AKD of a hundred days

It is now over three months since the National People’s Power (NPP) -a ‘left-leaning’ political party- was elected into power. The party led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) was voted into power by people who were sick and tired of past leaders who promised much, but whose terms were blighted with corruption and broken promises. 
The main platform of the president’s party was to restore law and order and bring to book crooked politicians and their henchmen. It would also attempt to renegotiate the deal which the outgoing government had negotiated with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which had led to severe austerity measures, tax rises and cuts in subsidies - all of which hit the poor hard. 
Both the president and his party promised to dismantle the oppressive and notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). This piece of legislation effectively turned on its head the concept that a person was not presumed guilty until convicted in a court of law. It permitted accused persons to be held in custody for lengthy periods before being charged before a court of Law.

To help the new president implement these policies, the electorate gave him and his government a two-thirds majority in parliament. Even the minority communities extended him a helping hand. The Tamil community - which since independence voted for regional political parties based on parochial interests, gave the president a vote of confidence by handing his party victory in the Northern province.
After coming into power, despite promising to renegotiate the IMF bailout package, the government has had to eat humble pie. Nothing in the IMF deal has changed.
Despite promising to bring the cost of living down to affordable levels, prices have escalated. Even the price of our staple food -rice- has gone beyond the reach of not only the weakest sections of society, but also beyond the reach of the middle classes. 
The Report of the Select Committee of Parliament shows 1.2% of all children under the age of 5 are affected by severe acute malnutrition. Numerically, nearly 16,000 children suffer from such acute malnutrition. The Nutrition Month 2023 report revealed a 10.3% increase in stunting among children under the age of five, an increase of 9.2% from the previous year.
Rather than admitting its failure, government ministers blame the previous regime for creating the problem. The people of this country know this. They do not need government ministers to cast their silly pearls of wisdom before them.
It was in fact to change this situation, the NPP was elected into power. To make this bad or sad situation worse, political rejects have seized on these failures to go on the offensive. A few of them even having the gumption to proffer advice on how the country should be run.
In summery, during its first hundreds days, the new government has not fulfilled the people’s expectations. Nor has it brought succour to its hungry citizenry. Government has however taken the first steps to bring in an element of law and order. Police have begun cracking down on errant drivers -a small, but first step.
Drivers of privately-owned buses, drivers of three-wheelers and drivers of politicians had become a law unto themselves. They broke the law with impunity. So-much-so a chairman of a private bus owners association even threatened to pull his buses off the streets if the impunity that the drivers enjoyed was withdrawn!
While prices of rice and other essentials need to be reduced, it cannot be at the expense of the farmers who receive a tuppence for his produce. Plans need to be drawn up to include a support structure to help the farming community receive better remuneration, while ensuring consumers are not exploited. Quick-fix measures such as imports to lower prices is not the answer. 
The stranglehold and manipulation of the price of rice, needs to be broken. Surely our president from a farming background and his team should have planned their strategies long before they were elected to power.
While quick fixes can bring temporary relief, they are not the answer to the problem. Yet, government needs to give a desperate people some relief. Therefore it is necessary that the government comes up with long-term plans to avoid falling into similar situations in future.