Steemit Engagement Challenge 02 (Week 01) | Welcome Mr. President: We need a Manifesto from you, What should we Expect?

Hello Everyone,

For me, this is a timely contest because my country is falling into hell it seems. We are facing some issues that we haven't even thought of. The current government has no solution to the problems. Practically the central bank of Sri Lanka stated that they do not have money to run the country even for the next 24 hours. I believe you can imagine the situation, but let me go a little deeper with the stats.

^{Image Source}

What exactly happened.

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Sri Lanka suffered 30 years of civil war and finally overcame the issue in 2009. Thereafter we have seen some major development in the country with the help of the Chines and Indian governments. Tourism was booming and every year was a record breaking year in terms of tourist arrivals. Infrastructures and hotels were developed in every city and the per capita GDP for 22 million people was on a plus side. It was a comfortable life for most citizens.

Then this happen..

On 21st April 2019, Easter Sunday morning, the country was shaken by several bomb blasts in churches and hotels killing hundreds of innocent civilians and foreign tourists. Almost for a decade, we haven't heard a bomb blast. Nobody could believe it at first. It was a devastating blow to the tourism sector and the insecurity made a new political agenda to rule the country again. But who knew this was just the first event of serious of unfortunate incidents.

^{St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo Source}

Covid19 was a global issue and Sri Lanka too one of the victims of it. We were too much dependent on a few sectors. Namely foreign employment remittances, Apparel & Tourism. With the pandemic, everything halted for almost one and half a year. In 2019 we had $7.5 billion in foreign exchange reserves and what we left now is below $ 2 billion.

Then the Ukraine Russia war began and now the world is facing Inflation. It's like everything has gone from bad to worst for Sri Lankans.

How is the situation now?

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At this very moment, basically, nobody can afford the prices of everything. The foods, medicines, Petrol, consumer goods everything is over 100+% increased.

To worsen the situation now the country cannot run without power cuts. Once there was a 13 hour power cut but with help of monsoon rain it was reduced to 02 to 03 hours of power cuts daily.

The exchange rate for a US dollar was at around 200 rupees in early 2022, but now it went up to 360 rupees within the span of 03 months. How that effect to a country solely depended on imports of their consumer goods.

Let me elaborate, I'll take a few of the essentials which usually consumed by people.

Product	Price: 2021	Price: 2022	Percentage increase
Loaf of bread	60	160	166%
Rice 1Kg	100	220	120%
Lentils 1kg	150	500	233%
Egg 01	15	45	300%
Chicken 1kg	400	1100	175%
Coconut oil	450	950	111%
Tomato 1kg	120	500	316%
Carrot 1kg	160	240	50%
Fuel Petrol 1Lt	137	420	206%
Gas 12.5kg	1493	4860	226%

The salary of an average worker hasn't increased, yet the prices are on the way to the moon. This situation has led to a lot of riots, and violations in almost every city. Most of the politician's houses are already burned and destroyed. People demand a change of government but according to the constitution that is not the easiest way to solve this problem.

Moreover, even with such increased prices, there are no Fuel, Gas & Medicines to purchase in the local market. People cued up early in the morning and wait for days to get Fuel & Gas for their families.

^{A draft view of Sri Lanka's inflation Source}

Can I be a president!

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Let's be honest. Even if I need to or even if qualified, the people of Sri Lanka will not accept any leader now. They want their life to be normal again. The majority seek a group of people who are from the industrial level or management level. They do not need anyone who has a political background.

So, I might not be the president but can include in that group of people. I also believe that kind of team can lead and make better decisions than having executive powers to handle a country for one person.

Changes I'm looking forward to

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The plan will be to find solutions long term and short term. There are many issues which need to solve quickly as possible.

• Short term,

1. Within the next few months there will be a huge shortage of food. I like to invite all the citizens to plant anything that they can as a solution and the government can motivate the citizens by giving free seeds and guidance to plant them.

2. Market is shortage of fuel and gas. There are some alternatives but adopting them can't be expected from all the citizens. Hence, as a government, we have to prioritize the situations and spend accordingly. I like to request at least 03 months' credit lines from the suppliers. If they do not agree we have to look for some loans again.

3. Printing continues money will be halted right away. Cash flow will be a problem but educating citizens about the fact that we are bankrupt and have to sacrifice something to get out of the situation will be much easier than falling into the never ending process.

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• Long term,

1. Sri Lanka imports way too many foreign products, I will look for alternatives and methods to develop them in the country itself. I'm sure we have the necessary knowledge but implementing them at the ground level is the issue. So, I will look for those barriers and provide a solution to go forward.

2. A lot of developed countries use bicycles and electric vehicles for their transportation. Sri Lanka as a country does not encourage both of these methods right now. I will give tax free imports to both these vehicles and try to reduce the fuel consumption.

3. Now with 02nd point, we will soon have another issue with electricity. To generate more power into the system I will promote solar power to all the citizens. The government will provide loans to every household to power their own houses. Mind you, Sri Lanka is a country which is very closed to the Equator. If we can harness the power of the sun there won't be any energy crisis for years.

4. I like to change the education system of Sri Lanka gradually with more moral and concept developments for children. The way we studied does not give real value to society. It is a way too old method and children are just exhausted by learning only theatrical aspects but not the practical scenarios. For example, the final product of our education system knows everything about the machine, but cannot assemble one.

5. Finally, I like to make this country a debt free country by having strong rules and regulations. I like to follow countries such as Singapore for example.

Thank you for this wonderful contest Steem4Nigeria. I can't say that "I hope you enjoyed it", but it's the reality we face so I hope you might got some knowledge about what happening in this part of the world. Here in Sri Lanka, 22 million people have no idea about their country's future.

I invite @maazmoid123, @enveng & @nishadi89 to participate in this contest.

Here's the link to the contest: Steemit Engagement Challenge 02 (week 1): Welcome Mr. President: We need a Manifesto from you, What should we Expect?

Thank you.

Peace to all 🙏