Sri Lanka’s economy on track whether bad governance or no governance

I do not share the recent pessimistic views of many political and economic writers as to the future of Sri Lanka based on the temporary political stalemate we are presently experiencing, with no proper governance or government. I predict that our development will continue to prosper and that a few of the politicians who are somewhat important such as the Prime Minister, Economics Minister and the Finance Minister whoever they are will have to adjust their views and fall into line with the pre- vailing and growing economic conditions of the geographical area of our world to which we belong.

This was clearly shown with PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Port City project which will be a part of the Chinese government’s Belt and Road project. Most of the politicians fighting for their private existence and privileges right now and who will have very little to do with the development of our country will nevertheless see development happening if they would only encourage the international and local private sectors. I believe politicians will not be able to stop it, since there is no other alternative.

My contention is this: Since Sri Lanka as a small economic unit is placed geographically close to the two fastest developing giants of China and India, it is impossible not to develop even with bad governance. This does not mean that good governance is of no importance as it may raise the rate of development by one or two percent. But our geographical position alone will pull us along the development road whether we like it or not! South Korea and Singapore which have efficient policies would have developed even with bad governance at a slightly lower but appreciable percentage rate, as they lie close to centres of technical excellence of Japan and parts of China.

If one looks at the countries of South East Asia from Vietnam to Indonesia all belonging to ASEAN and their economic development, you will find a common factor going through them. They are all adjoining or close to China, India, South Korea and Japan and have encouraging private sector programmes and are therefore developing rapidly irrespective of governance.

So let us not worry too much about the present political situation and let the secretaries of the ministries govern and make decisions till such time as and when a democratic government is formed. Gamini Samarasinghe

Via email