Working Masses Cannot Win Any Rights Without Political Backing – Akila Viraj Kariyawasam

By Camelia Nathaniel

Following are excerpts of the interview;

Q. The May Day is all about the labour force and their struggle to win their rights. But today we see that it has been politicised. Is this acceptable?

A. Political parties have to play a huge role in organising events for this day. No matter how much the workers protest or agitate, they cannot win any rights without the backing of a political force. It is, therefore, not correct to say that politics plays no role in the struggle of the workers. So, the political parties have a right and duty to commemorate Labour Day.

Unlike the previous regime, we do not hunt down or shoot down those who take to the streets in protest. It is wrong if politicians or political parties exploit these workers for their advantage or to gain undue privileges. Instead, they have to stand up for the rights of the workers and fight for their rights. As long as these political parties are not exploiting the workers, there is no problem in getting involved in their struggles and assisting them on winning their rights.

Even now, however, the joint opposition is using the working masses to strengthen their rally by promising them various things. All, therefore, depends on the manner that political parties use this Labour Day. If it is used for the sole purpose of uplifting lives of the labourers or winning certain rights on their behalf, then it should be lauded. However, if any party use this day for having petty political gains, they must be condemned.

 

Q. Current regime promised many privileges and concessions for the working masses. But they have burdened the worker furthermore instead. Do you accept this claim?

A. No one can say so, and has the moral right to make such allegations. We have certainly kept our promises to the working masses. We have managed to increase salaries of the State sector employees by Rs. 10,000. About 1.6 million of workers have benefitted from this move. Therefore, it is unfair to say that we have not delivered on our promises. Any other party in the history of this country has not achieved such a feast.

Further, we have been able to reduce the prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene oil by a bigger margin. Any previous government was unable to achieve that as well. We have been able to make a difference in every walk of life. They all benefited from this price reduction.

Therefore, it is unfair to say that we have not done anything to ease the burden on the people. During the 100-day programme and with the past budget too, we reduced the prices of goods even without an election around the corner. Normally, these political parties work up a frenzy of price reduction only when there is an election around the corner. But we have not done that and have been genuine to the people. Whenever possible, we provided concessions to the masses. Such price reductions mainly benefit the working masses.

We have also stopped all the corruption, fraud and malpractices in the government. The previous President spent billions on his election campaigns, and now we do not spend in that manner and use that money to repay loans that the previous regime recklessly obtained. With the money we saved by curtailing corruption and frauds, we try to cover the losses of SriLankan Airlines and to bring in investments to the country. All this is happening according to a proper plan. Very soon, people will be able to see the results of our efforts. The working masses ultimately benefit from our efforts.

 

Q. You claim that much has been done to benefit the average citizen. But the disparity between their income and cost of living is growing. So how can you say life has been made easier for the ordinary man?

A. No, I do not agree with that statement because we have not increased prices of any of the essential items. We have not borrowed the loans that we are now repaying. We are suffering the sins of the Rajapaksa regime and their family members. To settle these loans and pay off what the previous regime has borrowed and squandered, we need money and the only way to get money is to tax, either via indirect or direct taxes and indirect taxing is the most useful in this regard. We have imposed minimal taxes on the ordinary people.

In fact, we have not increased any taxes on the essential items and electricity etc. We have also increased the salaries, and we have managed to keep the prices of goods stable. We have also planned to provide many other privileges and concessions for the people. But we have to uplift the country’s economy first. Then the whole country will prosper.

The previous regime obtained so many loans, but they did not use that money for proper investments. We, therefore, have not been able to repay these loans since the development schemes they accomplished are all proven white elephant projects. The Mattala Airport, Hambantota Port and many such projects do not generate any revenue for the country.

Now we try to transform these projects into profitable ventures by giving them out to other countries or private organisations to operate them. Just having them there and not making use of them serves no one. So, we intend to lease out Hambantota Port and other such projects to foreign companies as joint ventures. There are proposals to use the port as a ship building facility. The government will venture into this project with foreign companies. We also plan to transform these into profit making entities, so that the government too will be able to claim a part of the profits which will invariably benefit our citizens. We have no choice but to resort to this method to make use of these facilities.

 

Q. Why is the reason for delaying the Local Government polls?

A. We made a promise to the masses that LG elections would be held under the electorate system. But to delimit electorate takes times. However, it is now under way. We hope to hold the local government elections at the beginning of next year.

 

Q. If the delimitation process is to take that much of time, why did the government dissolve the local bodies?

A. There were two suggestions that were made in this regard. One was to hold LG elections under the new system and the other was to stick to the old system. We too preferred holding LG polls under the old system, and completing the new process later. But most of the other parties preferred holding the elections under the new system and we too agreed. The government decided not to waste money by holding two elections. So we will hold the election under the new system after completing all the ground work.

 

Q. This government, especially the UNP, was very critical of the oversized Cabinet of the previous regime. But the new unity government too has been piling on ministers and deputy ministers. Now the present Cabinet is bigger than the previous one. Why have you all gone back on your promises?

A. Even during the 19th amendment, we said the number of Cabinet ministers will be limited to 30. During the past regime, there were around 60, but we opted to appoint only 30 ministers. However, since we had to form a national government, we obtained a parliamentary approval to increase the number of Cabinet ministers. This is a new concept. If we were a single party, then we would definitely have limited the number of ministers. But we are in a national government, so we had no choice but to increase the number of Cabinet ministers in order to get all parties involved in the good governance.

 

Q. You were appointed recently as the Chairman of the Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya (JSS). How important is this May Day Rally for you and will it be a success?

A. This will be an opportune moment for us to show our might. I will myself bring about 5000 people for this rally. So, if I can alone bring that number, just imaging how big would be our May Day rally. So, we invite everyone to come and join us. Obviously, ours will be the most successful May Day Rally.