{"id":62829,"date":"2017-01-29T13:10:51","date_gmt":"2017-01-29T20:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=62829"},"modified":"2017-01-29T13:11:12","modified_gmt":"2017-01-29T20:11:12","slug":"unp-cannot-manage-country-properly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2017\/01\/29\/unp-cannot-manage-country-properly\/","title":{"rendered":"UNP cannot manage country properly -Minister of Science and Technology Susil Premajayantha"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Charminda Rodrigo\u00a0Courtesy Ceylon Today<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Minister of Science and Technology Susil Premajayantha questions how many of the targets set by the budget presented in 2016 have been achieved so far? “If they are out to create a ‘powerful Sri Lanka’ they need to set the targets for GDP, power and energy creation, agriculture production and various other sectors”.<\/p>\n

Excerpts:<\/p>\n

?: What do you think about the present political developments in the country?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Well, present political developments are escalating into a critical state for the government unless we identify them and address them immediately.<\/p>\n

?: What do you really mean when you say\u00a0<\/strong>‘a critical state for the government<\/strong>‘?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: There are many critical issues. Amongst them one is the heap of debt this government had inherited at the inception. Now most of the loans are reaching the end of their grace period so they have begun repayments. We have a trade deficit of nearly US$ 9 billion. Our debt will increased another US$ 4 billion in the coming years when the real repayments of such loans begin. We do not earn much export revenue. Therefore, we have a large trade deficit and a huge national debt. We need to think of some creative ways out of the box to remedy these situations.<\/p>\n

?: Did the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa call the presidential election early after foreseeing the issues you describe?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: I do not have much knowledge regarding his intentions. Despite the debts, he might have had a feeling of being internationally pressured due to the Geneva problem. In electing him, the people put their trust in him, therefore, they cannot blame him now.<\/p>\n

?: The former President at the rally in Nugegoda on 27 Friday, said\u00a0<\/strong>‘Why did they take over the government if they knew that the country is in debt?<\/strong>‘. What do you think about this statement?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: I’m also asking the same question. People who manage the finances in this government had asked for the power to show to others how they could efficiently manage the country. We have to introduce a better mechanism for the country. What really happens is that the government is merely trying to survive on the taxes imposed on the people. Just have a look at lending rates today, and how they have sky rocketed. It was 9% in 2015 but now it has escalated to 15%. How can one finance a venture with a bank loan under these lending rates? We cannot expect the savings to increase due to the fact that people would be left with no excess money to invest in banks. These figures should be managed properly to take the country forward.<\/p>\n

?: You mean to say the UNP is not competent enough to manage the country<\/strong>‘s finances since they basically control all the institutions directly related to the finances of the country?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Yes, I do not agree with their principles in financial management. UNP and SLFP policies clearly are very different.<\/p>\n

Their model ‘New liberal economy’ is not at all practical. Country’s which followed these principles have taken a turn for the worse. Take a look at the United States. They are walking out of these principles under the new President. This system has failed all over the world. What the government today thinks is that global conditions during former President J.R. Jayewardene still prevail in the world. The dynamics have changed.<\/p>\n

?: Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had also been following more less the same principles to date. So, what made the difference?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: It is like this. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration had not been able to attract investments until the war had come to an end. Even after the war they were not able to do it. So they walked through some real tough problems.<\/p>\n

The trade deficit of the country is nearly US$9 billion. The government has to make this money using various means. Whatever the government does it will have a direct effect on inflation and the value of the rupee in the money markets. We need a constructive approach by limiting imports, by introducing alternative substitutes for the people. Tourists who visited the country during the war amounted to about 400,000 per annum. Now it has exceeded 2,000,000 per annum. We need to introduce some new ways to enable people to come up with new value additions in tourism. We need to benchmark the current standards and introduce new strategic initiatives to make these tourists spend more. This is a sector of greater economic potential. Another sector is the service sector.<\/p>\n

It’s been so long but we were not able to line up these priorities right. Mahinda’s government was more inclined towards encouraging long-term investments such as the Mattala airport, Hambantota harbour etc. We need some projects in the country, which generate short-term revenues. All these activities should be directed at easing the burdens of the people.<\/p>\n

?: Do you see any other measures to achieve the objective?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: We need to plan all these steps properly. We can begin discussions with other countries for better terms for our imports such as crude oil. If we can discuss more flexible terms through inter-governmental dialogue, we could have an impact on the forex outflow. There are many commodities we heavily import annually. We have to identify them and formulate a plan to tackle the alternatives.<\/p>\n

I have done this in my ministry. We have successfully concluded discussions with many countries for technology dissemination and transfer.<\/p>\n

