PM tells private sector to get rid of protectionist mindset

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe asserted that the private sector and pseudo nationalists must move away from crony capitalism and the resultant protectionist mindset in order to take the country down the road of development.

“Firstly it’s a question of mindset; a change of mindset in the private sector from crony capitalism. If you’re staying back, it’s your fault. We cannot fail, we will only go up,” the Premier said.

He made these comments yesterday at t he Sri Lanka Economic Summit organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, themed ‘Towards Exports of US$50 billion’.

Corporate success in the past had been largely reliant on which doors the owners and managers had access to, and employees and shareholders of these firms experienced rapid economic development.

Wickremesinghe said that all citizens in the country are now looking forward to reforms which would bring them greater income, benefits, and social mobility, and it is irresponsible and unethical of the private sector to stand in the way.

“Are we going to do the next generation of reforms? If we are doing so, we have to be open. How some of you will adjudge it, I do not know. Some will look at it as being painful to them. Pain in the country has to be shared in order to grow. It cannot be imposed on a larger section of the people only,” he added.

He also said that the country must look outwards with niche exports from a highly developed manufacturing and services sector.

“At t he peak of Sri Lanka’s economy we had been a trading nation. From Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa times, we had been dominating the trade in the Bay of Bengal and all the way to China,” Wickremesinghe recalled.

He noted that Sri Lanka should reclaim such an identity by capitalizing on the markets in the US, EU, India and China, instead of resorting to protectionist practices implemented through the influence of politicians.

“That’s where we should be. When our nationalists say import substitution, it reminds me of dark chocolate. It’s quite nice and dark inside. But remember, the cream is white. So where are we going? Do we want to have the so called pseudo nationalist dark chocolates, or are we providing employment for 1 million of our young people. Then we need the markets,” he said.

The Prime Minister went on to say that new laws are coming to facilitate investments on a level-playing field for foreigners, and that the number of local industries which were protected in the negative list will be drastically reduced.

“You can’t be going to the government to get permission for everything you do, or bargain your way or decide how much money is needed to pass a permit to put up a building. All that has to go away. With this in mind, we’ll be bringing a series of legislation,” he added.

According to the Premier, a Development Special Provisions Law will be enacted to allow the government to cut through the red tape placed by the previous government, for a period of 3 years.

“We have to open up, but the resistance is coming from the private sector,” he said.