Sri Lanka: Where’s the Baby, Anura?

Questions Being Asked About the Government:

Have the thieves been caught?
Has the tax been reduced?
Has the IMF agreement been changed?
Have they stopped corruption and brought prices down?
Have they stopped privatisation?

When the opposition raised these questions during the early days of Anura’s presidency, the JVP responded, “Just as it takes nine months to have a baby, these complex problems cannot be solved in just two months. Don’t worry—work is happening behind the scenes.”

However, by August, Anura will have been President for eleven months. Using the JVP’s own analogy, someone on Facebook pointed out: “If it takes nine months to have a baby, then by now the baby should have been born”—implying that enough time has passed to expect concrete results.

This post criticises the government for relying on the excuse that “it takes time”, despite having had more than enough time (according to their own timeline) to deliver on their promises.

It is said that you can judge the growth of a tree by its two branches, but eleven months—or even a year—is sufficient time to evaluate the work of a government. Starting with Sri Lanka’s first Executive President, J.R. Jayewardene, this becomes clearly evident.

J.R. came to power in 1977 and launched a major economic revolution within his first year. He liberalised the economy and made sweeping changes that were immediately visible to the public. The Greater Colombo Economic Commission and Free Trade Zones were established in the initial months. To the people who had suffered in queues, J.R.’s early actions felt like magic. While Lalith was building the Free Market, Gamini was securing funds for the Mahaweli project. Premadasa began constructing housing for villagers—all within the first year.

Premadasa became President when the Indian Army was in the North and the JVP was igniting unrest in the South. They famously claimed to have a fire that would consume both ends.

Premadasa made two key promises during his campaign: the withdrawal of Indian troops and the implementation of Janasaviya. Both were considered nearly impossible to fulfil.

Former Finance Minister Ronnie de Mel had predicted that Janasaviya would not receive financial support from the World Bank. Everyone, except Premadasa, believed that India would not withdraw its troops.

Yet, amid the JVP’s reign of terror, Premadasa began distributing aid through Janasaviya in his first year. He brought the LTTE to the negotiating table and demonstrated to India that they were open to a resolution. He relentlessly pressured India to withdraw its troops.

A.J. Ranasinghe once said that Premadasa even threatened to commit suicide in front of the Indian High Commission. Then, unexpectedly, in March 1990, India announced the withdrawal of its forces. Premadasa had become President on 19 December 1988. Just one year and three months later, he had achieved what many thought was impossible.

When Chandrika came to power in 1994, one of her most prominent promises was to reduce the price of bread to Rs. 3.50 and bring peace to the North. She fulfilled her promise about bread—although she later increased the price. In her first year, she also initiated peace talks to resolve the conflict in the North. She promised to abolish the executive presidency, a pledge she ultimately failed to deliver on. However, in her first year, she established a parliamentary committee to draft a new constitution aimed at eliminating the executive presidency.

She also vowed to appoint commissions to investigate the murders of Kobbekaduwa, Vijaya, Lalith, and JVP members, as well as the disappearances. These commissions were indeed set up within the first few months and began gathering evidence. She appointed a separate commission to investigate bribery and corruption. In doing so, she demonstrated early on that she was taking her promises seriously. That commission later became ineffectual, but at least the process had begun as promised.

Mahinda Rajapaksa became President in 2005, making a singular pledge: to liberate the country from the LTTE. He also promised to restore the fertiliser subsidy and to stop privatisation. Mahinda initiated military action via Mavil Aru in his first year. He took office on 17 November 2005 and began military operations to open the Mavil Aru sluice gates by July 2006. He reinstated the fertiliser subsidy immediately and halted the privatisation of state institutions. He even re-nationalised SriLankan Airlines.

In 2015, the Maithri-Ranil government came into power with a list of promises: to abolish the executive presidency, prosecute corrupt officials, reduce the cost of living, and increase government sector salaries.

In April 2015, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was passed—despite the government not having a parliamentary majority at the time. This amendment curbed the excessive powers of the executive presidency, although the Supreme Court ruled it could not be abolished entirely.

In January 2015, the budget granted an unprecedented Rs. 10,000 salary increase for government employees. Oil prices dropped by Rs. 33, and gas cylinders became Rs. 300 cheaper. The prices of milk powder and many other essentials fell. While the promise to prosecute thieves remained largely unfulfilled, the rest of the promises were delivered within the first few months. Taxes were imposed on the wealthy.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa became President in 2019 and, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, immediately rolled back the tax increases imposed by the Maithri-Ranil government. He scrapped the agreement to hand over the Eastern Terminal of the port to India, sticking to his anti-privatisation platform.

He also terminated the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) programme as promised. The US Secretary of State even visited Sri Lanka to try to salvage it, but the SLPP had already built their campaign around opposing it. Despite the MCC narrative being based on misinformation, Gotabaya upheld the promise. He honoured his commitments even in the face of a pandemic. The country may have suffered as a result—but his word was kept.