PM tells private sector to get rid of protectionist mindset

Chandeepa Wettasinghe

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe asserted that the private sector and pseudo nationalists must move away from crony capitalism and the resultant protectionist mindset in order to take the country down the road of development.

“Firstly it’s a question of mindset; a change of mindset in the private sector from crony capitalism. If you’re staying back, it’s your fault. We cannot fail, we will only go up,” the Premier said.

He made these comments yesterday at the Sri Lanka Economic Summit organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, themed ‘Towards Exports of US$50 billion’.

Corporate success in the past had been largely reliant on which doors the owners and managers had access to, and employees and shareholders of these firms experienced rapid economic development.

Wickremesinghe said that all citizens in the country are now looking forward to reforms which would bring them greater income, benefits, and social mobility, and it is irresponsible and unethical of the private sector to stand in the way.

“Are we going to do the next generation of reforms? If we are doing so, we have to be open. How some of you will adjudge it, I do not know. Some will look at it as being painful to them. Pain in the country has to be shared in order to grow. It cannot be imposed on a larger section of the people only,” he added.

He also said that the country must look outwards with niche exports from a highly developed manufacturing and services sector.

“At the peak of Sri Lanka’s economy we had been a trading nation. From Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa times, we had been dominating the trade in the Bay of Bengal and all the way to China,” Wickremesinghe recalled.

He noted that Sri Lanka should reclaim such an identity by capitalizing on the markets in the US, EU, India and China, instead of resorting to protectionist practices implemented through the influence of politicians.

“That’s where we should be. When our nationalists say import substitution, it reminds me of dark chocolate. It’s quite nice and dark inside. But remember, the cream is white. So where are we going? Do we want to have the so called pseudo nationalist dark chocolates, or are we providing employment for 1 million of our young people. Then we need the markets,” he said.

The Prime Minister went on to say that new laws are coming to facilitate investments on a level-playing field for foreigners, and that the number of local industries which were protected in the negative list will be drastically reduced.

“You can’t be going to the government to get permission for everything you do, or bargain your way or decide how much money is needed to pass a permit to put up a building. All that has to go away. With this in mind, we’ll be bringing a series of legislation,” he added.

According to the Premier, a Development Special Provisions Law will be enacted to allow the government to cut through the red tape placed by the previous government, for a period of 3 years.

“We have to open up, but the resistance is coming from the private sector,” he said.
 

Tackling financial crimes

Premier Wickremesinghe attributed the Financial Crimes Investigation Department’s (FCID) delay in the investigation of corruption allegations to a breakdown in processes and the sophisticated nature of corruption, while saying that the Bribery Commission needs to be revived.

“We started the FCID, but FCID has to be a combination of legal, business and police investigations. Unfortunately to do that, we require laws, like the Serious Frauds Office in the UK,” he said.

“Secondly, if we look at the corruption that has taken place, it’s very sophisticated. Our investigators have to be trained. We’ve done a crash program and sent them out to be trained in foreign countries—the UK, USA, India, the World Bank—we’re training the group up,” he added.

Wickremesinghe said that the FCID has received 200 complaints, of which 20 are currently being investigated and some have been closed with court action already taking place.

He expressed that while Sri Lanka is signatory to the UN Convention against corruption, it has not been legislated, which once done, would give the state greater legal powers.

In addition, he said that a new institution must replace the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.

“We have 1,900 files laid by, and 250 different vacancies that have to be filled. At the moment there’s a deadlock between the Commissioners and the Director General. The Director General pulled 50 police officers to fill vacancies and the Commissioners turned it down. So for all purposes, the Commission is defunct,” Wickremesinghe added.

He said that new members will be appointed to the Commission following the elections, and that the groundwork is being laid.

The Prime Minister promised that results will show after the elections.