Government learning lessons the hard way

Less than three months into his presidency and weeks into office of the NPP-led Government, much of the euphoria around the election victory has evaporated and the Government has been brought down to earth far quicker than expected.

From rice and coconut shortages to spiralling costs, failure to follow up on election promises to reduce fuel and electricity costs to questions over alleged fake qualifications, the Government is having its hands full.

The question arises how much of a grace period should a new government in office get before they are cornered? Usually, the effectiveness of a new government is measured by its first 100 days in office. The 100-day concept had been pioneered by US president Franklin D. Roosevelt when he took office in 1933 and all new governments set out a timeline of measures they hoped to adopt in the first 100 days. We have had no promises from the new President nor his Government on undertakings for the first 100 days in office and hence what the Government is being judged on is on its election promises.

Reduction of fuel and electricity prices were among the most talked about by the NPP during the election campaigns with a promise to reduce costs once in power. There has been some reduction in some fuel prices but no cut in electricity costs.

There were also promises to reduce the price of rice and crack down on the rice mafia but what consumers are facing now is shortages, steep prices. The same is true of coconuts and other essential goods. Realistically there are numerous reasons for this situation including environment issues hence blaming the Government wholesale for shortages is unfair, but these are early lessons for the new Government which is learning the hard way that many things are easier said than done.

On top of this the Government is facing an embarrassing situation with serious questions raised regarding the educational qualifications of the new speaker Asoka Ranwala. His official CV claims he has a doctorate from a Japanese university but there are doubts if he actually has completed his doctoral studies. This is an egg on the face of the NPP not because the Speaker has to have a PhD, but because the NPP portrayed itself as superior to politicians of other parties because they were ‘well educated’ but this fiasco raises questions about how many of the doctors, engineers and others with all kinds of fancy qualifications in the NPP actually hold such qualifications.

At least in hindsight, those in the NPP should understand that putting themselves on some sort of superior pedestal while putting others down as only “eighth pass” (ate pass) during the election campaign was more infantile behaviour on their part than a show of political maturity. What makes a good politician is not a paper qualification but an honest and serious commitment to serve the public. Fancy qualifications suit better in boardrooms than in parliament where public service is number one and not having framed certificates and graduation photographs on the wall.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on his part has been most pragmatic so far but as has been the case with previous presidents, it has fallen on him to take up all issues even when there are subject ministers for various subjects including trade and agriculture. Ministers will need to be better placed to address the problems in their fields and for this they need to go beyond making populist statements and take level-headed decisions. This will take some time given that almost all are new to office but one thing to be borne in mind is that blaming past Governments for all the present-day sins will only go so far and will not be an excuse for much longer.

In a democracy, getting elected is the easy part but retaining the confidence of the voters is more difficult. It’s a lesson that is often learned the hard way.