Editorial - Reduce pay and privileges of politicians

5 June 2012 08:54 pm

Responding to reports that India’s growth rate had fallen to 5.3 per cent, the lowest in more than ten years, and the value of the Indian rupee was plunging, the Indian Government last Friday ordered immediate austerity measures at the top. Visits abroad by big Government delegations and their extravagant spending were banned as were five-star hotel meetings for state institutions.

       Earlier last month France’s new President Francois Hollande launched a new austerity package with a 30 per cent pay cut for himself and the Cabinet. This was one of the promises he made in the election campaign and it was fulfilled within four days.
Sri Lanka’s political leaders need to follow these examples and launch an austerity package beginning at the top because our economy is also crumbling as seen in the huge trade deficit and the Rajapaksa regime is seeking another loan from the IMF to survive for a few more months.

In recent years the Government has been depending largely on China and India for loans and investments. Now with both those countries also facing economic crises the Government has no option but to launch an austerity package and begin it at the top.
As in France and India, the President and the Ministers need to take a substantial pay cut and a major reduction in the perks, privileges and allowances given to them. This could then be extended to all MPs, members of provincial and other local councils. They need to enter into a simple and humble lifestyle or alpechchathawaya which was a hallowed concept of our ancient civilization though it faded away when Sri Lanka swallowed wholesale the concepts of the globalised capitalist market economy in 1977.



If the political leadership sets the example, then the people will follow and it could help them cope with the cost of living which is soaring beyond the reach of millions of people.

Along with austerity and a simple lifestyle, Sri Lanka also needs to review and drastically reduce non-essential imports. For instance if we implement Professor Senaka Bibile’s Essential Medicines Concept (EMC), we could reduce the number of drugs being imported from more than 13,000 to less than 1,000. Sri Lanka could save millions of dollars in foreign exchange and use it  for preventive or primary health care. If we do this, we could make available quality drugs to all people at affordable prices.
Besides the National Medicinal Drugs Policy (NMDP), Sri Lanka also needs a food and nutrition policy whereby we could reduce food imports while encouraging and educating people to eat nutritious local food.

Through these and other ways Sri Lanka could reduce its trade deficit and put the country on the path to sustainable development.