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| Saturday, 1 May 2004 |
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Result - oriented governance is our aim - Finance Minister by Chandani Jayatilleke
The United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government will ensure better and efficient management in the country's administration system. "We are committed to perform this duty and show results within six months, Finance Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama told the Daily News in an interview on Thursday. "The Government has already commenced work on three major projects as promised in its manifesto - the fertiliser subsidy, 30,000 employment opportunities and the drafting of the Anti-Corruption Bill," he said. Explaining further on the administrative system he said the Finance Ministry will strengthen the revenue collection system in the main revenue departments - Customs, Inland Revenue and Excise Department. So that required funds for development work will be met. Following are excerpts from the interview: Question: Your government consists of two major political parties which believe in two different economic theories and now agreed upon to work on a common project. How would you ensure the swift implementation of this mixed economy concept? Answer: We have already discussed, prepared and agreed on a common program. It's a detailed document, which we prepared after fruitful discussions for about a year. It contains common social and economic policies. So that the difference economic policies we believed in the past won't be an issue at this moment. Both the parties are fully committed to implement this common policy during our term in office. Question: How you plan to address do the issues of the common people in this country and reduce cost-of-living? Answer: I have already started my mission with three major projects over the last three weeks in office. As promised in our election manifesto, we took measures to implement the fertiliser subsidy program, to recruit 30,000 graduates for various employment and to work on the anti-corruption law system. We want to develop the areas where they have an on going interest such as the agricultural sector. We also want to encourage employment opportunities among rural youth. We are also trying to reduce the prices of essentials so that the cost-of-living will be maintained. Question: What immediate measures would you suggest to revive the rural economy - the success mostly lies there. Are there any specific plans for empowering rural communities? Answer: Agriculture - we need to revive the agricultural industries. That's why I have started my mission with the announcement of the fertiliser subsidy. We are also looking at reviving the prawn farming industry, coconut and spices plantations - these industries can bring in a lot of foreign exchange to the country. Question: All these projects need large funds to take off the ground. How would you plan to find relevant funds? Answer: Our plan is to utilise as much funds which are already available. For instance we were lucky to get over Rs. one billion which has already been allocated for the National Youth Corp. We are also getting some funds allocated by the World Bank to train unemployed graduates in meaningful jobs. We are not going on a free spending path. We have to spend only in relation to what we earn. My objective is while we undertake to fulfil commitments, we also look at funds that are already available. I have also told President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga that I anticipate a Rs. 5 billion cut in the defense budget, this is a major means of saving. We look at new means of income. We'll try to put a stop to 'obscene expenditure' done in certain fields in the country. Another major task I hope to perform is to streamline the revenue collection in Customs, Inland Revenue and the Excise Department. They should stick to the targets given by themselves to the former Government. We find these figures rather inflated. Question: What can the corporate sector expect from this government? Answer: We want to tell the private sector that the Government is the 11th man in their team. We want to give every encouragement to the Sri Lanka business community, and support them in every endeavour. We have already met several industry leaders, specially those in the apparel industry and conveyed this message to them. At the same time we encourage foreign direct investments. During the previous Government, the BOI became the most inactive organisation in the country and couldn't bring any significant investment projects into the country. Instead, they blocked many investors who were willing to come here. Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe himself had to go to the BOI and dig into the files to realise this pathetic situation. Question: How would you plan to bring down interest rates for lending and increasing savings rates? Answer: Any Finance Minister will have to think of ways to balance interest rates for lending and for savings accounts. For savings, customers should get a fairly reasonable rate of return. One of the major assets in our banking system is the savings base. During the last regime, the interest rates for savings came down drastically and common people moved away from the banking system. On the other hand, we have to think about industrialists who want financial loans at cheaper interest rates. The last government was single minded in this issue. We are concerned about these two factors and we have a pragmatic solution for solving the interest rate issue. We have to ensure an export-led economic growth. Question: What about the privatisation program? Answer: Our policy regarding privatisation is not a 'no privatisation' policy. That's completely wrong. We are trying to make certain sections such as education, health and transport sector very competitive. There should not be a monopoly - not a State monopoly. Actually speaking the PA Government in its previous regime managed to implement a successful privatisation program, by bringing in top investment and strategic partners for projects such as Air Lanka, Telecom, Sri Lanka Ports and the plantations sector. Today, these projects have shown their efficiency and capability by offering world class service to their clients. While we are encouraging competition, we also want to go for share issues as well. Question: How do you plan to woo foreign funds that have been pledged during the Tokyo Summit - most of it is linked with the success of the peace process? Answer: We have already met several senior officials from the donor agencies and senior diplomats from many countries. We have been assured by them that they are dealing with the Government and the nation and not with any single political party. Therefore, the releasing of funds will not be a question. However, it is more linked to the peace process and we are taking measures to go ahead with the peace process as well. The donors are looking at a government which can deliver goods and services in an efficient manner and a government which shows transparency in its dealings. We will ensure this requirement. Question: What immediate measures will be taken in connection with development projects? Answer: We want to go ahead with the proposed development projects. During the last Government, not a single development project got off the ground. For instance, Kothmale, Norochcholai, Southern Highway, Colombo-Kandy highway did not get off to a booming start. The only two project's they managed to commence were the Katunayaka airport development projects and the intimate apparel manufacturing plant in Kurunegala. Question: Can you comment on cutting down govt costs/ and ensuring good governance? Answer: We have given budgetary targets, so that we have to stick to this target. However, we have to take measures to increase our productivity level. Sri Lanka is the only country which boasts about getting a large portion of foreign funds. We should be ashamed of that in real terms. Everybody in this country is sleeping in their jobs, be it a politician, professional or a media person. We must change this attitude, so that we can do much better with the limited resources we have. Question: How do you address the plight of the senior citizens in this country? Answer: We'll certainly look into the issue of the senior citizens in the country. We will need a little time to study the issue and hope to bring about solutions immediately. Question: What is your target on economic growth this year? Answer: In Sri Lanka, we need not have a Finance Minister to record a five percent growth if we receive rains on time, ensuring a better tea and paddy crop and our workers in the Middle East send their remittances home on time and the global economy maintains its momentum. But we need a Finance Minister to take the growth level beyond 5%. Therefore, my target this year is to achieve a 6 percent growth in the GDP. Question: How do you plan to deal with the issue of corruption? Answer: One of the first tasks of the Government is to pass the Anti-Corruption Bill in Parliament. We want to implement tough anti corruption laws at the earliest. The Government has decided to establish a committee with wide powers to investigate fraud and corruption. The committee will function directly under the President. The Committee will be vested with special powers to deal with charges of bribery and corruption. Such a mechanism is in place in countries such as Singapore. We have already consulted the Singapore Government through our High Commissioner there and he is working on the issue in consultation with the top law makers in the country. We intend to bring the Bill to Parliament as early as possible. |
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