Tread cautiously
The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations has taken exception to a University Grants Commission decision to reopen universities, in May. The Opposition has flayed the government for what it calls a plan to hold the postponed general election before the coronavirus crisis is over. Minister of Health, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, has indicated that the process of reopening the country will commence shortly.
The recent South Korean election, where the ruling party scored a landslide win, while battling the coronavirus, could not have come at a better time for the Sri Lankan rulers. It is not out of any love for the public that the Opposition is asking the government to postpone the general election further. It is in total disarray, and needs an election, like a hole in the head, at this juncture. The only way it can remain relevant in the overall scheme of things is to be seen to be making a contribution to the country’s successful anti-coronavirus campaign; it wants the dissolved Parliament, where it had a majority, reconvened, before 30 April, to approve financial allocations, until the election of the next Parliament, so that it can gain some traction, on the political front. It insists that there will be a mega constitutional crisis unless the dissolved Parliament is resummoned and allowed to function until the country is ready for a general election. There should be a serious discussion on this issue.
The government is apparently in a hurry to conduct the delayed election soon, not out of any concern for democracy or the people’s franchise; it considers the time opportune for an electoral contest; the Opposition is on a ventilator, so to speak. The country is bound to go through a rough patch, in time to come, owing to the economic fallout from the present crisis, which has crippled the national economy. This may be the reason why the government wants to take time by the forelock.
Lockdowns cannot go on till the cows come home. The country should be reopened and the economy rebooted as soon as possible. But the COVID-19 preventive measures must remain as long as medical experts need them to be in place to beat the elusive virus, decisively. The Government Medical Officers’ Association has categorically stated that all suspected COVID-19 cases must be tested before the reopening of the country. Its opinion must be heeded.
Sri Lankans have earned notoriety for their complacency and, therefore, the task of reopening the country should be carried out cautiously. The government must not be swayed by political expediency. Experts warn of the possibility of a second wave of infections. In China, some COVID-19 patients, discharged from hospital after full recovery, have contracted the disease, again, according to media reports.
The government had better leave it to medical experts to decide when the lockdowns should be ended, and, thereafter, cross the river by feeling the stones, as Mao Zedong is believed to have said.
The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations has taken exception to a University Grants Commission decision to reopen universities, in May. The Opposition has flayed the government for what it calls a plan to hold the postponed general election before the coronavirus crisis is over. Minister of Health, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, has indicated that the process of reopening the country will commence shortly.
The recent South Korean election, where the ruling party scored a landslide win, while battling the coronavirus, could not have come at a better time for the Sri Lankan rulers. It is not out of any love for the public that the Opposition is asking the government to postpone the general election further. It is in total disarray, and needs an election, like a hole in the head, at this juncture. The only way it can remain relevant in the overall scheme of things is to be seen to be making a contribution to the country’s successful anti-coronavirus campaign; it wants the dissolved Parliament, where it had a majority, reconvened, before 30 April, to approve financial allocations, until the election of the next Parliament, so that it can gain some traction, on the political front. It insists that there will be a mega constitutional crisis unless the dissolved Parliament is resummoned and allowed to function until the country is ready for a general election. There should be a serious discussion on this issue.
The government is apparently in a hurry to conduct the delayed election soon, not out of any concern for democracy or the people’s franchise; it considers the time opportune for an electoral contest; the Opposition is on a ventilator, so to speak. The country is bound to go through a rough patch, in time to come, owing to the economic fallout from the present crisis, which has crippled the national economy. This may be the reason why the government wants to take time by the forelock.
Lockdowns cannot go on till the cows come home. The country should be reopened and the economy rebooted as soon as possible. But the COVID-19 preventive measures must remain as long as medical experts need them to be in place to beat the elusive virus, decisively. The Government Medical Officers’ Association has categorically stated that all suspected COVID-19 cases must be tested before the reopening of the country. Its opinion must be heeded.
Sri Lankans have earned notoriety for their complacency and, therefore, the task of reopening the country should be carried out cautiously. The government must not be swayed by political expediency. Experts warn of the possibility of a second wave of infections. In China, some COVID-19 patients, discharged from hospital after full recovery, have contracted the disease, again, according to media reports.
The government had better leave it to medical experts to decide when the lockdowns should be ended, and, thereafter, cross the river by feeling the stones, as Mao Zedong is believed to have said.
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