SL should have an export driven economy to overcome economic crisis: PM
Posted on September 27th, 2018

Sudath Gunasekara Mahanuwara

2018-09-27 04:18:54

Sri Lanka would not have been affected by the current global economic crisis if the country did not get into a debt trap like the one it has got into, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday.

Mr Wickremesinghe expressed this sentiment at the prize giving of Maliyadeva Balika Maha Vidyalaya in Kurunegala in the morning.

Sri Lanka is largely affected by the devaluation rupee because of the debt trap it has got into. We would not have been affected by the devaluation issue if we did not get into a debt trap. We have to pay $ 3,000 million this year to settle debts while a sum of $ 4000 million has to be paid next year. Therefore one could see that what we inherited are past sins. What we have to do now is to overcome this situation,” the Prime Minister said.

Anyhow the current global crisis affects both the household economy and the national economy. We are fully aware of it. Some countries such as Thailand and Vietnam are not severely affected by the global economic crisis as they fully depend on exports,” the Prime Minister added while stressing that Sri Lanka too should go for an export-driven economy in order to get out of the present crisis.

The Prime Minister said Sri Lanka has failed to focus on building up an export-driven economy for the last ten years. It will take at least three years to build such an economy. Attracting investors and establishing export zones is a time-consuming job. However, we have already embarked on such a program. Kurunegala, Kandy and South have been identified as locations where export zones would be opened. The Central highway which is being constructed now will be helpful to the export zone which will come in the North-Western Region. An 800-acre export zone will be built in Bingiriya. Such zones will come in Kurunegala as well. There will be a 10,000-acre zone in Hambantota. There will also be one in Kalutara,” he also said.

Further, the Prime Minister said Sri Lanka will need skilled and knowledgeable people when various kinds of industries come up in Sri Lanka and added that such persons will be produced through a modernized education system. (Yohan Perera)

Comment

I fully agree. But my priority export item is these corrupted politicians. I know no country in the world will like to have them. But at least we can dump the in Mindano deep 32 000 feet below sea level so that none will be able to return.

Let us start this mega export drive with the Prime Minister Ranil, President Sirisena, then the  whole Cabinet followed by all in Parliament and all those Governors, Chief (rather Cheap Ministers) Ministers and Provincial Council members and Pradeshiya Sabha Councilors.

Thereafter we can have a people’s Government in this country instead of a Government of Politicians and rogues.

Then at least we can get rid of the burden of maintaining these animals with no gain what so ever for the country and save the Central Bank and Billions misappropriated and robbed by them to be spent on the welfare of our people and the development of the country or at least we can save the mahapolawa of our motherland from them for posterity.

Sudath Gunasekara Mahanuwara

27.9.2018

4 Responses to “SL should have an export driven economy to overcome economic crisis: PM”

  1. Christie Says:

    “The Prime Minister said Sri Lanka has failed to focus on building up an export-driven economy for the last ten years. It will take at least three years to build such an economy.”.

    He said it. What did they do in three years.

    No one can blame them they started with trying to export paddy from Mattala Air Port.

  2. Dilrook Says:

    Both above sentiments are valid.

    We wasted over $10 billion in the north and east from 2009 to 2015 without any significant economic benefit for the nation and 90% of the people. Other wasteful borrowings include unprofitable ventures. This regime also wastes too much on the north and east. Utter waste. This is why we are in a debt trap.

    Increasing exports cannot be done. It is not practical. What is more practical is to restrict imports that can be made in Sri Lanka. Pakistan, India and Singapore FTAs must be cancelled. Customs must function properly. Non-essential imports and import frauds must be stopped.

  3. Ancient Sinhalaya Says:

    Economic osthar! Why didn’t he do it all this time. This guy is only good at mega thieving, murdering (Sinhalese
    Buddhists only), mega lying, mega treachery, Great bank robber talking non-sense to get attention. Traitor
    chief die hard catholic token Buddhist Bay gal karaya mega thief mega thakkadiya walking crime bomb (against
    Sri Lanka, Sinhalese Buddhists, Buddhism only) with the timer set for 10-20 years Batalande Wandakaya Pol
    Pot r@ni_leech wickrama Sinhala killer knows it is easy to fool Sinhala modayas and utter this non-sense. What
    you going to export? Rubber, coco nuts, rice, cars, pharmaceuticals, how to rob central bank and getting away
    with murder (‘intellectual property’)? This mega thakkadiya is a burden to Mother Lanka and she has been systematically destroyed by this traitor for the last 40 years and we can’t see an end to this miscreant’s treacheries.

    What we should do is to have an
    education system which will produce skilled people for foreign job markets year in year out rather than
    numerous universities churning out graduates all the time not catering for any specific job. We need to churn
    out doctors, engineers, software engineers, nurses, mechanics, electricians etc. etc. and ‘export’ them. They
    will earn big money and give Sri Lanka respectability, rather than sending poor women to wash pots in the middle
    east, condemning the country and poor souls to life of slavery! After all Sri Lankans have one of the highest
    literacy rates in the world and we all know they are not short of brain department. Why wait? It will take only
    few years to bear ‘fruit’ and earn much needed FX and respectability at the world stage. Who is going to do it?
    We have traitor deshapaluwan like traitor chief whose only intentions are plunder, plunder! Poor Mother Lanka.

