the people at the 74th Independence celebrations. His words did seek to call the people to take the country forward, have positive ideas, and not escape from problems.

Here are his own words at this historic event: “What the people expect from leaders is to manage all these crises and take the country forward, but not to escape from problems. We have the positive mindset needed for that. I am always ready to provide the necessary leadership to overcome any challenge facing the country.

“The world has been changed, and will be changed by those people with positive ideas, who dream of a future with optimism and strive to make it a reality. We see this throughout history.”

Can we take our minds back, not through 74 years, but a little over two years, and see how much our national leaders have managed crises, and taken our country forward?

It was the Gotabaya Regime that saw the rise of the Covid pandemic. How many positive ideas did our leader/s have in facing this challenge?  Was it any positive mindset that made the government decide that vaccinations were not wanted, as said by the Health Minister and other ministers, too, in Parliament?

It is not easy to take our minds away from this Covid disaster, as it is still very much with us. What positive mindset did our leaders have to throw exorcist-charmed pots of ‘charm water’ into rivers, to beat the Covid virus?

How much of a positive mindset was there in the government supporting, and ministers, too, taking the local medicine syrup to fight this virus?

President Gotabaya must be glad that he was not seen in these showpieces of not only ignorant, but crooked moves to fight Covid, that has now moved to Omicron, and the calls for booster vaccines are not being heard very well.

What positive mindset did the President himself have to order the complete ban on chemical fertiliser imports, and call on our rice farmers, and vegetable and fruit growers, too, the so-called green farming using non-chemical fertiliser?

Seventy-four years after independence, and nearly 40 years after we began moving to sufficient rice cultivation, we are fast moving to a massive drop in rice production. The current Maha season is a disaster, and will also extend to the Yala season. There is certainly very loud ministerial talk of relief payments to the hugely hard-hit paddy farmers, which is nowhere near their needs, and will certainly not help the consumer demand for rice, vegetables and fruits.

 Is it any “positive ideas” or “dream of a future with optimism” that is making us import huge quantities of rice from China, Pakistan and Myanmar, leading us to a 75th Independence celebration as a nation of the hungry, with begging bowls for the traditional food of rice?

Can the President or any of his Viyathmaga advisors, tell us how ready he is to “provide the necessary leadership to overcome any challenge facing the country.”  Is the President still following the Central Bank Governor about having no crisis issue on foreign currency or dollar availability? Or is there a new leadership level in the presidency, ready to laugh at the Central Bank and its Governor?

How much support and necessary leadership will we have for the President’s own brother, the Finance Minister Basil R, moving to seek help from the IMF?

Is the President ready to tell the CBSL Governor, appointed by him, to have a ‘positive mindset’ to overcome the challenges facing this country, and give meaning to what was said at 74th Independence celebrations.

President Rajapaksa also said: “The greatest benefit from freedom is when everyone fulfills their duty to the country. It is not appropriate to speak of rights only, whilst forgetting responsibilities.”

 The big question that rings in our minds is how many current leaders fulfill their duty by the country. It is the ceremonial verbiage of the President. But what is it of his own government? What we see today is that fulfilling one’s duty in governance is the great escape of Rajapaksa rule. Fulfilling duties is certainly not limited to carpeting highways, roads and by-roads with costly tar. The duties of governance relate much more to the food of the people, and proper discipline in society.

How much of our Police service and other related organisations are carrying out their “duties in governance”? Seventy-four years since our first Independence Day, we are rapidly moving away from the very simple duties of governance. In fact, the duties of governance is the escape clause of today’s Rajavasala Rajapaksa Rule.

Let’s hope the President will have a richer and more meaningful message to the people on our 75th anniversary in Independence?