Non-ideological strategy proposed for POST-COVID-19 economic recovery

„A study group convened by Pathfinder Foundation comes up with recommendations for POST-COVID-19 recovery „Says recovery policies should be pragmatic, free of vested interests and ideological biases „Points out SL more likely to experience ‘U-shaped’ recovery with a period of flat growth

„Says govt.’s top priority should be to lessen hardship on people with pragmatic policies and careful execution of such policies „Second priority—building fiscal and external reserve buffers to increase resilience by de-risking the economy „Third priority- Grant concessional loans guaranteed by the government/cbsl to private sector based on credit lines from the international financial institutions

Sri Lanka’s POST-COVID-19 economic recovery policies must prioritise mitigating the hardship on masses, restoring economic stability and improving the investment climate for business with pragmatic policies instead of giving into vested interests and ideological biases, as the country is more likely to experience a ‘U-shaped’ recovery with a period of flat growth, according to a latest report.

An eminent study group convened by the Pathfinder Foundation last Saturday presented the report titled ‘Pathfinder Beyond the Box: A New Economic Vision for Post-covid-19 Sri Lanka’ to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The study group, which comprised of representatives of academia/research houses as well as key figures from the business community led by Former Central Bank Governor and Pathfinder Foundation Senior Fellow, Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, proposed a mix of macroeconomic, structural, propoor and climate-friendly economic policies to build the POST-COVID-19 Sri Lankan economy.

The report highlighted that the country’s economy is unlikely to make a quick recovery within next year considering many domestic as well as international risks and uncertainties.