National planning comes centre stage at Gamani Corea Foundation forum

By Lynn Ockersz

‘Sri Lankans are very good at writing plans but nothing very positive has resulted from these efforts over the years. Nevertheless, the country needs a new system of planning and an essential requirement for this is a sound institutional framework coupled with good governance, chairman of the Gamani Corea Foundation (GCF) and a former Director of National Planning Dr. Lloyd Fernando said.

Dr. Fernando was addressing a GCF-initiated and organized symposium on national planning at the BMICH on March 19 titled, ‘Discourse on Lessons Learned through National Planning – The Past, the Present and the Future.’ The wide-ranging and well attended forum brought together policy planners, decision-makers, senior public servants, prominent politicians and thought leaders, among others, who count vitally in national affairs.

A principal aim of the forum was to impress on political parties and their leaders the crucial importance of including national planning in a major way in their manifestoes, now that they are gearing-up for elections expected to be held sometime this year. It was hoped that national planning would underpin all efforts at developing the country.

Among other things, the following matters were mentioned by Dr. Fernando: ‘The 9cs are the backbone of good governance, without which national advancement is unthinkable. Figuring among the Cs are: Participation, Consensuality, Accountability, Transparency, Equity and Inclusiveness, Rule of Law and Strategic Vision.

‘Sections, such as the state, the public sector, the private sector and civil society must work together to bring about economic growth and development, based always on good governance.

‘We need a planned, disciplined approach in taking the country forward. It is crucial that state actors work closely with each other. This applies in particular to the Cabinet, the Planning Council and the Defence establishment. At the end of the day, we need an Administrative Reforms Council. The latter will need to bring under its purview: recruitment policies, minister-Secretary relations, training of public cadre, performance appraisal of state agencies and rewards for performance by public officials.’

‘It is hoped that political leaders would take cognizance of these needs, going forward.’

Speaking on the subject of ‘National Planning Yesterday’, former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy stated the following, among other things: ‘The most comprehensive national development plan to date was formulated under Dr. Gamani Corea in the early fifties. In 1965, the Ministry of National Planning was launched. It discussed all operational aspects in national planning. While a 5 year development plan was initiated in the early seventies to essentially address the issues raised by the youth insurrection of 1971, national planning went out of vogue, as it were, with the liberalization of the economy in 1977. However even in those times, the Dept. of National Planning played a key role.

‘We need to get back to the Committee of Development Secretaries of the seventies which played an important function in development. Besides, it must be ensured that development projects are always in keeping with national priorities.’

Some key points made by CBSL Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe in his presentation, ‘A Macroeconomic Framework for the Future’, were as follows: ‘In some past times, monetary policy was allowed to be dominated by fiscal policy. This played a role in precipitating our current economic woes.

‘We have a stronger Central Bank now but a huge problem arises when national policies change with the changing of governments. Debt sustainability is crucial, going forward.

‘We need to independently assess the election manifestoes of political parties with regard to their financial feasibility. Likewise, we need a framework for public financial accountability. An institution with proper skills needs to be set up for this purpose. A debt management unit too is a crucial need.’

Director General of National Planning, R.H.W.A. Kumarasiri making an initial and comprehensive presentation titled, ‘National Planning Today’, drew the attention of the audience, among other issues, to the vital importance of a ‘Public Financial Bill’. This is central to state financial discipline.

During Q&A, Eran Wickremeratne M.P. made the following points: ‘Over the past 40 years, the local public sector has been destroyed. This sector must be independent of politicians. Recruitment to the public sector must be in the hands of public servants. We need to invest heavily in the training of public officials. Politicians should not decide on capital expenditure but we need a robust planning process.’