Financial Times

NCED proposes major development drive
The National Council for Economic Development (NCED) has presented a wide range of budget proposals including trade and tariff levels to create a level playing field for local producers, tackling high COL and production costs through strategies like high incomes, profit margins and product competitiveness, and a performance-based remuneration package for the public sector. Most of the proposals are likely to be accepted by the government, official sources told The Sunday Times FT.

The NCED comprises advisors from private sector stakeholder groups and senior government officials. Among the top private sector specialists in the NCED advisory group are Eraj Wijesinghe, Asanga Seneviratne, Ajit Gunewardena, Susantha Ratnayake, Prema Cooray, Nihal Fonseka, Mahesh Amalean, Ashroff Omar, Harry Jayewardena, Professor W.D. Lakshman, R Sivaratnam, Ranjan Casie Chetty, Cubby Wijetunge, Deva Rodrigo, Lalith De Mel, Ms. N Samaratunga, Prof. A Sherifdeen, Ms Otara Chandiram, Tilak de Zoysa, Ari Wickremanayake, Dr. Bandula Perera, Dr. Hans Wijesuriya, Chris Dharmakirthi, Hiran Cooray, Rajan Britto, Dumindra Ratnayake, Ranjan Yatawara, Hari Selvanathan, Abbas Esufally, Kingsley Bernard, Micky Wickremasinghe, Stephen Furkhan, Udaya Nanayakkara and Ms. Sitha Yahampath.

The NCED recommendations, according to reliable sources, include:

* Revision of trade and tariff bands to create a "level playing field" for domestic manufacturers to become globally competitive on input costs;

* Minimum national standards on product quality to protect the local consumers from dumping of sub-standard products;

* Assistance for research and development, know-how and technology acquisition, and other "under-invested" areas of the economy ;

* Specific relief measures for "selected" key industries and services;

* Create special BOI law controlled export zones for prawn and aqua farming, watershed protected organic farming, and value-added raw material based industries;

* Low interest rate, collateral-free debt and equity finance;

* Creation of cess funds for targeted sector assistance;

* Enabling infrastructure development private-public partnership programmes;

* Local industry and resources oriented education and skills training;

* Bridging the knowledge and productivity gaps with IT access and software skills;

* New financial services sector legislation to empower governance and regulation;

* Modernisation of legal service and court processes in line with international level;

* Streamlining of government services to reduce administrative delays;

* Measures to improve Sri Lanka's export and domestic market competitiveness;

* Mitigation of rising cost of living and production costs due to soaring oil prices through alternative strategies like increase of incomes, profit margins, and product competitiveness;

* Incentives for development of alternative electricity generation sources and energy efficient consumer goods and industrial devices;

* Arresting the transport gridlock and productivity impairing traffic delays and the development of a well-run public transport system;

* Assistance to enterprises that need non-financing inputs like management, design, market access, supply-chain, branding, training, technology and research;

* Incentives to entrepreneurs who initiate economic development activities in the rural areas and enable local investors who have invested overseas to domicile their holding companies in Sri Lanka and also borrow against those assets locally;

* 100% offshore input based local value-added processing and manufacturing to be allowed for gem and jewellery, furniture, and handicrafts sector;

* Revamping of tertiary school curriculum to reflect modern day needs;

* Restore law & order with strict enforcement to ensure safety of citizens and those engaged in competing business interests;

* Eliminate corruption and other "un-level" playing field issues to give all economic stakeholders an equitable opportunity;

* Foster transfer of international best practices and know-how through embassies;

* Reverse brain drain and create conducive local conditions to attract expatriates;

* Ensure tax revenue and other government income is collected efficiently without discrimination, and is also spent without wastage with proper accountability

* Profit re-investment oriented tax structure for non-BOI companies and stop leakage of raw materials and products to local market from BOI companies

* Ensure economic policy continuity and bi-partisan ownership of good initiatives

* Conduct national gap analysis of all relevant economic activity areas and international and domestic market sizing studies on behalf of industry;

* Increase national allocation spending on R&D and technology;

* Performance based remuneration package for public service with productivity benchmarks against private sector;

* Properly sequenced national development plan with appropriate institutional and regulatory controls and regular reviews; and

* Purge politicization of public service and make them independent decision makers.

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