• By Nuzla Rizkiya

As Sri Lanka seeks sustainable development following the repercussions of poorly formulated policies, a senior

economist emphasised the need for accountability in the island nation.
With elections around the corner and political parties promising improvements across various sectors, accountability is crucial for both growth and governance in Sri Lanka, noted former World Bank Acting Chief Dr. Shanta Devarajan.

“Economic reforms and improved governance are the crying needs of the moment,” Dr. Devarajan stressed, highlighting that both can be addressed by prioritising accountability. 
“Based on the research that I’ve done over the past 20 years, these parties are not that far apart. Enabling people to hold governments accountable is very much the basis of the IMF-supported programme,” he said at a recent youth forum.

Dr. Devarajan explained that IMF-supported revival reforms focus on enhancing governmental accountability, while good governance encourages citizens to hold leaders responsible. He pointed out that Sri Lanka’s current GDP reflects that of 2013, referring to it as a “lost decade,” emphasising the public’s need to understand accountability clearly.

“When the government is responsible for holding people accountable, it can be influenced by various factors that may not align with the best interests of the people,” he said.
He supported his view with data from the late 1970s, which showed a boost in Sri Lanka’s GDP through the adoption of liberalised trade policies.

“Sri Lanka is a textbook example of a country where making entrepreneurs accountable to world prices rather than government-manipulated prices can actually work. Sri Lankan economic policy is geared towards the government holding people accountable. We have to reverse that,” asserted Dr. Devarajan.