Harin exposes Govt.’s ‘year of failure’ in P’ment

• Suggests how people could be saved from the current health and economic morass 

Main Opposition SJB MP Harin Fernando yesterday in Parliament exposed what he alleged as a “year of failure” on the part of the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa-led Government.

With 6 August 2021 marking the first anniversary of the new Parliament, Fernando charged that the Government has failed to save the country and the people from the pandemic and economic crisis. 

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) firebrand MP recalled that President Rajapaksa and the Government promised to punish those responsible for the Central Bank bond scam as well as perpetrators of the Easter Sunday terror attacks but even after one year, this had not happened. 

To a series of questions asked by Fernando, the Opposition benches gave their own vocal answers, saying “No”. Apart from the poser on punishing bond scam and Easter Sunday attacks, Fernando also asked “Did the Government reduce the price of petrol?”; “Was the teachers’ salary issue resolved?”; “Was the promise of One Country, One Rule respected?”; and “Were any new foreign direct investments attracted?” 

He also recalled that the influential Bloomberg had predicted Asia’s next bankrupt nation will be Sri Lanka. Adding a new twist to Fernando’s famous previous remark of “Sir failed”, the MP yesterday alleged “Sir can’t”. 

“President promised to usher in ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour’ (‘Saubagye Dekma’), but today, a child can’t even afford half of sago. Today the situation is so dire that we need to save the country from the person who promised to protect the country,” Fernando claimed. 

Focusing on the health crisis, he said that the Government has miserably failed in containing the COVID-19. “Today, Sri Lanka’s COVID deaths have surpassed China’s,” Fernando said, adding COVID patients don’t have hospital beds or oxygen. 

The SJB MP also quoted the University of Sri Jayewardenepura’s Head of National Centre for Primary Care and Allergy warning that the Delta variant’s ultrafast spread in Colombo has increased to over 75% from 19.3% in the first week.

Fernando said if Sri Lanka were to contain the worsening pandemic as well as save people from health and economic morass, the Parliament and the country must work together and the Government must act on constructive criticism from the Opposition instead of merely dismissing it or labelling those who speak up as traitors or unpatriotic. The SJB MP also challenged Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekera to a public debate on the findings of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on Easter Sunday terror attacks.