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PM to integrate Ceylon Chamber framework with economic plans

06 Oct 2019

Pledges to invest Rs. 500 b towards economic growth till 2025 Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has expressed interest in integrating a framework formulated by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce into the Government’s economic strategy over the next five years. Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, a spokesperson of the Chamber said that the Premier made this statement during a meeting held on 2 October to discuss the framework with Chamber officials as well as Treasury Secretary Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga. The “Sri Lanka Economic Acceleration Framework” is a five-year plan which aims to boost Sri Lanka’s GDP from its current $ 89 billion to $ 134 billion by 2025. It was launched during the Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2019 organised by the Chamber. In addition to this integration, the Prime Minister’s Office, in a press release, stated that the PM had outlined plans to inject Rs. 500 billion to the economy to transform it into an export-oriented digital economy. The Chamber expects the framework to enable Sri Lanka to achieve 5-6% GDP growth over the next few years from its current 3% level and to reach 7-8% by 2025. The growth is expected to be driven via sectors such as exports, tourism, and transportation and logistics, amongst others. The framework focuses on five key pillars – economy, socioeconomic development, governance, hygiene factors, and unity and harmony. Under the governance, the Chamber recommends the formulation of a National Implementation Committee consisting of both public and private sector officials, with a subcommittee formed at a different level. Furthermore, it is recommended to implement an action tracker for all government initiatives, mandatory quarterly progress reports, and a sound public communication strategy. In addition to this, the framework calls for mandatory performance audits by the Auditor General’s (AG) Department in addition to a fiscal audit function, overall functions of monitoring development projects to be vested with the line ministries, efficient Bill formulation process, and an inventory of incomplete and completed projects. The framework suggests energising state-owned enterprise reforms through building up on successful case studies such as SLT, thereby helping revive capital markets, which can be used as a source of funding without resorting to the cash-strapped Treasury. It also points out addressing the bottlenecks in the economy which are holding back Sri Lanka’s growth, such as the unavailability of land for commercial use, scarcity of labour, and growing pension liability. According to the framework, the Government should put in place stable polices that will enable sustainable growth, reversing decades of growth fuelled by either fiscal or monetary stimuli. In order to achieve this, the Government should continue current efforts towards fiscal consolidation through higher tax collection and prudent expenditure, maintenance of Central Bank independence, implementation of programmes such as the National Export Strategy, and expediting the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement. In addition to this, Sri Lanka needs to develop potentials areas for growth such as Sri Lanka’s tourism offerings, transforming Sri Lanka into a retail hub and medical/wellness destination, pursuing growth in exports through agricultural and manufacturing-related exports, exploring service exports, tapping into the significant export potential in value-added mineral exports and petroleum exploration, and implementing a proactive engagement strategy with the diaspora. Sri Lanka should implement a digital ID system and the necessary data protection legislation to seamlessly connect with its citizens to offer services such as banking, health, and payment of taxes. As the sheer number of ministries today leaves the citizen confused and inconvenienced, the plan suggests national policies to be administered by suitably qualified officials who do not change roles based on change of government or ministers. Further, it emphasises the importance of taking steps to move towards being in the top 50 by 2025 with respect to the Incidence of Corruption Index by Transparency International. In addition to hundreds of suggestions mentioned, the Chamber has also put in place proposals and recommendations from 18 key working groups across several identified verticals and cross-cutting sectors in the country.  

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