100 Days

The Government’s scorecard:

by Ranil Wijayapala

For years, election manifestos have been used as mere political props by politicians, only to ignore the pledges. They have felt no compulsion to deliver on promises nor to demonstrate a measure of accountability towards the voters.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and President Maithripala Sirisena

But voters today are increasingly aware of the ‘manifesto ploy’ and seek to hold their elected representatives accountable and demand delivery on election pledges.

The 100- Day Program of Maitripala Sirisena in January as the common opposition presidential candidate has become a hot topic of debate, with political parties and citizens calling for the delivery on the key promises made, within the first 100 days in office.

A key aspect of the 100-Day Program is that President Maithripala Sirisena has, besides identifying key tasks to be achieved within the first 100 days in office, has also set deadlines for the key tasks, showing a measure of seriousness, not evidenced in Sri Lanka before.

Process begins

The starting of the abolishing of executive presidency through a number of progressive measures, commencement of investigations into corruption and taking action against offenders, reintroduction of the independent commissions, introduction of electoral reforms, introduction of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Bill and the Right to Information Bill.

As the Government completes the first 100 days in office, it has also become a litmus test for the administrators on their own efficiency and sincerity of political purpose.

The two main steps this week are to be – the passage of the 19th and 20th Amendments to the Constitution - with the former now scheduled to be debated in Parliament on 20-21 April.

The first step was to limit the Cabinet to 25, representing all political parties. However, on January 12, the Cabinet included 27 ministers. Cabinet Ministers including President and the Prime Minister were sworn in on January 12. But the numbers have swelled, with new add-ons on March 15, accommodating more Sri Lanka Freedom Party(SLFP) members, a party now headed by President Maitripala Sirisena.

The appointment of the National Advisory Council was also delayed but later introduced as the National Executive Council, with the representations from government constituent parties.

The adoption of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Bill is considered one of the biggest achievements during the period, something Sri Lanka had failed to address for decades. Passed in Parliament with a large majority, the National Audit Bill and the Right to Information Bill are still to become a reality.

A huge area of criticism- both from politicians and the public- is the delays in corruption investigations. Though many investigations are currently underway, the slow progress is taxing peoples’ patience.

However, the Government also appointed the Committee Against Corruption, headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, two weeks in advance and an Urgent Response Committee, with JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake as its co-ordinator, quelling some dissatisfaction.

The Government has managed to provide some economic relief to the public, when it reduced the prices of 13 essential items through its interim budget and offering a salary increase for public servants.

The most critical political reforms process was to start on January 21 with steps being taken to reduce executive presidential powers and the abolition of the 18th Amendment, paving the way for the establishment of independent commissions was.

This process commenced on January 22, but the process itself is plagued by the Government's sheer lack of majority to muster a 2/3 majority in the House.

Ambitious program

Nishantha Warnasinghe, Spokesman for the Jathika Hela Urumaya(JHU) said, there are various indicators to assess the 100 days in office, but added that the ambitious program was not introduced with the agreement of all the parties and civil society organizations that supported Sirisena's candidature.

According to him, the 100- Day program was the brainchild of Minister Mangala Samaraweera and advertising guru, Erwin Weerakkody.

Warnasinghe critiqued the United national Party(UNP) for failing to win the support of all political parties in the House to support the program which contains some politically significant measures.

" The UNP lacked the political maturity to get everyone on board.”

“The UNP was reluctant to get the support of the SLFP and their behaviour in Parliament and outside was negative towards the SLFP. This is why the appointment of SLFP Cabinet Ministers was delayed until the Government reached a crisis point”, he added.

“The UNP failed to act in a transparent manner and win the confidence of other political parties. That is why the constitutional amendment process had to be postponed to April 20,” he added.

“As the JHU, we felt compelled to reveal the UNP's secret agenda to the public. The UNP is clearly not interested in electoral reforms the way it is committed to the abolition of the executive presidency, an office held by a SLFPer.” When it comes to the fight against corruption, the UNP did not show any interest in bringing wrongdoers to book either. They have failed to litigate against members of the Rajapaksa family. “People lost confidence in them on the way they acted on the Avant Guard issue and the Central Bank bond issue,” he added.

“The UNP has not even achieved ¼ of the work planned for this period,” he sumThe JHU's stance is that pledges made should be first fulfilled before going for an election. There is no need to dissolve parliament in a hurry when it has the legitimate right to continue for some more months. We are also for the extension of the time period for achieving these tasks, if the Government is sincerely committed to do so,” Warmasinghe said.

Stern action not forthcoming

JVP parliamentarian for Colombo, Sunil Handunnetti said, although the JVOP was not extremely pleased with the performance so far, there was reason to be happy about the action taken to nap corrupt elements and relief provided to the public.

He said, the initiative has helped create an enabling environment,compared to the previous situation. However, what people desired was not relief but stern action against those responsible for frauds and corruption. “People are not satisfied with the slow pace with which corruption investigations are handled,” Handunnetti said.

“The Government must deliver on its pledge to dissolve Parliament on April 23. it is immaterial whether all tasks on the list have been achieved or not. On the other hand, people will also give their verdict on those who do to support the initial 19 Amendment to be placed before parliament on Monday,” he added.

According to Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri, the Government is not serious about the 100 Day Program. The targets could not be achieved due to the lack of majority in the House.

“The political equilibrium of the government mainly centered around the Ranil Wickremesinghe-led United National Party, a faction of the SLFPers led by former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge and the Jathika Hela Urumaya. That political equilibrium was changed when Maithripala Sirisena became the SLFP Chairman,”he noted. The action of the JHU and the emergence of political movement in favour of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa also became spoilers, Devasiri added.

Many targets achieved

Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Policy Planning, Dr. Harsha de Silva, said the 100- Days Program had reached several desired targets such as providing relief to the people, reintroducing democracy and mainstreaming good governance and in the launching of its battle against institutionalized corruption. The reduction of prices of 13 essential items through the interim budget, the increase of salaries of public servants and pensioners, coupled with increased rubber and tea prices have reduced the cost of living, he said.

“There is much that goes unappreciated but already achieved,” De Silva said.