More exports needed to lift forex levels

Sri Lanka’s garment industry today is worth more than five and a half billion rupees amounting to 50 per cent of exports. “However we could not get into manufacture of electrical components and machinery as we were not in power during the past 20 years and are now struggling to achieve that,” said the State Minister for International Trade, Sujeewa Senasinghe, Chief Guest at a recent forum held at the Institute of Chartered Accountants (CA) office in Colombo.

He said whether or not to bring in skilled foreign workers to Sri Lanka, is a viable option to be discussed and debated in detail.

He said the present government brought in good governance by restoring the independence of the judiciary and media freedom and by setting up nine independent commissions to serve the people.

“We were called the champions of democracy at the G-7 meeting and the President, the Prime Minister and all of us in the government should get credit for that.”

He said the key goal of the government is to increase the manufacturing sector and for this purpose 20,000 acres of land has been set aside for setting up of industrial zones.

“But as Sri Lanka is a small market we need to export to earn revenue. Sri Lanka is also a business hub with the ease of doing business. We have to make it attractive for investors. Our exports too have gone up but need to act fast by taking decisions fast.”

Referring to the job market in Sri Lanka, he said although 500,000 jobs are available in the country the labour shortage has not been filled up due to a multitude of reasons.

He said the education system too has a lot to do with the availability and selection of jobs. The education system has to be overhauled to overcome this hurdle. “Against such a backdrop are we to allow foreign workers into the country?” he asked.

“We know what is best for the country but we have to be sensitive enough when deciding such matters. We cannot bring changes all of a sudden. As far as FTAs are concerned as much as it can bring good it can affect certain employment when foreign labour and skilled employees are brought into the country.”

However he emphasised that competition was necessary for the development of the country.

President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, Jagath Perera said that there is a severe shortage of labour in Sri Lanka according to complaints made by corporate bodies and manufacturers in the country.

He said foreign workers employed here have to be regulated to promote growth. Dr. Nisha Arunatilake of the Institute of Policy Studies and the Bangladesh High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Riaz Hamidullah also spoke.