Taking Stock Of Yahapālanaya & The Way Forward

By Ravindra Galhena –June 7, 2016

Ravindra Galhena

Last year on January 8th, people of this country did take an important decision at the Presidential Election. This decision was reaffirmed by the subsequently held General Election. It was an ardent loud and clear call against corruption, bribery, waste, nepotism and other social evils. The collective message was that the country’s political landscape should be changed for better!

I was one of the people who supported and voted for the change. In my personal capacity, I also did canvass and convince people to cast their vote against the then incumbent regime and the corrupt politicians. Definitely, this was not out of malice, but it was a must at the time, for the best interest of my country!

After the change, I wrote my very first article on politics (I have written many articles but those were based on my professional expertise) to the ‘Sunday Observer’ of February 15, 2015 and it was entitled: ‘Wiping out terrorism, feather in Rajapaksa’s cap’. In my view, this title did not go with its content (you too might agree with me if you read it), but it was an executive decision, made by the editor at the time, to serve his defeated political master further!

Through this article, I constructively (my hope at least) criticised President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his undemocratic moves, short-sighted vision and decisions, personal agenda which were simply unbecoming of his position that put the country in the doldrums.

That being said, we the Sri Lankans have now given a clear mandate to President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to bring the country back on the right track sooner rather than later. This entails conceptualising a long-lasting vision that will take Sri Lanka through the 21st century in a sustainable way.

However, President Sirisena, Premier Wickremesinghe and their government have been bequeathed an uphill task of setting their house in order. As they are now about 17 months into the task, it would be interesting to examine the progress or the lack of it, the country so far has seen, and the new direction the government is practically taking.

In the said context, it is my intention to ponder on the following in this article; (not listed in any particular order)

People’s right to accurate information

Let me make my premise to the discussion with a personal observation. As a citizen of this country, what I have been experiencing last several months is only the noise and clutter. In my view, this gives confusing messages and the government has not paid enough attention to keep its citizens reasonably informed! In other words, the people are not quite sure of the direction or progress the country has been really making to which they have a fundamental right. This shortcoming is becoming increasingly noticeable as the days go by as expectations of masses from the ‘Yahapalanaya’ (good governance) government are quite high!

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