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by Lloyd F. Yapa, Consultant, Policy and Planning

(Continued from yesterday)

The public service is so bloated, inefficient and corrupt due mainly to politicisation and poor leadership, that implementation of programmes takes ages.

The prevailing legal and policing systems have failed miserably to mete out timely justice to criminals and route out endemic corruption, thanks mainly to vested interests of lawyers and politicians. Most people are steeped in superstition, indisciplined and addicted to intoxicants. Unemployment, especially among educated youth is extremely high - around 45%. The result is a soaring crime rate.

The politicians have also mismanaged the economy. The expenditure of the government mostly on unproductive measures is far above its revenue. The infrastructure is badly run down. Industrialisation has led to the development of only three districts close to the metropolis, resulting in continuance of low priced, unprocessed exports.

The country stagnates at the bottom of international competitiveness indices, mainly due to high costs of production and low labour productivity. Investor confidence has been at a low ebb for these reasons, especially political instability and 'market unfriendly' economic policies. Consequently, 40% of the people, especially in rural areas, are reported to be poor, earning around Rs. 1000 per person p.a.

What then are the opportunities present in the external environment? The greatest opportunity is the $ 4.5 billion pledged for the development of the Sri Lankan economy in Tokyo this year. Recovery of the rich US and European economies, which absorb nearly 70% of exports from this country may be round the corner and the massive middle classes in neighbouring Asia, could serve as lucrative export/tourism markets. In the case of imports, the price of oil may decline due to higher supply and lower demand. Handled smartly, the interest shown by the US, the only world super-power, in Sri Lankan affairs is a definite opportunity, although it may seem like a threat to some. Early use of the ICT and biotech revolutions could enable us to 'leapfrog' into the 21st century.

Some of the threats include the continued imposition of protective barriers against Sri Lankan exports by importing countries, pricing out of our products from these markets by the Chinese 'juggernaut' and price hikes in imports, mainly of oil with increases in freight rates, if the US war against terrorism continues. Otherwise, the flow of cheap imports, which compete with local products, may continue.

Strategies

The main strategies, the above SWOT will yield, could include:

1. Adoption of a joint approach by all stakeholders to conclude the peace negotiations successfully and finally to introduce a new constitution and other laws acceptable to all the stakeholders and the public, to overcome inherent institutional/political weaknesses, empowerment of regional and minority communities, improvement of governance, ultimately to obtain national harmony/stability,

2. protection of the environment to improve its bountifulness/beauty, while exploiting it sustainably,

3. following macro and micro economic policies and regulations/procedures, that are 'market friendly', while avoiding 'market and government failure', to improve price stability, productivity, value addition and competitiveness, thereby inducing investment in infrastructure, production facilities and services,

4. reform of the system of education to emphasize on tertiary education to all who desire it, while revising curricula to develop the technical/managerial skills, that are in demand and to create healthy, rational, law abiding, productive citizens,

5. development of (peasant) agriculture with grant of land ownership followed by consolidation of farming land, (complemented by expansion of industrial/services) to improve its productivity, and

6. overhaul of the administration, justice, policing, national security systems to improve their independence and efficiency.

Principles to be observed

There are a few important principles to be observed in this process. The vision should be futuristic, be able to inspire the stakeholders and the public to take desired actions. The mission should reveal the exact role to be played by the government/organization in realizing the vision. The objectives/results to be delivered should conform to the aspirations of all the (SEP), which is the "market" in this case.

Always follow the needs of the market. The objectives have to be quantified, to enable performance to be measured against them. The objectives/targets have to be challenging but achievable. The few strategies selected have to be key result areas, which influence overall development. The Leaders necessarily have to own them and communicate them to the people evangelistically to obtain the widest possible consensus.

The executive leader (in the case of a country, the leader of the party, who has the confidence of a majority in Parliament and no other), has to handpick Heads of Divisions (in the case of a country, the Ministers, Heads of Ministries, Departments), whom he/she thinks have a proven record of performance and possess a strong commitment to draw up the necessary actions, with a cost (to derive budgets) and time frame and assignment of responsibilities, to implement the strategies, mainly by motivating and training of employees to reach excellence.

The actions/projects proposed have to be socially, technically and economically feasible. There must be a tight fit between national/organizational strategies, divisional (ministry and departmental) strategies as well as the actions of all levels of officials to deliver on overall goals/objectives. Implementation has to be on a 'first things first' basis.

Team-effort, commitment and innovation could lead to value addition. Co-ordination and co-operation among different sections and clustering of bodies with similar functions, could yield economies of scale. Co-ordination and implementation have to be made easy by adopting the leanest of organizational structures, simplest of procedures, as well as empowerment/delegation of authority, where necessary. Periodic monitoring supported by data collection/analysis, (preferable electronically), is essential to overcome shortfalls, change strategies and actions, when conditions change. To acid test of the entire process and the quality of leadership is to deliver results as planned.

Sri Lanka can definitely realize its vision, if such an (indicatively) planned process is followed with consensus and commitment.

(Concluded)

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