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Direction Sri Lanka calls for independent National Planning Commission
Civil society grouping Direction Sri Lanka has said that the country required an Independent National Planning Commission.
The following is the text of a statement issued by Direction Sri Lanka: “It is the considered position of Direction Sri Lanka that the neglect of evidence-based national planning in the Country now for over four decades has resulted in a highly distorted, imbalanced and unsustainable economy, leading to the collapse of many industries established after independence, compounded by social polarisation in the key social sectors such as Education, Transportation and Health. As apposite illustrations; • A fairly equitable system of education gave way to an unequal system of education where the well to do moved away their children from public education to private education dominated by private and public schools; • A mostly public transportation system gave way to a polarised system dominated by private vehicles which in turn contributed to a deterioration of public transport services in the Country; These and other changes encouraged many people in all parts of the Country to look for wage employment abroad, particularly in oil-rich Middle Eastern countries. With a widening of the trade gap due to rapidly increasing industrial imports, labour migration soon then became the leading exchange earner for the Country.
Labour migration post – 1977 resulted in labour shortages in vital sectors like agriculture forcing many small holding farmers to abandon labour intensive crop production in rural areas. Large numbers of school leavers also migrated to urban areas as informal sector workers, construction workers and three – wheeler drivers. Meanwhile, the importation of cheap substitutes for local products from many rural industries, eventually led to a decline of these industries. People engaged in such rural production activities eventually moved into other economic pursuits in urban areas. All of the above developments contributed to the loss of the rural – urban balance in population distribution, leading to increasing urbanisation, particularly in the Western Province. Many people migrated to this region not only for earning higher incomes but also to enjoy better amenities and services. Another significant development under post-1977 neo-liberal reforms was the compounding problem of public finance due to low tax regimes that were introduced. State revenue that was as high as 40% of GDP in the early 1970’s came down to about 12% of GDP, making it impossible to maintain a high level of public investment in critical areas such as education, health and public transport. The response of the governments at the time was to invite private sector investment. These investors established private hospitals, international schools and imported all types of vehicles for private transport and the roads were quickly filled with cars and other private vehicles. The rich and the other higher income generators began to use private services, while the poor had to manage with underfunded public services. Meanwhile, there was no diversification of export industries and the foreign income of the Country came from a few exports such as garments and tea. This was grossly inadequate to pay for the rapidly increasing import bill.
The easiest thing for successive governments at the time was to promote the export of labour. Foreign remittances from workers in the Middle East became the largest single exchange earner, reaching about USD 7.5 Billion and covered about 70% of the trade deficit. Tourism was identified as the next foreign exchange earner, reaching approximately USD 5 Billion at its peak. What was worse came soon thereafter, which was borrowing money from foreign sources to invest in projects, several of which subsequently became ‘white elephants’, not generating any return for the investment but adding to the rapidly growing foreign debt burden. With the onset of the pandemic in 2020 and traditional foreign inflows substantially declining, the situation aggravated to where the Government could not even pay for essential imports. To compound matters, the Government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa made several policy blunders including the ban on fertiliser imports and drastic reduction of income taxes. As is now well understood, it is the developments outlined above that eventually prepared the ground for the unprecedented economic crisis that Sri Lanka is presently facing. What is clear from the above is that it has been due to a series of public policy failures and the mismanagement of economic and social affairs of the Country for over four decades that led to the present crisis. It is the considered view of Direction Sri Lanka that the absence of a well constituted policy planning body to provide guidance (like the National Planning Council that existed up until 1977 which accommodated the best brains in the relevant fields) and the resultant lack of policy coherence across sectors paved the way for a highly distorted, imbalanced and unsustainable economy and society in Sri Lanka.
In such a context, political leaders and their cronies drawn from their own political circles continued to mismanage the economy and the social sectors leading to the present disastrous situation in the Country. It is in these attendant circumstances that Direction Sri Lanka identifies the urgent need to establish an independent National Planning Commission with necessary legal sanction and adequate empowerment as soon as possible in order to take control over the national policy making process and come up with a recovery plan based on the best evidence available and through objective and unbiased decision making. Direction Sri Lanka calls upon the President, the Government, the Opposition and all Political Parties represented in Parliament to champion the cause of setting up an Independent National Planning Commission (with necessary legal sanction and adequate empowerment) that would be the apex authority in formulating and presenting national policies that would run across all governments and the political divide for a designated period of time.
“No shipment for 10 days; seas off western coast will become rough by April end”
Education Secretary of the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) Pubudu Jayagoda says the Indian company which secured a tender to supply coal for electricity generation this year has delivered only 13 of the 25 shipments required and no vessel has arrived in Sri Lanka for the last 10 days or so.
Jayagoda said so while addressing the media during a protest held in Colombo yesterday.
