JVP-led NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake says that the prevailing political economic culture, in Sri Lanka, required entrepreneurs to have political ties to do business in Sri Lanka.

Addressing a group of Sri Lankan expatriate business community members at the Daegu Exco Convention Centre, in South Korea, on Sunday (16), the JVP leader said: “Only those with links and connections with ministers could enter and do business in Sri Lanka. For example, to add a bus to an existing fleet of buses, the bus owner needs to have a connection with a minister and has to pay a bribe. If an entrepreneur needs a land to cultivate, he requires the approval of the subject minister. The minister of lands or those of his close circle could obtain the permission for the fleet owner. Without such connections, and oiling of palms, no one could engage in business in Sri Lanka. This is the basic structure of governance in Sri Lanka. This close circle of cronies of powerful ministers comprises officials and bureaucrats, too. This prevailing political culture has to be changed. Without changing it there would be neither success nor a future for the Lankan economy.”

He said that the current crisis not only has economic reasons but also political reasons. It is the political culture that created this situation. The ministers are preoccupied with how much they could earn through the deals. How the public benefits is the least of their concerns. There is a ruling clan that misappropriates, swindles and steals public funds. The ruling clan is ably assisted by an organised group of henchmen. They together try their best to milk the dying cow, known as the Lankan economy.

“Professionals are leaving the country, in droves, because they are convinced that there is no future for them, under this political culture. We must change this corrupt system. Only the NPP could bring about that change,” Dissanayake said.