Don't criticise Govt without suggesting solutions - New CCC chief

Criticising the Government about wasteful expenditure should go hand in hand with suggested remedies, said the new Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), Jayampathi Bandaranayake, in a recent interview with LMD .

"We should desist from offering simplistic solutions to complex problems. If we criticise a government about wasteful expenditure, we have the responsibility of suggesting how this should be remedied," he said and added, "We need to work out propositions and options, taking into account all political realities, before presenting them to the Government."

Pointing out that Sri Lanka's inherited political system was dependent on the votes of the public, he told LMD that economies in developed countries and some East Asian countries had progressed because their political systems were not as liberal as that of Sri Lanka.

"Our challenge is much greater. We do not have visionary leadership, as yet, to lead the country to prosperity - like in Singapore, for example.

I believe that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has the opportunity to play this role and only time will tell whether this is utilised or not," he said.

The interview, which covered a host of other pressing issues and concerns, is featured in the October edition of LMD , now out on stands at all major book stores and selected retail outlets.

Bandaranayake said, "An essential element of the plan is an early end to the conflict. We need an economic boom to pay for the adjustment process, as we have to restructure the economy - and for this, we would need international support. We have to be in a bankable position and propose high-level options to those in leadership, taking into account socio-political realities as well."

The Ceylon Chamber Head said that the SAARC Summit, for example, was of great political significance, and told LMD , "people should not believe that everything the Government is doing is wasteful".

"I hope the Government will, with a parliamentary majority, deal with pressing priorities such as proposing a devolution plan to resolve political issues such as addressing minority grievances.

We can then rationalise the high numbers in the Cabinet, which - in the short term - was intended to resolve more pressing problems," he said.