The General Election (GE) of August 5, 2020, was held in a very challenging environment, having been postponed two times due to the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the world. Yet, by the time the GE was held, there was a semblance of normality in the country, thanks largely to the Covid control measures put in place by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Government. In fact, it was one of the most successful elections held in modern times despite the effects of the pandemic.
While the President was firmly at the helm by this time, several problems of governance prevailed due to the lack of a functioning Parliament. The House is responsible for financial affairs and the President’s powers and options in this regard were limited. This was a huge constraint in terms of allocating additional funds for anti-COVID efforts as well as for development. Even though the Opposition argued for reconvening the already dissolved Parliament to tide over these difficulties, President Rajapaksa was of the view that a fresh mandate should be obtained from the people to make a new start in governance. It was also felt that a Government comprising a majority of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) would resonate well with the policies of President Rajapaksa.
It was in this backdrop that the August 5, 2020 GE was held under strict compliance with all health guidelines. Despite the concerns over the pandemic, there was a very high voter turnout in nearly all areas, which once again demonstrated the Sri Lankans’ faith in democracy. The SLPP won a near two-thirds majority at the poll, with the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB), a breakaway faction of the United National Party (UNP) coming second. Significantly, the poll saw the decimation of the UNP (just one National List Seat) and even the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) won just one seat on its own, though it won another 13 under the SLPP ticket. Apart from the SLPP’s third consecutive victory at a national election, the poll signaled the end of the UNP as a traditional power base.
Forming and running a Government is a never easy, more so in the time of a pandemic. In fact, the Government had barely run for two months when the second wave of Covid-19 hit Sri Lanka, as a result of two clusters formed in Minuwangoda and Peliyagoda. This was a huge challenge that took several months to overcome.
The new Government had to allocate vast resources for the COVID fight – resources and funds that could otherwise have gone for development and welfare, including health sector development. Statistics indicate that the Government has spent close to Rs.400 billion on anti-COVID efforts (PCR and Lateral Flow Tests, hospital treatment etc.) alone so far, with another US$ 110 million on vaccine procurement mainly from China, USA and Russia.
The lockdowns, which were necessary from an epidemiological point of view to control the spread of COVID-19, also cost the country heavily. The losses incurred from the repeated lockdowns, curfews and travel restrictions is estimated at over RS.9,000 million. Still, the Government managed to provide an allowance of Rs.5,000 per family for underprivileged segments of society. Now the Government has ruled out future lockdowns, bearing in mind the harm caused to the economy and other sectors.
As it steps into its second year, the Government has several major challenges to face. The first challenge is achieving herd immunity for Covid-19 by inoculating around 70-80 per cent of the eligible population of those over 18 (Schoolchildren aged 12-17 too are to be inoculated in due course). This goal should be possible at the rate vaccines are being procured from around the world and injected into people’s arms – in fact, the WHO Chief recently congratulated Sri Lanka on the success of its vaccination programme. The fact that vaccine hesitancy is almost non-existent here will make this task easier. The aim is to vaccinate all eligible persons by September this year so that the country could be reopened fully and all economic sectors reactivated.
One of the other major challenges is resuming in-person education, which has been hampered by the pandemic. Once the present teachers’ strike is resolved, the Government should seriously look at resuming classroom education as soon as possible. Again, almost all the teachers have been vaccinated, which should put them and the students at ease. In the meantime, the Government must improve online education with the future in mind, in terms of making devices available via affordable methods and enhancing the 4G signals in remote areas. The Government should be commended for starting several dedicated educational TV channels for students who may not have access to laptops, tablets or smartphones. Education in the future will be ‘hybrid’ – a mix of online and in-person teaching and we have to be ready for that from now on.
The revival of tourism is yet another challenge that also depends on how the entire world emerges from the pandemic. Yet, there are signs of a rebound in international travel and tourism, with most airlines back in the sky. A number of airlines which have been spurred by this trend announced the resumption of flights to Colombo, including Air India and Aeroflot. Air France, with flights starting from Paris in November, will be a new entrant to the Sri Lankan market. Several other airlines such as US Bangla, Biman Bangladesh and FlyPop are mulling flights to Sri Lanka. It is vital to get tourism back on track as it contributes around US$ 4 billion to our coffers every year. With the pandemic likely to become an endemic disease like the flu in the coming years, the Government has also set its sights on ‘digital tourists’ – people who prefer to work from anywhere in the world.
The Government has also begun an ambitious renewable energy drive, with the aim of procuring 80 per cent of the energy needs mainly from solar and wind by 2030. New renewable sources such as geothermal and wave energy could also come in to this picture by that time. It has also been suggested to move away from diesel and petrol vehicles in favour of electric passenger vehicles by 2030.
A lot also depends on the pandemic response of the authorities. A few years from now, the pandemic could be a distant memory, but we should learn the relevant lessons from this health crisis and be ready for another potential pandemic some years down the road. It is essential to form a high-powered Pandemic Response Task Force to keep track of the evolving viral disease landscape since scientists predict the emergence of more zoonotic diseases such as COVID in the future. We must be ready from now on to guard against any such possibility. Health should indeed be Sri Lanka’s greatest wealth.
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