Financial Times

Reducing dependence on migrant remittances
A top business leader said last week that trimming the high cost of electricity, reversing the ‘brain drain’, reducing dependence on foreign worker remittances and creating awareness about HIV were the most important issues facing the private sector today.

Speaking at the166th Annual General Meeting of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Chairman Deva Rodrigo said that the Investment Climate Assessment (a report) has identified the high cost of electricity and unreliability of supply as barriers to investment in the urban, and rural sectors.

“When the demand for electricity outstrips supply and dependence on thermal power generation increases, the country could expect power cuts or higher tariffs or both,” he said, stressing that what the country needs are sector reforms and not Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) reforms. “We need to go all the way from restructuring the CEB to regulating the industry and having competition at the supply level, as in the UK in order to break the CEB monopoly that some others grossly exploit,” he said.

Explaining the importance of human capital development, he said, “We must re-visit to enact the draft Bill on Universities that was finalised in early 2000 and allow Dr. Tara de Mel to forge ahead with these reforms and canvass for bipartisan support to pass the necessary legislation.”

He said that if the country can attract at least 10 percent of the many thousands of Sri Lankans who are adding value to giant global corporations with world-class knowledge, experience and ability, the present slow paced management transformation in the country will accelerate.

Rodrigo said that the country must deviate from depending on Middle East worker remittances, which now account for over 20 percent of the export income. “The Ambassador Designate to Saudi Arabia spoke to the CCC about the social cost of sending young mothers to work overseas, saying that the cost of broken families, incest, and the impact of young children growing up without the care and love of their mothers is greater than the billion dollars we earn from worker remittances,” he said.

Speaking about HIV/AIDS, he said that last month alone 39 new cases were detected, which is the highest so far in the country. “We must remove the stigma to break the silence, build awareness, promote condom use and condom machines at public places must be promoted,” he said, adding that the business community must start their own programmes to combat the spread of this deadly disease.

He said that the emerging bipartisan approach to a national agenda is encouraging and gives the best hope to the country. Rodrigo said that within the next few weeks the Chamber Committee will have the first cut of the updated “Way Forward Strategy” and stressed that policy formulation should be within a framework that aims to improve the country’s productivity and competitiveness to secure an increasing share of the global market for goods and services.

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