Heads will roll unless state institutions perform; President warns

• Envisions four-pillar road map  
• Vows won’t allow anyone to drag country to where it was a year ago

By Kelum Bandara  

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his televised address to  the nation, asserted that his government would not hesitate to replace  the heads of the state institutions such as the Ceylon Electricity  Board, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and SriLankan Airlines unless  they improved their performance in conformity with the restructuring  plan for public enterprises.  
The president envisioned a four-pillar programme to revive  the economy, said there are currently 430 public enterprises operating  in 33 sectors of the economy. He said these enterprises employ six per cent of the Sri Lankan population but many of these enterprises had  garnered monopolistic positions in the market, hindering private  investment.  

 “Price fixing, inefficient management, and poor  entrepreneurship have weakened public finances, turning these  institutions into national burdens that are dependent on the taxpayer.  We have already initiated the preparation of a restructuring plan for  public enterprises. Additionally, we expect the chief officers of these  enterprises to be committed to improving their performances. If they  fail to meet the annual targets assigned to them, we will not hesitate  to replace them with more suitable candidates,” he said.  

In an obvious reference to elements attempting at  rabble-rousing, the president vowed not to allow anyone to drag  ‘motherland’ back to where it was a year ago.   
“Today, some individuals seem to have forgotten the  hardships endured by Sri Lankans during that time. Our economy  contracted by 8.7%, our foreign exchange reserves hit rock bottom, and  we experienced one of the highest inflation rates in the world. Foreign  loans went unpaid, pushing the country into bankruptcy. Food Businesses  collapsed, leading to job losses and income sources drying up. Hospitals  faced shortages of medication, schools had to close, and power cuts  lasting 10-12 hours became commonplace. The country was in disarray,  with people struggling to survive,” he said.   He said the country’s development had been based on four  primary pillars: fiscal and financial reforms, investment drive, social  protection and governance, and state-owned enterprises transformation.  

 The President expressed his satisfaction that the country is beginning to experience relief from economic pressures.  Taking a swipe at groups involved in traditional politics,  he said these elements were involved in attempts to hinder economic  revival.   They are spreading false information about our reform  agenda and intentionally misleading the public with claims that we are  selling off the country. Throughout history, these groups have  continuously resorted to fear-mongering tactics, falsely asserting that  our actions are driven by a desire to sell out our nation. They have  deceived many Sri Lankans in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and even the  1980s, instilling an irrational fear of the country being sold away.  From then until now, these groups have disrupted real progress for  economic reform by perpetuating this slogan of “selling the country”, he  said.