JVP: Corruption, not lack of relief, driving investors away

Existing laws sufficient to attract foreign investment

By Saman Indrajith

Foreign investors were reluctant to park their money here not due to lack of tax relief or legal issue but because of corruption, the JVP said yesterday.

Addressing the media at the party headquarters in Pelawatte, JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva said that investors had chosen many other destinations where the laws were tougher than in Sri Lanka. “Chinese investments are not determined by the laws and regulations of their investment destinations but by the decisions of centralised single party administration. Whenever the Chinese government names the places of investment, their investors go there. Foreign investors from other countries have concerns over a country’s infrastructure, legal system and tax regimes. But such investors are put off by Sri Lanka’s political leaders who demand commission. The investors are asked to give huge commissions to many politicians starting from the very top. This is the reason why investors are not coming here. The solution for this problem is not building special economic zones such as the Port City, but ending the culture of corruption.

The JVP General Secretary said that the government’s claim that the Port City Bill was aimed at attracting investors was unacceptable.

“We accept that investors should be attracted by giving them some relief and facilities ensuring their objective of maximising their profits. But the country already has such mechanisms. The Greater Colombo Economic Commission was set up for the said purpose and it was later expanded to form the Board of Investment, which gives relief to investors. In order to give more tax reliefs to investors, the Strategic Development Act was implemented. Those legal provisions are sufficient to attract foreign investors but will they come to this country when the ministers and their wheeler-dealers are asking for huge percentages in commissions?” Silva queried.

NPP MP Dr Harini Amarasuriya and writer Keerthi Welisarage also addressed the press.