Are you ready Mr. President?
Sri Lanka is slowly recovering from the effects the civil war that ended in 2009, with many issues still left unresolved mainly due to infighting in the legislature between dominating greedy and corrupt members of the past and present governments. Past one decade rulers have been focusing on accelerating the much needed economic growth, however the net results have been very disappointing to say the least due the absence of a holistic rule.
As a middle-income country the island nation has failed to minimize geographic and socio-economic development disparities to cause several uprisings and a civil war that lasted over three decades to put development back by five decades. During the past five decades, successive governments implemented many poverty alleviation programmes targeting directly the poor masses in the rural and identified urban areas without producing the desired results. Thus widespread disparities still exist in the socioeconomic conditions especially among communities that had been significantly affected by the three decades of civil war. Now the [RT1] present government with its corrupt legislature is struggling to ensure good governance to sustain peace and efforts to progress towards achieving food security, improved nutrition and gender equality have not been equally swift.
The bitter truth is the country has had many leaders shackled to their party politics were prevented to provide a holistic rule and in the seventy years of independence with a corrupt system of rule prevailing left the whole nation ruined as the whole world watched in disgust. However, there were two exceptional leaders to this general rule, one each from the United National Party and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party as the two largest political parties that has been alternating to rule the country for seven decades. Downheartedly these two leaders with different background accepting the truth that the country was multi-ethnic and multi-religious projected to provide an all-inclusive holistic rule for the people, were both promptly nipped in the bud in a corrupt system of rule by people with wrong mild set to make history.
Naturally people expected this pattern to change after electing a common candidate with the Wind of Change of 2015 that gave a new president to bring a new beginning of democratic governance, mooted by the will of the majority of Sri Lankans led by none other than the Ven. Madulwawe Sobhitha Thero. Then as the country was set to accelerate with development activities, it needed a leader who is not attached to any particular political party and prepared to provide a holistic rule to have the people behind him to support the endeavours. The new president was well placed to unshackle him from party politics and provide a holistic rule to cover all communities. Unfortunately, like all previous leaders he too opted to put party ahead of the state thereby wasted four years that impacted the minorities most due to delays on resolution of many national problems. Not to be outdone the main political parties in government though in alliance failed to work as a single unit and the Wind of Change failed to produce desired results.
Now the country cannot afford to wait to find another common candidate to take over the presidency from the current mild-mannered president, who contrary to all expectations, has demonstrated to the country that he got what it takes to be a Head of State. Bur for a holistic rule to take the country forward, the country desperately needs a national leader not attached to any political party. Therefore, in the interest of the country the president should resign from the leadership of his party that he has served so well, to lay the foundation to continue as the common leader of the people. Then president should convince the people that the present constitution needs to be replaced to solve all ills in the country as it is inadequate for a corruption free rule. To work towards the one nation concept, the president must appoint a presidential commission made up of civil minded people from people organisations; but exclude all political parties and the present set of corrupt legislators to draw up a new constitution that enable more people to participate in the decision making process in regard to the issues of public importance, rather than as at present restricting only to the legislators. That in itself would induce all political parties to field corruption free candidates at the 2020 General Election. The General Election shall be held as scheduled in 2020 with the current constitution, while the drafted new constitution presented to the new parliament for review approval and the people thereafter for a referendum to make it law. In the meantime the president must continue his rule to develop the nation, leaving it to the people to decide who forms the next government. Thereafter the the people shall request the president to oblige them again to be their common “One Nation candidate” at the next presidential election.
Northern Breeze 