Now, no excuses

President Mahinda Rajapaksa made a pertinent observation at Friday’s celebration to honour the valiant forces who brought victory to the country. Addressing the mass of humanity at the Parliament ground the President said he had now removed the cause that was held up as an excuse by all past leaders for the setback in the country’s development over the years.

“From the first to the fourth Executive President and Government of our country, whenever they had to face a problem they had an answer at the ready. It is to put all the blame on the war. But now that the war is over neither I, nor anyone who comes after, cannot say such a thing,” the President said.

The country at large no doubt would endorse this statement. It was the contention by the majority of the populace that all past Governments were using the war like a beggar’s wound, to cover up their shortcomings. In fact even in times there was a hiatus in fighting and when the guns fell silent during the Ceasefire Agreement no notable development was carried out.

This is because the leaders had already conditioned the people to accept this reality. The war situation was exploited by past regimes to do nothing on the development front. The country lived with a defeatist mindset.

On the contrary, President Rajapaksa embarked on all the development projects that were put on hold by previous regimes citing the war. The paradox of this was the President undertook to continue with these projects while fighting the war successfully at a time when the Defence budget was quadrupled.

Rising Defence expenditure was cited by all past regimes to cut down on public welfare and public sector wages.

The President on the contrary kept all welfare measures intact while increasing public sector wages to unprecedented limits. All this while pursuing steadily towards achieving the country’s development goals going to the extent of charting the 10 year development plan for the country. This while the war was being fought in earnest.

This showed the far-sighted vision of the President who held that developing the economy was as vital as fighting a war. Had not the mega development projects that were put in abeyance, such as the Norachcholai power project, re-started by the President, it would have not taken that much longer for the country to enjoy the fruits of the war victory.

The President’s remark hopefully would strike a chord with the country’s bureaucracy as well to redouble their efforts to get the economy going. For, the leaders can only set out their vision.

It is ultimately left to those down the line to put their collective shoulders to the wheel. It is no secret that this negative mindset sown by past leaders had even seeped into the country’s administration to such an extent that the bureaucracy too went along with the Government of the day that development cannot be accomplished due to the war.

Perhaps the underlining feeling was that the war would never end keeping them ensconced in their ivory towers with no contribution to the country’s development and progress.

Now though the time has come for all to wake up and follow the course charted by the President to accomplish the country’s development goals.

This can now be accomplished even more speedily with a sizable chunk of Defence budget diverted for development. It is in this context that the President’s resolve to effectively deal with waste and corruption assumes significance.

No doubt with the dawn of peace the country is set to witness unprecedented development. Already foreign Governments have come up with pledges with massive funding bound to pour into the country. It is the President’s desire that all these funds be utilized appropriately with no room left for waste and corruption.

The President we are sure will ensure no funds would go down the gurgler as happened in the past. For one thing, the magnitude of the reconstruction task is such that the Government cannot afford to let even a single penny go waste. There is also the priority of resettling the 250,000 or so IDPs in their original dwellings and restore their livelihoods.

But certainly the President has put the country on the road to development and progress by eliminating the single factor that stood in it’s way. He has opened the avenue for all future leaders to realise the full potential of this country. No leader can now plead war for shirking his duties towards the Motherland.