'All CEOs must be made accountable'

All CEOs, whether in the private or State owned companies, must be made accountable for their performance or be sacked, said Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister and Finance and Planning Deputy Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama. Dr. Sarath was the Chief Guest at the opening ceremony of the Colombo Plan's training program on "Executing the Blue Ocean Strategy", from 19-23 October in Colombo.

Dr. Sarath Amunugama said that private companies should open their shareholding to the public as a means to increase their capitalization. In this respect, CEOs must also be responsible to their shareholders.

In Sri Lanka, shareholders have a right to demand responsibility and accountability from the company's CEO. Countries, including Sri Lanka, need good management practices. Because of a lack of such management practices, sheer greed had led to the current financial crisis in the United States of America which has spread to the rest of the world.

He also said that Sri Lanka should let go of the myth of the State driven enterprises' contribution to the economy because in reality, it is the private sector that is the engine of growth.

Sixty percent of Sri Lanka's Gross Domestic Production (GDP) is from the services sector. Today Sri Lanka faces problems in four essential sectors, electricity supply, petroleum supply, railways and bus transport, which he called the "four demons."

The opening ceremony was also graced by several Ambassadors and High Commissioners including the President of the Colombo Plan Council, Ambassador of the Royal Thai Government Thinakorn Kanasuta and representatives of Colombo Plan member countries in Sri Lanka. This is the second of such training program implemented by the Colombo Plan which aims to provide an understanding of the Blue Ocean Strategy, concepts, principles and components and how business communities, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can adopt its ideas into actions, especially during the current economic crisis.

The Colombo Plan Secretariat Secretary General Patricia Yoon-Moi Chia said that implementing this training program in Sri Lanka has enabled the Colombo Plan to showcase Sri Lanka's success stories. Distinguished speakers and panellists from the private sector companies in Sri Lanka have been invited to contribute through their insights that led to their success.

There are 16 participants from 13 Colombo Plan developing member countries, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.