Sirisena soothes private sector

• Pledges close private-public partnership, open market and consistent policies
• Says non-interference, asks biz community to raise standards
• Promises strong foreign policy to back exports, insists good governance will spill over into economy   

President Maithripala Sirisena gestures during his address at the closing ceremony of the two-day Economic Summit of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce yesterday - Pic by Upul Abayasekera

By Uditha Jayasinghe and Charumini de Silva

President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday extended a firm hand of friendship to the private sector, pledging to create an open and free environment where businesses could rely on the public sector to create a non-interfering level playing field.

Delivering perhaps the most economy-focused speech since he was elected President, Sirisena expressed confidence in the next Government being one capable of taking forward the reformist agenda which began on 8 January and insisted he would support every effort to promote good governance, integrity and fair play within the economy.

“Freedom means different things to different segments of society. For the court it is the freedom to hear cases, for the police it is freedom to enforce the law, for the public employee it is the right to do his job with integrity and for the business community it is the freedom to do business. We must continue the expansion of this freedom. The private sector must move forward with knowledge, understanding and determination,” he told the gathering.

He also insisted the public sector must be reformed to partner with the private sector to form consistent policies that would not change with every election cycle. A national government was envisioned with this goal in view, Sirisena noted, adding that it was time that Sri Lanka moved away from politically driven agendas to consistent State-driven policies that would work for the benefit of all people.

“Confidence in the public sector is a must. All sectors of the economy have to rely on competent and honest civil servants. Public servants must show transparency, honesty, dignity and integrity along with a clear vision to empower development. It must not be used to prop up only one segment of society and used to undermine others. It must uphold free trade and the ability to do business. We will give you the freedom to do business, win your trust and forge a mutually-respected partnership.”     

Referring to the summit title of ‘Towards $ 50billion in exports’, the ever-pragmatic President Sirisena told captains of industry that they should look to correct their “shortcomings” to improve their chances of doing business on the global platform. 

Taking tea as an example, he pointed to the export of substandard tea as having hurt the reputation of the industry built over several decades and insisted such lapses should be corrected to increase the visibility of Sri Lankan products. 

The President was also insistent on looking into new sectors such as marine-based industries to diversify exports and form a link between different segments of business.

He also called on the private sector to focus on sustainable development, increase productivity and invest in technology, especially research and development.

“To increase exports to the envisioned volume, Sri Lanka needs to have a strong and stable foreign policy. We cannot be friends with one section of the world and enemies with another. During the last few months we have moved Sri Lanka to be friends with all countries and international bodies and will continue to support trade by improving global relations. We must win the hearts of everyone.”

An education-focused growth policy was also advocated to raise the standard of living for youth. He insisted there would be no gap “between the private and public sector” and relations would be cemented consistently.