Minister of Export Development and International Trade G. L. Peiris said that power sharing will be a practical solution if the country is serious about economic development. He said it made more sense for each area to make their own decisions politically without having to depend on Colombo to make all the decisions for them. "This will bring governance closer to the people and reduce the distance between the people and the administration. This will ensure that real needs will be catered for in the formulation of government policy. This will be a more democratic, beneficial and timely thing to do," Peiris said. Peiris said that through decentralisation of power, economic policy decisions will take into consideration the particular aspects of each part of the country. The crux of our country’s failure, a failure because more than half the county’s wealth is in one single district, is not providing equal opportunities which would have developed more districts, if not the whole country. "The focus on social equity is very important when formulating and implementing national policy," Peiris said. Sri Lanka is no longer classified as a low income country but as a middle income country with a per capita income of US$1370. The country’s exports grew by 15 per cent in 2007 but, "the real problem is in the redistribution of the country’s wealth," Peiris pointed out. After the JVP insurrection in the 80s, Peiris worked for the Presidential Youth Commission which brought him into contact with youth from the length and breadth of the country when this commission set out to find out practical ways and means of avoiding a repeat of that bloody insurrection. "We listened to these young people and this was the central theme of what they told us then: ‘We can put up with adversity, but not injustice.’ They told us that they were constantly being denied the opportunities and access to the means of development. They were indignant that nothing was done to uplift economic conditions in rural areas." Peiris said that government is focusing on establishing export promotion villages around the country with several already off the ground. Peiris was the Chief Guest at the occasion of the 49th Annual General Meeting of the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka on Thursday. The Chamber through its Business Promotion Fund, sponsored by the Royal Netherlands Embassy, disbursed Rs.68 million to 260 SME entrepreneurs island wide with only one of them from Colombo. The Chamber will also organise an agriculture exhibition in Buttala later this year. "We will take farming machinery and tools, fertiliser and everything farmers will need right to their doorsteps. We will also conduct seminars on the latest farming methods and update them on the latest research. We are also talking to financial institutions to join us in this endeavour and assist farmers by granting credit without guarantors and documentation," the Chamber’s President D. Eassuwaren said. |
