Young political guns speak up for economy

• Opposition MPs warn post-war gains will be wasted unless Govt. puts house in order
• Insist on better policies, respect for law and order
• Call for common agenda for clear and consistent regulations

By Uditha Jayasinghe

Opposition politicians joined the private sector yesterday in calling for the Government to work on law and order and consistent policies to position Sri Lanka on a growth trajectory, despite demurring statements by ruling party members.

Participating in the final panel discussion titled ‘Positioning Sri Lanka in the Global Economy’ of the three-day Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2012, a host of politicians from all leading parties agreed that the country needs to focus on better transparency, good governance and consistent policies to help realise Sri Lanka’s potential. The session was moderated by Mano Tittawela.

Leading the charge were UNP MPs Dr. Harsha de Silva and Ruwan Wijewardene, who insisted that the Government needs to understand the importance of promoting law and order as well as warning that Sri Lanka’s policies need to be put in order before economic prosperity can become a possibility.

Lack of law and order as well as economic discipline were touched upon as the main reasons for Sri Lanka to struggle, noted JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti. Speaking on foreign remittance issues, he called on the Government to concentrate on sending out skilled labour, insisting that little effort was being made to promote better education levels in the country. Better policies and a change of attitude are needed, he remarked, stressing that for Sri Lanka to become a knowledge exporter, the people need to be given examples of leaders, private and public, who work competently according to the law.

Wijewardene seconded the sentiments expressed by Handunnetti on upgrading the education system.

 “This country will never be the ‘Wonder of Asia’ if we do not educate our people. We have failed to achieve our post-war potential – from the z-score fiasco to the university teachers’ strike, we can see that the education system of this country grinding is coming to a halt.”Inconsistent policies, corruption and lack of confidence were highlighted by him as undermining growth and he called for a strong policy, adding that “even if Sri Lanka wishes to tap into India and China, they still need to work on a proper political solution to the ethnic issue.”

He also suggested using the opening of Burma to tap into South China. “We are sitting on a time-bomb,” he warned, pointing out that “the cost of living is so high that people are struggling to make ends meet and crime rates are very high. This alone is could result in civil unrest. There is a massive Rs. 600 million being spent on the upcoming elections, which is completely unnecessary. Such actions do not take into account the hardships of the people.”

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M. Sumanthiran also joined his voice to the chorus, insisting on a “value system” by which the country runs and to have trust in the words and deeds of a nation. Criticising the withholding of crucial economic information by the Central Bank, he insisted that relationships between Sri Lanka and other countries must be mended before trade can develop with those regions. “You can’t divorce your economic interest from what you hold out to the rest of the world. If that is not changed, then these discussions will be limited to such rarefied atmosphere.”

“What we need to do is to have an attitudinal change. To create the five hub concept, we need to depoliticise economic decisions,” emphasised UNP MP Dr. De Silva.

“Why hasn’t the CEPA been signed? Why hasn’t the bond market been developed?” he questioned, adding that the Government needs to move out of business while establishing a competent regulatory structure on which the private sector could operate.

He continued: “We need to start thinking about how to get professionals into Sri Lanka. You can say that the debt to GDP ratio has grown, but more than that we have to look at what we are taking loans for. Sri Lanka is running a revenue deficit, which means we are not making enough for our day-to-day expenses and we need loans for this as well. This is an untenable situation. I dispute the contention that the loans are for development,” Dr. De Silva opined.

Public Management Reforms Minister Naveen Dissanayake, in response to questions on Sri Lanka’s prospects, noted that with the end of the war the country has been positioned as a peaceful country with ample opportunities for growth. He insisted that the massive development projects by the Government would fuel economic growth.

He also admitted to governance issues but stressed that the Government was working on the issues and that there was a competent judicial system to take care of the oversights. Dissanayake emphasised that the Government was concentrating on giving equal opportunity to the rural poor and that their needs were being met.

Moderator Mano Tittawela questioned Western Provincial Council Agriculture and Environmental Affairs Minister Udaya Gammanpila on FDI flows, with the latter responding that the gains made by Sri Lanka in that sphere were “satisfactory”.

Gammanpila pointed out that resettlement and infrastructure development together with the rehabilitation of ex-LTTE cadres kept the Government fully occupied during 2009 and 2010. He claimed the influence of the Tamil Diaspora also challenged the reputation of Sri Lanka, which together with the global financial downturn made FDI gains difficult.