Sri Lanka can be one of the greatest nations on earth
and we have never been closer to achieving that vision
Anyone who still thinks Sri Lanka needs an autocratic leader like Gotabaya Rajapaksa should understand that our country, by design, is not suited for authoritarianism. To see why, you only need to look at the ONE common trait all countries with autocratic leaders have—Oil (and Gas).
Countries that are endowed with copious barrels of black gold under their land never have to worry about public finance. Even if that country produced nothing else and its residents simply slept all day, the country will make enough money from Oil and Gas to sustain its public services, pay salaries, and offer tax concessions. Russia for example makes US$ 1 billion each day from Oil and Gas exports to Europe alone — Sri Lanka barely has that much left in its entire treasury.
So countries with Oil revenues have no need to impose taxes. They can keep interest rates down forever without worrying about demand-driven inflation so long as their governments can afford to subsidise goods and services. Most Middle Eastern countries pay next to nothing in taxes and public utilities are cheap or free. By providing its citizens a cushy life, governments in such countries can afford to stay in power with impunity, and with its leaders as authoritarian Presidents for as long as Oil money flows—and as current events in Russia and Ukraine show, the world is NOT ready to abandon fossil fuels just yet.
Sri Lanka however is a service-driven economy. Our biggest export is domestic workers and tourism is our largest industry. Manufacturing (of garments and such) are also largely a service driven industry. And countries that rely on its labour force to add to its GDP cannot have an authoritarian ruler who has nothing to offer but words and empty promises. So as long as Sri Lanka doesn’t suddenly find Oil somewhere in its landmass and make enough money to repay its debts ten times over, we MUST rely on our people. And Sri Lankan people are, by and large, extremely literate, entrepreneurial, deeply committed to human values, and dedicated (as present wave of protests show), that we only really need a competent and stable government who can provide us a safe and secure environment in which to thrive. We need reliable electricity and uninterrupted supplies of fuel, gas, and other essentials. We don’t need handouts and even if we did, Rs. 5,000 is not going to cut it and you can’t print enough to make a dent—so stop trying and getting us deeper into a bottomless debt-hole.
Despite all the challenges we are facing today, yesterday I felt pride driving down Galle Face. I felt in my bones that a future President was among that crowd at GotaGoGama, and I hope the young men and women out there protesting boldly and relentlessly continue to do so, and take their struggle through the formal channels by getting involved in the political process. We MUST protect our democracy at all costs but the systems within that breeds corruption needs to change — and we cannot expect change to come from those who directly benefit from such systems being imperfect. We need a fresh wave of young and educated people with new and progressive ideas to take up the mantle, and those who are not tarnished by greed and corruption to step up and get involved at grassroots levels. The only sustainable way to change any system, is to change it from the the ground up.
