How to be in power and keep Rajapaksas at bay, top economist tells young UNP professionals
The Sri Lankan government is ready to implement a shortterm reform process which will generate short-term gains and help the government increase its acceptance among the voters in the run up to the 2020 elections, according to a senior government economic advisor.
“Some of the short-term reforms, such as cutting through red tape and liberalizing equity ownership of foreigners could be implemented in the next few weeks instead of waiting for the budget, and would generate results in the short-term,” staterun Institute of Policy Studies Chairman Professor Razeen Sally said.
Speaking at a UNP Young Professionals’ Organization seminar in Colombo, he added that Sri Lanka needs to appeal to the optimistic spirit of foreign investors, which have a snowballing effect on attracting further investment in the current environment, where cost of finance is too high for debtdriven growth.
He said that this action plan was decided at a recent retreat for key economic policy makers and advisors held in Kalutara, where they agreed to prioritize on the immediate requirements for the economy.
Under the action plan, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera is expected to start a vastly different budget process, where he would set out the budget in the middle of the year, and then only entertain pet projects of ministers based on a cost-benefit analysis, instead of trying to fit in all such projects as was done in the past.
However, the retreat had taken place before the humiliation the government suffered at the local government polls, a drubbing which Prof.sally said the government deserved for the high handed, nonsensical and dangerous actions and policies of former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake and Former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran.