Foreign investors also consider governance and HR issues apart from economic growth, minister says
International investors and lending agencies not only look at growth potential of a country but at other criteria such as human rights issues, good governance, transparency, laws that are put into place to ensure transparency and accountability, rule of law and so forth.
“We were able to achieve this not in a divided government but with consensus transcending all political barriers. Both sides of the house voted for this important legislation (19th Amendment) and we must now work together to ensure that this legislation is implemented,” said State Minister of Finance Mahinda Samarasinghe at the launch of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) 2015 report in Colombo recently.
The Minister said the 19th Amendment had put in place a conducive environment for Sri Lanka that will benefit not only Sri Lanka but internationally as well. Independent commissions such as the Procurement Commission and the Audit Commission was very relevant for good governance accountability and transparency. Independent commissions will improve the image of the country where business could be done in a transparent manner in the public and private sectors. “Huge consumer losses occurred in the past owing to non-accountability issues. I have always maintained that growth per se alone was not development; that it should be linked to social justice.”
He said, “When President Maithripala Sirisena chaired a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat to discuss Finance Ministry matters I informed him that we have to market the new constitutional amendments that we adopted both locally and internationally.”He said Sri Lanka has now emerged from a 30 year-old conflict and was successful in eliminating terrorism. The objective now was to win peace. “I personally believe that winning peace was an arduous task considering different dimensions leading to comprehensible and sustainable peace. Coming out of this 30-year conflict, six years ago we have a lot to show in terms of the peace dividend in Sri Lanka where growth has accelerated and was able to achieve other things as well. We have now put in place a new executive President who has undertaken several steps to ensure better governance and strengthening of democracy, transparency and the rule of law, accountability, etc,” he said.
UNDP’s Country Director Joern Soerensen said despite the Asia Pacific region being dynamic a recent survey shows that around 740 million people in the region have to overcome poverty.
He said sustainable economic growth includes social justice and environmental stewardship.
Executive Director of the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka Dr. Saman Kelegama said Sri Lanka had a high growth period from 2010 -2014 and the challenge today was to make the peace dividend more effective.
“The Sri Lanka economy grew at a high rate along with per capita income owing the low population growth. Along with the per capita income we would like to see living standards being improved,” he said.
Meanwhile the IPS report on Sri Lanka shows that growth performance has strengthened since the civil war ended in 2009, in part due to reconstruction efforts on road networks, hospitals and schools. The economy expanded by 7.4 in 2014 up from an average of 6.8 per cent over 2012/2013.
Private consumption drove the economy supported by rapid growth in tourism and remittance receipts.
Growth is expected to remain at the high rates of 7.5 per cent in 2015 and 7.6 in 2016 on continued strength in private consumption.