  4. Nimal Says:

    AS
    Your idea is good that we educate and export skilled people to other countries and good luck to them but they will not generously remit money back to Sl.I have done a great study on this where those you come as skilled people hardly have enough to spare as the cost of living is very high in those countries. I have been to many events here in London where Our companies in Colombo was trying to sell apartments and houses back home and hardly any one attended who could afford to buy with the spare cash as they have immediate obligations in their own new found homes, but I could but I have done my bit for the country by investing billions and I am very disappointed. Our silly and backward culture is not conducive to conduct a serious venture in the island with several restrictions and absurd cultural constrains.
    I will give a glimpse of my problems that I encountered in two of my business outlets where the practice of religion caused me much pain where one guy must go out to pray 5 times a day and I had to find another person to fill his absence and that person too had to do the church work when it is necessary to stay open for business as the business is 7 days a week. The most absurd thing that put me off was the key worker in the other business where his presence was highly required during my very short stay in the island to get that particular job to be done under my supervision, that guy was given double the salary during my stay but he drank with my generous money and did not turn up to work which I desperately need him to lead the other 6 people, being the main mason. I rang his home and his wife was told to say that he had taken his children to dahampasala but he never mentioned this the evening before. I was so furious, as I was warned by the people under him that this guy was not honest and I must find out to myself the reason why he did not turn up to work.When I went to his house I found him stone drunk, couldn’t open his eyes.I sold my businesses and rented my premises which now getting a decent income.
    When our two bit politicians are playing with main religion to distract and deceive the people, the people to do the same.
    I truly commend the determination of the private sector genuine companies who tried to stay a float(who pay my rent), daily working hard, some times ruthless and very strict with the staff. Our politicians are a bloody nuisance to people who wants to make a honest buck. They are so bloody minded, arrogant and ignorant, they are an obstacle to the daily business lives of the people. When the former president came to show his respect a funeral house, he closed the road for hours thus impeding the hard working business life in the street, thus jeopardizing any venture and some times they commandeer buses thus impeding our staff to get to work.
    When we have just concerns and want to meet the politicians in power, which is now impossible as the new culture in the country is that they get to the parliament just to rob the country and not to serve the people. Never consult the taxpayer about any feasibility of any of their spending ventures. It is all geared to get commissions. They mock the justice system, getting in and out of court houses showing contempt to people’s expectations of fair play in the system.
    I have been to a hotel or two for functions and noticed that the structure is built so extravagantly a usual business person could never do that and make a profit or furnish the business loan as the meagre income and cost of the supper luxury structure doesn’t make sense as the money invested is not one’s hard earned but some ones in a questionable way. In one case the real owner of a piece of valuable land was not allowed to build any commercial venture but in the hand of a person with the right political connection was able to put a supper luxury hotel and the locals are in the view that some suspicious money was involved. So with this crooked culture, how on earth could any one genuine could do business and survive? There should be complete transparency and honesty in our leaders and in our culture. They often use the main religion to divide and rule and hood wink the people at the same time.
    Just take this simple example where our President took over 50 people to New York for the UN assembly while the powerful big country like Russia sent the Foreign minister with only 20 people in the whole group but in our island the head of the state had to go there, looks like merry trip at the expense of us the tax payers and last time the former President’s group fought each other drinking blue whiskey. So what confidence will it give it to our investors and one of the reasons for our currency to be devalued because of the national debt created by this type of stupidity and extravagance. We don’t really need to export to strengthen our currency but show confidence,prudance in our own internal economy where coconuts thus plucked could be exchanged for promise mangoes to be given when ripen and in the mean time we give a promissory note which is our rupee. If some one rob our mangoes, by the time the promissory to be given back for the coconuts that was exchanged for mangoes, if the promised quantity of mangoes are not given in exchanged for the coconuts then that promissory note or rupee is worth little, unless one borrow the mangoes from some one else to pay or exchange for the coconuts. So the sorry situation here is that someone ate the mangoes, stole it or hid it.That’s the debt created that devalue or rupee. The debt is created by our own extravagance especially by the politicians who are in power where they think that they have the right our resources(equivalent to mangoes).So borrowing mangoes from the IMF or from foreigners will not help if we cant pay back, where our mangoes are stolen, eaten before exchange for coconuts or given to IMF and Foreigners on use less projects. Vibrant Economy within the country doesn’t need excessive borrowings. So keep the country stable without running it like mad house with the main religion is a big obstacle and we don’t have this nonsense practiced in UK.UK Pound is worth and convertible in any country so we must get our fundamentals right which is very painful for SL to face.

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