Plans…plans… plans
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Plans, plans, plans……committees, committees, committees….. laws, laws, laws……and new laws over old laws…..Sri Lanka is full of it. But eventually it’s all talk and no show.Take for instance the numerous committees of Parliament including the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) and the Committee on Ways and Means. There is an international description of the Committee on Ways and Means which defines it as having the responsibility for raising the revenue required to finance the central government. This includes individual and corporate income taxes, excise taxes, estate taxes, gift taxes and other miscellaneous taxes.
Whether this is the role of Sri Lanka’s Ways and Means Committee is unclear and the public at large is not privy to what this committee does until and unless the media focuses on its work.
The irony of committee after committee being appointed in Sri Lanka without any solutions offered to a problem or even if solutions are offered, those solutions never getting implemented, was part of the discussion this week when the Sunday Times Business Club held its monthly meeting on the topic ‘Progress of Economic Reforms’ with the participation of two young public policy specialists.
It was revealed that even laws drafted and approved by Parliament are not followed by the legislature itself. For example, the annual budget has a ceiling on the debt to GDP ratio enshrined in the Fiscal Management law but this regulation is never followed, since the debt percentage presented with the budget is invariably higher than what is prescribed by law! No one bothers to challenge it in Parliament.
While discussing this at the start of my column, the phone rang at home. It was know-all neighbour Haramanis of broken-English fame.
“I shay…..what is this plan for 2048 that the government keeps talking about,” he asked after we exchanged the usual pleasantries and greetings, reconnecting after a long time.
“It is a plan connected to Sri Lanka celebrating 100 years of independence from colonial British rule,” I said.
“Aiyo……but if we can’t solve the current problems with many committees and solutions offered but never implemented, how are we planning for ‘great economic development’ 25 years from now on,” he asked again.
“You’re right. The bigger problem is that when governments change or new leaders are elected, such a proposal will get thrown out and new proposals emerge with different agendas and policies,” I said.
The government, it appears, is determined to come up with a plan to ensure a strong economy by 2048 – on par with the developed world – but the plan is on shaky ground as presidential and parliamentary elections are due next year and the year after. If there is a change of leaders and ruling political parties, this plan would be shoved by the wayside or altered to suit the whims and fancies of the newly elected. Such plans would work and the recommendations of committees are also implemented only if there is opposition backing.
If the government and its political backers are keen on this 2048 plan to ensure a strong nation, there must be a separate and parallel rolling plan to tackle issues that happen then and there, while the larger plan is untouched and progress seen every step of the way.
Recent media reports, quoting Minister and Cabinet spokesperson Bandula Gunawardane, said that the government has decided to provide budget allocations for next year by prioritising the projects that can contribute to the achievement of the government’s 2048 development goals.
“He said currently ongoing projects will be prioritised according to their contributions to the current economic crisis until foreign funds can be utilised,” a media report said.
It said a report in this regard was presented by the President in his capacity as Finance Minister, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies on the progress achieved by 202 large-scale development projects implemented by line ministries by the end of the second quarter of 2023.
“It was revealed that the progress of many projects was lower than expected by the end of the second quarter of 2023 due to the inability to use the related foreign funds and the limited release of local funds until completion of the debt restructuring process,” Minister Gunawardane said, according to the media report. Some weeks ago, I wrote that the country’s rule of law is a good example of having laws which are not implemented for political reasons, hesitancy or reasons of corruption. It’s just like the famous saying ‘even the best laid plans of mice and men go astray’ which means the best laid plans don’t always come through, I wrote.
In the meantime, Sri Lanka is struggling to meet the goals and targets in the IMF US$2.9 billion bailout package which are recommendations by Sri Lanka and contained in the IMF-backed reforms.
There seems to be some progress in reforming loss-making State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) with bids called for the Hilton hotel (in which the state owns the land and the holding company) and a state company that is building the Grand Hyatt hotel, among others. The biggest of the lot up for sale or part-privatisation is SriLankan Airlines in which the IFC (World Bank-affiliate International Finance Corporation) is the investment advisor. Indications are that bids might be called in the coming weeks for the national carrier with some Indian airline operators showing interest.
Apart from the plethora of committees, plans and laws over laws, missing the target is the name of the game. Take for instance, the plan to double exports from $10.6 billion in 2011 to $20 billion by 2020. Of course, 2020 was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic followed by the economic crisis in 2022, reasonable grounds for missing targets. Another plan is the ambitious 5-year strategic target of the Export Development Board (EDB) to increase exports to $31.3 billion per year by 2027, more than double the value of current exports. Another plan that would go down the drain!
Loaded with the dismal record of committees, plans and new laws, I divert my attention to the conversation under the margosa tree where the trio has gathered to discuss their favourite subject – the cost of living.
“Mama eeiye market-ekata gihama kampanayata pathvuna dehi-wala mila dekala (I went to the market yesterday and was shocked at the price of lime),” said Kussi Amma Sera.
“Mata therum ganna bae aei kiyala, mokada dehi waga karanne lankawe-ne. Pita-ratin genne nae ne (I can’t understand why it’s very costly because limes are grown in Sri Lanka and not imported),” noted Serapina.
“Okkama elavalu wala mila godak wedi wela, mokada wenath viyadam, pravahana viyadam-wagey wedi wela hinda. Ekata wedi wena indana milath ekkahu wenawa (The prices of all vegetables have increased and this is because of other costs like transportation which includes rising cost of fuel),” said Mabel Rasthiyadu.
It was time to wind up my column. As I walked into the kitchen to get my second mug of tea, my reflections were on the saga of the appointment of committees with no end result that is sadly another unenviable record in Sri Lanka.
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