Earlier this year it was ‘Feel Good Factor’, that could hardly convince even ‘sa ki pli kouyon…’. Months later in July, it is ‘pwalon la so’. Strangely enough only weeks on the heels of the penultimate(?) Budget of the present mandate, with again beefed-up ‘universal’ Basic Retirement Pension (BRP) – in spite of all enlightened warnings as to where persistence in that universality will inevitably lead in the not too distant future* -, ornamented with the birthday gift to would-be 18 years old, indeed ‘le bouquet’ in a series of oddities concoted by the Chancellor over the years, a manner for him to demonstrate his knack to ‘persiste et signe’.
Coming from the mouth of the Tsar, – reputed for their propensity to cover-up – this ‘pwalon la so’ betrays the seriousness of a situation the ruling incumbents can no longer hide, too hot to handle, the consequence of economic mismanagement and unjustified munificence which top economists have regularly underlined – albeit often in what appeared to be mitigated terms, the possible consequence of that lurking fear to speak against the ruling overlords that permeates the whole island -, ever since the reigning Chancellor has held the strings of the purse. While a few, admittedly, did put things in blunt terms.
Many may recall the remarks of a top economist after the presentation of the Budget in mid 2020 ‘Comment fera-t-il pour balancer son Budget’?, the ‘Disaster in the Making’ of a qualified professional relating to the (in)famous CSG, or the more biting ‘fiscal skulduggery’, a real eye-opener, in 2022. But hardly can it be expected the Tsar to concede the overheating of the ‘pwalon’ is the result of economic mismanagement, still less fiscal skulduggery that has enabled Mr Renga not to let the cat out of the bag thus far. The favourite scapegoat, ‘the war in Ukraine’, is still here, what! Have we not been accustomed to ‘tous les malheurs du monde sont les conséquences de la guerre en Ukraine’. Yet, the Chancellor was already riding high well before the war in Ukraine started! Or could it be the consequence of the ‘infiltrating Mafia’?
It is to be wondered who, or what, prompted the Tsar to say ‘pwalon la so’, he who is supposed to oversee the preparation of the Budget. In June last, he qualified the budgetary measures as the right strategy to open the way ‘pour des lendemains meilleurs’. Weeks later, the analysis is ‘dife dan lanka’! Comprenne qui pourra! Here allow me to ask the regular reader : ‘No recollection of things hidden to come out in the open’? And this time no need for whistleblowing. ‘Unsolicited confession’ that nevertheless betrays what had already become manifest of late, albeit against the backdrop of ‘tout va très bien, Madame la Marquise’.
Sometime back I invited the attention of the readers of this column, more precisely Net surfers to detailed analyses of what led to the economic collapse in Sri Lanka caused by, among other factors, the debt trap, overspending and other abuses and extravagancies of the ‘Rajapaksa Clique’. One analysis bluntly stated what took place in Sri Lanka will have domino effects. One top economist even talked of ‘global economic collapse’ in the offing. The World Bank, for its part, and for obvious reasons, preferred such euphemism as ‘global economic slowdown’. The future will reveal the local ‘alter ego’ of the Rajapaksa Clique.
On face value, what precedes may appear tinted with political bias. Yet, at the risk of repeating myself, I must remind I write from a different perspective. And it remains my conviction the regular reader must by now have understood that the main aim of my notes is to direct the spotlight on things eminently more crucial than petty politics. What would be the purpose of getting embroiled in political bickerings when we are in a situation that cannot be worse – hardly any need to specify the areas of rot -, and while ‘ena enn bef’ on the one to lead the assault to attempt to oust the incumbents as supposedy the only credible alternative. ‘Credible alternative’? My foot! Rather the only arrangement that affords a chance to ‘get through’, yet not survival.
And in the meantime let everyone prepare to witness staggering events ahead! Let the sceptics frown as much as they wish, but my oft-made promise to be back at the right time still stands. And as at now, the wait won’t be long! And this said without any peremptoriness.
And to conclude a fitting Bible quote: ‘Because sentence against a bad deed has not been executed speedily, the heart of men becomes emboldened to do bad,’ (Ecclesiastes chapter 8, verse 11).
(* Gouverner c’est prévoir, we usually hear. Here I would like to bring to the attention of the reader what Dr Thomas Sowell, former Dean of Stanford University, once said: ‘No one will really understand politics until they understand that politicians are not trying to solve our problems. They are trying to solve their own problems – of which getting elected and re-elected are number one and number two. What is number three comes far behind’.)
Endy Jay