Development cannot wait till conflict is resolved - CB Governor

FIJI: In his keynote address to the Fiji Institute of Accountants, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said the people should not have to wait till the terrorist problem is solved to build a new school, build a new bridge for farmers to bring their produce to the market or to build a new port to develop infrastructure.

“We Sri Lankans had consistently used, perhaps unintentionally, the terrorist problem as the convenient scapegoat when explaining as to why we were not able to do many things,” Cabraal said.

He added: “Some persons, including some international agencies, have also been in the habit of regularly suggesting to us that we won’t be able to achieve much due to various reasons. Very often, they point out political problems or some strife or weakness and directly or indirectly suggest that we should place some of our development efforts on hold and wait till our problems are sorted out, before we attempt serious economic development and growth.”

Speaking on the theme of “Stimulating the Growth of the Private Sector in a Small Economy”, he said: “The choice is obviously clear. We cannot and should not wait for permanent resolution of problems for development work to begin and continue.”

He added: “We have to take advantage of our geographical locations as well as our country strengths. Sri Lanka and Fiji both are amazingly beautiful countries with huge tourism potential. Many places within the two countries could serve to attract tourists from all over the world. Tourists often become key business partners in an economy.

Therefore, the development of the tourism industry would afford an excellent opportunity to stimulate growth as it can provide a favourable environment to promote a variety of business ventures within the country.

Second, the business sector and Government should make a serious commitment to maintain integrity, reputation and high standards of social behaviour in all their endeavours.

Such a commitment has got to be displayed by key players of an economy, namely, banks, other financial institutions and society as a whole, as well.

Third, the country should possess and maintain a highly developed legal framework that provides certainty and effectiveness, whenever litigation has to be resorted to by stakeholders in the resolution of disputes.

Regulatory frameworks too, have to be up-to-date and transparent, and should be applied fairly, consistently and in accordance with international standards of best practice.

Fourth, the general level of support services, banking, trust, investment, accounting and auditing, custodial, and legal services of the country should be maintained at the highest international standard, as these services are essential to support international business.

Last year, Sri Lanka was able to record a GDP growth of 7.4 per cent notwithstanding the severe terrorist attacks and oil shocks. That was a tremendous tribute to our resilient private sector, which has been able to achieve such a growth rate, against tremendous odds.

They are still keeping it going, even in the face of organized “below the belt” efforts of many who are determined to discourage them by highlighting various negative sentiments and disheartening news items that are often exaggerated or doctored or reported with a negative “spin”.

This is probably because almost always, less than average growth in a country takes place when the people of the county do not possess a very positive attitude. Whenever the people improve their attitude, growth gathers a new momentum.

Asian Tribune