New Lanka Govt's Honeymoon Over, Tough Calls Await

The Dissanayake regime's move on corruption is laudable. But with the poverty rate doubling, the govt needs to focus on economic recovery while balancing India and China's concerns.

- DILRUKSHI HANDUNNETTI

OUR months after being elected president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake must fix multiple unresolved issues of corruption, rights abuses and long-term displacement. All while doing a tightrope walk to balance India and China's concerns. His most daunting challenge is economic recovery and managing public expectations.

As the new government's honeymoon period wanes, people are getting impatient about delivery, especially on the spiralling cost of living and shortage of rice, the island's staple. The dire economic situation has increased poverty, doubling the number of people living under the World Bank's extreme poverty line of $2.15 a day to nearly 26 percent. As more people feel the hunger pang, there is increasing criticism of the government's performance over rising commodity prices; an indication of the public mood may come when elections to the local authorities are held.

This government, however, is in stark contrast to the earlier Rajapaksa rule, which was known for excessive spending and alleged corruption. The public is impatiently waiting for the wheels of justice to turn and those responsible for corruption to be brought to book. But justice takes time, as does economic recovery.

Addressing one of the public's top concerns, the government recently took action against two sons of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa-Yoshitha and Namal. Namal, the first-born, who is a member of parliament and the national organiser of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, was indicted on charges of criminal misappropriation of LKR 70 million in connection with the Krrish Tower project in Colombo. Yoshitha was arrested on a charge of money laundering that had been hanging since 2019, when the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) was dissolved. During President Maithripala Sirisena's term (2015 to 2019), the FCID had investigated and charged several members of the Rajapaksa family.