Ranil’s dilemma

When now President Ranil Wickremesinghe was made prime minister by then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the country was presented with a candidly accurate picture of the economic predicament Sri Lanka was mired in. RW chose parliament as the forum to take the country into his confidence and convey the bad news not once but many times over. The people, of course, needed no convincing. The kilometers long fuel queues, gas queues, power cuts and rocketing food prices were evidence enough. Last week he went back to parliament, exercising his presidential prerogative to address the legislature at will, not only to tell the country that the situation was still bad, but also to declare as the state-controlled Daily News had in an unusually prominent front page banner headline that “Government (was) Ready To Overcome Worst Economic Crisis in History.”

 Half the front page of the paper was crammed with highlights of Wickremesinghe’s speech with a photograph of the president making his address. The news it conveyed was both good and bad. The good news included Japan’s agreement to play a lead mediator role in restructuring Sri Lanka’s debt; support from India and Prime Minister Modi; the commencement of restructuring massive loss-making state enterprises; the ADB’s willingness to provide us a USD 500 million loan; nobody having to stand in gas and fuel queues any longer etc. The bad news was the ignorance of some political parties assuming the country “is in a sound state;” and of some politicians thinking that if the economy collapses and people die, they can gain power over dead bodies.

Usefully, the president reminded  us that all citizen of this country pay taxes “without realizing it.” It needs to be pointed out, especially to income tax payers grumbling mightily about what they have to pay, that most government revenue come from general and not direct taxes. General taxes apply to all, both rich and poor alike. As one newspaper editor said decades ago, “every time you strike a match or flush the toilet, you are paying a tax.” The very popular Illustrated Weekly of India of yesteryear, once quoted a market vendor telling an affluent customer, “If I had your income, I’d be glad to pay your taxes.”

Wickremesinghe also said in his parliamentary address that at  “a time when no other political party or leader would accept the risk, I accepted it.” That certainly is the truth, but not the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It is publicly known that the beleaguered Gotabaya Rajapaksa, compelled to get rid of brother Mahinda who enthroned him, after political goons were unleashed from Temple Trees on the Aragalaya protesters, offered the prime ministry both to Sajith Premadasa and the Field Marshal he imprisoned. But that offer was not open to all takers. RW, among the most experienced politicians now incumbent and among the few with the ability to do the job, accepted the offer to work with GR. This despite his reducing the UNP to zero (except for a single National List seat). He even lost his own Colombo Central seat, long a bastion of his party. GR’s eventual expulsion propelled Wickremesinghe to the presidency on the back of the parliamentary votes of the Rajapaksa controlled SLPP. None would believe that RW did not well know when he accepted the prime ministry that, like it or not, he was crowned to protect the Rajapaksa. That is the major part of the job he has been compelled to reluctantly do.

We for our part do not believe that Wickremesinghe relished the recent appointing of 38 state ministers, among them some known miscreants. They are now in office at considerable cost to the taxpayer. Claiming they are not drawing any emoluments outside their compensation as Members of Parliament would  have cut little ice with the thinking public at large. The people well know what the perks and staff accompanying such appointments mean to the tax exchequer. The president dragged his feet on appointing the new state minister and most likely caved into SLPP pressure as he had done before on cabinet appointments.

He’s also being pushed to add to the 20-strong cabinet which is pending business to be completed sooner rather than later. Already Minister Bandula Gunawardena, a co-cabinet spokesperson, is arguing the case for expanding the cabinet. He recently said in justification that existing ministers are overloaded with work. Given the country’s current predicament, the JVP assessment that the country does not need more than 25 cabinet ministers, a like number of deputy ministers and no state ministers at all will surely resonate with the people struggling to survive.

 The Rajapaksas, other than Gotabaya, crawled into the woodwork following MR’s resignation that dissolved the cabinet. One of them is back among the new state ministers in a portfolio previously held by his father. Namal Rajapaksa appears to be knocking at the door to make a comeback. What conditions Wickremesinghe stipulated, if any, to become prime minister is not known. GR, ensconced in a government bungalow with all the privileges of a former president has been receiving callers including at least one foreign dignitary. The SLPP is holding strategy meetings to plot a Rajapaksa comeback. Though Basil Rajapaksa is in the U.S. he is known to be pulling the strings in that party. There will be surely no move to get rid of Wickremesinghe ahead of the balance of the GR term. But he will remain a prisoner of the SLPP until next February when he’ll be empowered to dissolve parliament and hold an election the whole country yearns for.