Independence - II

Addressing the Independence day celebrations on February 4, 1948 S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike opined that political independence means nothing in the absence of economic independence.

Today, 62 years later his opinion still stands true. In order to live man must first find his means of subsistence - food, shelter and clothing before he indulges in philosophy, ideology, politics, law or social activities. Though it is true that man does not live by bread alone he cannot live without his daily bread or his food.

Since independence the country has witnessed several changes in economic policy. Though these policies had their merits in their time none of them could overcome the basic defect in our economy, viz., the lack of sufficient capital accumulation or a surplus to be invested for development.

During the era prior to independence the economy was a typical colonial adjunct of the economy of the colonial master, in our case, the British economy. Sri Lanka remained basically a producer of primary commodities for the colonial powers while all necessary goods and services were imported from the colonial metropolis. The first post-independence regime under the leadership of the UNP did not change the status quo.

It was left to the subsequent governments under the leadership of the SLFP to attempt the construction of an independent economy through the development of indigenous agriculture, industry and commerce. Still Sri Lanka, like most other countries in the Third World continued to suffer from unequal exchange in the world market where the prices of our primary commodities kept on falling while that of the finished goods imported from the West increased progressively. This resulted in serious balance of payments problems necessitating dependence on foreign loans for existence.

The economic crisis in the mid-1960s saw extremely difficult days for the ordinary people. This allowed the UNP to benefit from the hardships of the people and introduce a new economic policy popularly known as liberalization. Under the liberalization policy, export promotion was considered the ultima Thule of a sound economy and investors were welcomed with open arms giving wide concessions for them to plunder our resources. The international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund took control of our economy. This reinforced our economic dependence on the West and all attempts to develop an independent economy were abandoned.

The taste of the pudding is in the eating, the saying goes. Similarly the ultimate success or failure of the economy is seen in the life of the people. After more than three decades of the open economy it has become clear that salvation from our economic woes does not lay in the open economy or the neo-liberal policies pursued since 1977 by almost all successive governments despite their differences in political complexion. All talk of an open economy with a human face was proved to be deceptive and illusory.

In the meantime, with the onset of the global financial crisis in the second half of the first decade of the twenty-first Century neo-liberalism collapsed even in the developed countries.

Sri Lanka was saved of its worst effects due to the change of government in 2005 which discarded the neo-liberal blueprint called Regaining Sri Lanka put forward by the Ranil Wickremesinghe administration of 2003.

Under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa the country has taken a conscious decision to steer away from the neo-liberal path and pursue independent economic development. It has found new global players in place of the Western powers. Fortunately, it is relying more on South - South cooperation.

Today Sri Lanka is at an important juncture in its history. It has to catch up with developed countries. The historical gap between it and the developed world has to be narrowed and eliminated in the shortest possible time. This calls for dedication and commitment by all citizens. It needs huge strides in innovation and research. Vast capital outlays are required for human resource development and infusion of technology. Unless the technology gap is filled, unless Sri Lanka acquire superior technology at least in a few key areas and lower the cost of production, no amount of export development would earn a surplus for the country. This is due to the higher productivity of our competitors that make our goods and services less competitive in the international market.

Corruption and waste have to be minimized if not eliminated altogether. This requires a heightened civic consciousness, which in turn demands examples from the leadership of the country. These are the daunting challenges that face the country as it celebrates its sixty-second anniversary of independence. Meeting them requires synergies of all. With sacrifice, dedication, commitment and synergy a better future could be guaranteed. It won't fall from heaven like manna.