?: UNP recently introduced their economic master plan under the tagline of\u00a0<\/strong>‘A powerful Sri Lanka<\/strong>‘. This document carries many economic initiatives. What do you think about it?,<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: A government should have a vision. Take a look at this document. I cannot see a mission statement or a policy statement in it. There are some pictures tangled up with some fairy tales. Look at what they have showcased in Kuliyapitiya. It has turned out to be a total disaster. See what happened in Horana, when they set out to establish a tyre factory. The whole investment has turned into a greater debacle. UNP does not have a direction. Look at the number of budget proposals rejected during the Appropriation Bill debate stage. How many of the targets set by the budget presented in 2016 have been achieved so far? If they are out to create a ‘powerful Sri Lanka’ they need to set the targets for GDP, power and energy creation, agriculture production and various other sectors. The UNP cannot manage the country properly. To manage the country right, they need to get the institutions that steer these policies in line. The once powerful Finance Ministry itself has been brought under the purview of three ministers. The institutions are working in isolation without any proper understanding of how the others function. Iran today has become No. 6 in the world in the use of Nano technology. However, it is not in our school curriculum. The world is moving far ahead of us. We need to get there within the shortest possible time.<\/p>\n

?: Don<\/strong>‘t you think what we see today is the fruit of the past administration?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Well, I see it like this. Have we ever done a proper strength, weakness, opportunity and threat analysis for the Mattala Airport? Same goes for the Hambantota harbour. We intended having a second international airport. But have we been able to market it right to convert it to a profit making entity? There are thousands of ships passing southern Sri Lanka. Those ships are not going to dock in for services just because we have constructed a port in Hambantota. We need to have discussions with the shipping companies and relevant governments to bring at least some of the ships. We couldn’t manage it right.<\/p>\n

?: What do you see as the way forward?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Well, I’m against selling off these public properties to individuals or countries. We need to have a solid plan. We should appoint right professionals to run public enterprises. That is how Singapore emerged as a wealthy nation. We have over 200 public enterprises. Consider the people appointed to spearhead these institutions. Why can’t we appoint top professionals to run these institutions? They know the art of management. There are top professionals in the private sector. Get them to manage these public enterprises provided that they are vested with the respective authority and compensation. Look at those appointed to SriLankan Airlines. The previous government appointed a planter and there is no difference about these appointments under the present government. These important positions are being filled to please political associates and friends.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

?: If the government is to change what are the constitutional provisions available for the opposition to use?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: The President plays a decisive role in changing the government. He can only be removed by an impeachment motion. He has the discretion to appoint the Prime Minister. There are 82 parliamentarians representing the SLFP. Out of this 41 support the President and the rest are with the joint opposition. In order to form an SLFP government, these 82 members should be united.<\/p>\n

The President too should trust some member out of the 82 parliamentarians. A top level discussion should be held instead of the lower level discussions that we see today. The government should be directed in the right way at least now. Otherwise, the government will have to go through some tough times if someday all anti-government forces unite against the government. We can see the actions of some ministers already driving the government down that lane.<\/p>\n

?: The United People<\/strong>‘s Freedom Alliance won 95 seats out of which 82 seats were won by the SLFP. But surprisingly you were removed from the position of General Secretary of the UPFA. Is there any untold story behind this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: This is a senseless decision taken by those who orchestrated it. At least they should have called Minister AnuraYapa and myself to ask us to show cause relating to our decisions. If they wanted to prevent Mahinda Rajapaksa becoming the Prime Minister, open your eyes and look at the state of affairs today and you will see where it has all ended. If it wasn’t for the events which transpired during the last few days, we could have easily obtained nearly 6 seats more than the UNP. Research conducted into this has borne this out.<\/p>\n

?: Don<\/strong>‘t you see any possibility of a possible amalgamation between the two factions of the SLFP?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: I have never been able to actively participate in any of these dialogues. I was never invited to participate. I was able to bring all the fragments of the party to one table within a very short period of one week. There was no unity between the members of the SLFP when the general election was declared in 2015. My efforts to bring the SLFP together have greatly enabled efforts to prevent a total UINP domination of government after the election. The SLFP today strongly positioned to challenge the UNP where it matters, within the unity government. That’s all a result of my efforts. People do not talk about it. There is no body to take charge and negotiate to bring the party together. There is no high level discussion going on in this regard to my knowledge.<\/p>\n

?: Who is responsible for bringing these forces together?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: The responsibility to bring these factions together lies with President Maithripala Sirisena and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.<\/p>\n

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By Charminda Rodrigo\u00a0Courtesy Ceylon Today Minister of Science and Technology Susil Premajayantha questions how many of the targets set by the budget presented in 2016 have been achieved so far? “If they are out to create a ‘powerful Sri Lanka’ they need to set the targets for GDP, power and energy creation, agriculture production and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62829\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}