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Gems belong to Lanka, regulate the trade
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We should not be afraid to speak when what we say is true. We do not need to hide the truth or mislead others. I have endeavoured to stand by this principle.
There was an international forum of leading businessmen in the gem trade on Sunday, May 17 at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel. I was invited to lead the religious ceremony that took place there. The official invitation mentioned that the President would take part in it. But he did not attend the function. Other guests including Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake attended this forum. Later that day, I spoke to the President. I told him there was an international forum of gem merchants in Colombo. Around forty delegates from various countries took part in it. I told him that though he was expected to take part he did not come and that I was surprised why he missed such an important event.
The President listened to me attentively and told me that he was unaware of such an event. He said he was attending a function in Polonnaruwa that day. He assured me that he would look into why he was not informed about it. When I checked later, I came to know that he had made inquiries on this. Persons who could privately benefit from such events must take the blame for not inviting the President on this occasion. The participation of the Head of State in such functions will be beneficial to the whole country. This is a rare event where gem business giants meet once in two years.
A Buddhist Chinese gentleman who took part in this Forum has been known to me for a long time. He comes to Sri Lanka regularly and helps me in my work for the good of society. He has built schools and helped in deserving causes throughout Sri Lanka. How could the President miss an event where such personalities met? The country had lost a great opportunity for its welfare. I realised that some opportunists who are bent on feathering their own nests are responsible for this.
Mineral resources of the land we live belong to the State. Even if gem mining is done private land, it must have government approval. If mining is done in a river, a stream or in a paddy field, government approval is required. With such laws operating in our country, we are sorry to hear that substantial areas of the gem business have fallen into the hands of people without a vision. We are not saying that everyone in this trade is unscrupulous. There are those who buy gems brought by the poor people honestly and there are those who do this dishonestly. But it is now time for the stakeholders in the field to open their eyes.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) system was introduced in Sri Lanka on the advice of the Gangaramaya. President Ranasinghe Premadasa introduced a law for the payment of 15 per cent as GST. Today the GST is 12 per cent. At the request of some people, former President Mahinda Rajapakse brought this down to 11 per cent. Tea cannot be sold outside the auctions. So is it with rubber. I believe it is necessary for the President to work out a regulatory scheme for the gem trade also so that the people will benefit, instead of gem businessmen alone making big profits. If a permit is required for gem mining in any land or river, the benefits should be shared by everyone. It is time for the President, the ministers and officials to be vigilant and work out a regulatory scheme.
At least from now on whatever is mined from the earth should be auctioned under the supervision of officials and experts in the industry. Laws or regulations for the gem industry must be drawn up and implemented soon. When this is done the real benefits will go to the producer as well as to the mining labourer instead of to the racketeers and middlemen. As soon as the gems are mined a tax could be imposed and the funds routed to the Central Bank. If we do this, we could even balance our budget better and reduce the loans we take from other countries. Unfortunately, many in authority do not think on these lines. If a GST-like tax is imposed information regarding transactions will be recorded in the Inland Revenue Department.
At present, the avenues of income for the Government by way of tax on gems are closed. I think, this has been going on for some time, but attention has not been drawn to it. The Government has lost this income. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that he intends creating employment opportunities for a million people. One way of doing this is to regulate the gem trade and impose a tax system. Intelligent young people should be brought into this regulatory mechanism. They could propose ways and means of collecting taxes from the gem trade and remitting the money to the Government. That will mean, lots of more jobs, while these officials will also contribute to the development of the economy. If this is implemented properly, we could create not only a million jobs but more.
If any others have suggestions regarding this, please direct them to: The Ven. Galaboda Gnanissara Thera, Gangaramaya Temple, Sri Jinarathana Road, Colombo 2.