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| Sunday, 18 August 2002 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Exporters seek action to stem loss of competitiveness by Elmo Leonard Dramatic action was necessary to stem Sri Lanka's continuing loss of export competitiveness, witnessed over the past few years, Chairman, Exporters Association of Sri Lanka (EASL) A.S.M. Muzzammil said recently. The reasons for this sad state of affairs was compounded; the nation had faced several phases of the power crisis, and had suffered the consequences of widely fluctuating finance costs. These had further eroded the nation's ability to sell goods in the world markets, Muzzammil told the annual general meeting of the EASL. Adding to the woes of export competitiveness was the impact of high energy costs. The cascading effect of these negative factors, on inflation and also on the overall cost of production, was adversely weighing down Sri Lanka's ability to sell her produce overseas. Exporters were deeply concerned about the state of the nation's economy, Muzzammil said. They were doing their best to revive the economy. There was an urgent need to de-regulate and simplify export procedures and all business activities, Muzzammil said. Therefore, the EASL had written to the Prime Minister, requesting the appointment of a courageous minister or official to take over the total responsibility of streamlining exports and business activity. "The implementation of our proposal will not incur any costs, but will certainly be the beginning of a turnaround," he continued. EASL represents 90 per cent of the island's export sector. As far as exporters are concerned, there is an urgent need to continuously and effectively respond to the changing world markets. This was also dependent on the competitiveness of the Sri Lankan economy vis-a-vis our competing countries, Muzzammil said. Considering the factors weighing down the island's economy, its exporters are of the opinion that there was little room for the government to immediately alleviate the situation. He said that many committees were been set up, some even duplicating the work of others. "But, nothing much is being achieved regarding practical steps towards improvement." Muzzammil said that although many ministers and officials were going around the world seeking new investments, many investments already made were tottering due to reasons beyond the control of investors. There is a need for greater understanding of the real ground situation, he said. There was also growing enthusiasm towards drawing the private sector to run government institutions. Muzzammil said that the private sector could run private institutions, but whether it could run government institutions was yet to be seen. Muzzammil believes that the human capital in the government sector was as good as that of the private sector. The difference seemed to be in the environment or the culture of the two sectors. He questioned whether the environment in the government side provided the impetus for productive work. "Was there sufficient motivation? What were the rewards for efforts? Was it easier to do nothing than to do something?" he asked. Politicisation had resulted in the top positions being taken away from sound professionals. Thus, shortsighted and weak leadership prevailed. Depolitisation of all government institutions is a fundamental requirement for economic development, second in importance only to the ongoing peace process. It is only then, that government institutions would begin to function effectively, and the nation would get on the right track, he said. |
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