That smug look on the face of the president and tea pluckers

Estate workers have set an example to by doing their jobs to the best of their abilities to help Sri Lanka earn global attention and recognition in the tea business

An extra ordinary product like ‘Ceylon Tea’ can still come from a place where the workers aren’t the best paid and best looked after

Despite the present promises there is also a dark past where old memories exist where regimes did promise, but didn’t deliver  

Sri Lankans are used to ambling along the corridors of time during the penultimate month of the year. There could be two reasons for this. One is that they are very tired and are screaming for a break for the New Year. The second reason could be that people have already peaked once during the year and that once could have been somewhere during mid-year. Very few have the notion that they must finish the remaining two months of this calendar on a high!  

This scribe remembers professional body building legend, mathematics teacher and academic Frank Zane (Born on June 28, 1942) mentioning in his columns for ‘Muscle & Fitness’ that every physical culturist, irrespective of whether there is a show in December, must reach peak form during the last couple of days during the festive month of December. Zane, a three time Mr. Olympia winner, was always a fitness fanatic, but his opinion carried weight because he was also an academic and had insightful knowledge on food, herbs and supplements; hence his nick name ‘The Chemist’. He has a Bachelor of Science and a Doctorate in Psychology. When people with qualifications speak, people tend to listen.   

This same thing can be said about the present regime led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Just the other day he read out ‘Budget 2026’ and asked jokingly from the Opposition, “Does the budget make you think that the elections are around the corner”. The proposed Budget looks promising and focusses positively on the health services, digital infrastructure and education among loads of promises for other sectors. There is also support for those falling into the category called ‘vulnerable groups’. As a few more days will be dedicated in parliament for reading and debating contents in the Budget, people can ponder on or savour the comment that the president made in the lines that “this nation is now financially stable”.   

It suggests that the President means to say that ‘I have delivered before the year concluded; now you guys perform’. When a president presents a budget and tells parliament that allocations will be released for projects which are presented with solid plans, it keeps the state sector on its toes. The catchphrase ‘Sorry we’re closed for the new year’ could soon be outdated like the old film reel; people in photography have unlimited options with the invention of the card and they don’t have to often run to the store to purchase reels anymore.   

From the looks of it, this government will not venture into areas which the private sector is performing well in. For example the president played on the back foot when state officials said that Ratnapura doesn’t have a solid hotel to accommodate a massive delegation or large number of guests and that the government must construct a hotel facility to cater to this need. The president’s response was ‘rope in the private sector and attend to this need because that (Hotel business) is their forte’. This president knows the strengths and weaknesses of both the state and private sector; hence it is difficult to waste state funds with his blessings.  

Now the environment is getting colder and the festive seasons is just around the corner. This is the time of the year where we need that extra few cups of tea a day to keep our bodies warm and get through long days. The subject of tea and those workers who produce the leaf for that wonderful refreshing brew cannot to be forgotten. That’s why Budget 2026 has made provisions to raise the daily wage of the estate worker from Rs 1350 to 1750. The opposition in parliament might have complaints that the new budget allows the state to tax the poor and use that money to pay the salaries of labourers employed in the tea estates of rich morghuls. But someone has to solve this daily wage issue of the labourers and the government has made some start on this.  

The only little hitch is a dark past where past memories exist where regimes did promise, but didn’t deliver. There is also concerns about who knows best for these workers because both the Government of Sri Lanka and the Indian Government are involved in the welfare of the estate worker; hence questions are raised whether the estate workers’ dream of having an adequate pay and a decent living facilities can be eventually realized one day.   

While the people in power work on their welfare, these estate workers have set an example to by doing their jobs to the best of their abilities to help Sri Lanka earn global attention and recognition in the tea business. New Withanakande Ceylon B/ad Tea (FFExsp) entered her name in the Guinness book of world records by reaching a record price of 125000 Japanese Yen per kilo gram of tea at the Annual Ceylon Special Estate Tea Charity Auction. The moral of this story is an extra ordinary product can still come from a place where the workers aren’t the best paid and best looked after, but sport the loveliest of smiles.   

This regime constantly nudges the state worker to raise output and contribute more aggressively to the gross domestic product. Raising efficiency and replacing sour faces at work with pleasant ones is all one package. In this endevour the president could be the trend setter; his smug smile gives an indication that he is prepared for challenges when the professional road ahead is full of landmines in the form of provocative questions.   

When this president took office about a year ago and formed his cabinet, hardcore politicians in the opposition thought that this Executive might not have much of a chance to excel. But Dissanayake struck the right balance between state control and private enterprise; the results being a falling inflation and gaining GDP and a boost to investor confidence.   

In the past, by this time of the year, several politicians were appearing on tv shows and even demonstrating their cooking and singing skills at programs lined up for the festive season. Their (Lawmakers) celebratory status is gone now and members of the cabinet mean business where ever they set foot in; work day or public holiday.   

Even during the festive season when these politicians do take a break from work and travel with their families, let those vacations be working holidays. There is so much to be done!