Jayagoda said the Indian company Trident Chemphar, which secured the tender to supply 25 coal shipments for 2026, had placed the country’s coal stocks at risk.
Although all 25 coal shipments are required to be unloaded before the end of April, only 13 vessels have arrived in Sri Lanka so far, according to Jayagoda. He also claimed that no shipment had arrived during the first week of March, adding that coal vessels had not arrived for about 10 days.
Jayagoda warned that the situation could endanger the country’s energy supply as the seas off the western coast usually turn rough by the end of April, disrupting unloading operations.
According to Jayagoda, a report submitted by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka to the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on infrastructure and strategic development, power cuts may become necessary from August even if the country falls short of five shipments unless electricity is generated using costly diesel-powered thermal plants.
Jayagoda also alleged irregularities in the tender process, claiming that the government had changed tender specifications and delayed the tender process by about four months, possibly to allow the Indian company time to register and secure performance guarantees.
He further alleged that the coal supplied by the Indian company was substandard.
Jayagoda questioned why the tender had not been cancelled despite several shipments allegedly failing to meet quality standards and why no investigation had been launched.He asked why legal action had not been taken against the company despite supply disruptions.
The US Department of State has said that Washington respects Sri Lanka’s sovereignty in handling matters relating to the Iranian warship IRIS Bushehr and its crew, according to agency reports, quoting a State Department Spokesperson. He has said the final decision regarding the vessel, its crew and the rescued Iranian sailors rests with Sri Lanka in accordance with its domestic laws and international legal obligations.
The statement follows comments by Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath that Sri Lanka was looking after 32 sailors rescued from the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena under Colombo’s international treaty obligations.
The frigate was sunk by a US submarine off Sri Lanka’s southern coast on Wednesday during escalating hostilities involving the United States and Iran.
Sri Lanka’s Navy conducted rescue operations, following the incident, recovering 84 bodies.
Asked whether Colombo was under US pressure not to repatriate the Iranian sailors, Herath said Sri Lanka had taken all actions in accordance with international law.
Sri Lanka also provided safe harbour to the second Iranian warship, IRIS Bushehr, and evacuated its 219 crew members a day after the Dena was torpedoed. The vessel was taken to the port of Trincomalee after reporting engine problems.
Citing an internal cable, Reuters reported that Washington had urged Sri Lanka not to repatriate the Iranian sailors. However, the State Department spokesperson reiterated that the disposition of the crew and survivors was a matter for Sri Lanka to decide, adding that the United States respects Sri Lanka’s sovereignty in managing the situation.
Meanwhile, India allowed a third Iranian warship, IRIS Lavan, to dock in a port on humanitarian grounds after it reported operational difficulties.
The ship docked at the port of Kochi, where many of the crew, including young cadets, were disembarked and transferred to a nearby facility.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said Colombo would follow the provisions of the Hague Convention, which requires neutral states to detain combatants of warring parties until the end of hostilities.
A senior administration official said Sri Lanka was in discussions with the International Committee of the Red Cross regarding the treatment of survivors from the torpedoed vessel. International humanitarian law would apply to the wounded, who could be repatriated if they requested it, the official added.
Iranian diplomats in Colombo have requested the return of the remains of sailors killed in the attack to Iran.
Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa, emphasised the critical need for the Indian Ocean region to remain peaceful and not become part of any conflict, said a news report published by NDTV yesterday.
It said: As the Iran-Israel war enters its second week, the theatre of the war has expanded dramatically, reaching the waters of Sri Lanka. With the sinking of Iranian warship IRIS Dena in international waters off Lanka’s coast and the docking of a second Iranian vessel, IRIS Busheher, Colombo has become embroiled in a conflict where it seeks to remain only a neutral bystander.
Speaking with NDTV, Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the Opposition in Sri Lanka emphasised the critical need for the Indian Ocean region to remain peaceful and not become part of any conflict.
“The Indian Ocean has on successive occasions been declared a peaceful area and should remain so,” said Premadasa.
The Sri Lankan government has said that it will attend to all survivors of the ill-fated IRIS Dena and IRIS Busheher as per international protocols and norms. Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said his country had a “humanitarian responsibility” to take in the crew of the vessel, which was allowed to dock at Trincomalee in Northern Sri Lanka.
Premadasa, who is the leader of the opposition party SJB, called on all parties to cease the ‘asymmetric warfare’. He cautioned that the widening conflict would have devastating consequences for smaller countries like Sri Lanka, which is still reeling from its worst economic crisis in 2022.
“The Middle East conflict is already spreading to other countries, and this is having an impact on Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan people,” Mr Premadasa told NDTV.
A third Iranian vessel that was in the Indian Ocean, IRIS Lavan, has docked at Kochi in India. India has said it was a “humanitarian call” after the vessel sent out a distress call.
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Dry weather will prevail over the island
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