Financial Times

Need for more coordination on reconstruction
Government must get off the driving seat and allow the private sector to be the engine of economic growth as the stated policy has been, says Nawaz Rajabdeen, new President, Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industries Sri Lanka (FCCISL).

Rajabdeen was elected as the 14th President at the FCCISL AGM. The FCCISL is the apex body amongst trade chambers with 45 regional and district chambers except Kilinochchi and Mulativu. Soon there would be chambers in these two areas too.

In an interview with The Sunday Times FT reporter Quintus Perera, the new FCCISL chief discusses his plans to strengthen the Federation and the future of the economy of the country. Excerpts of the interview:

FCCISL is the apex group in major sectors in business and industry. What strategies do you plan for the future?

We have a definite role to play in business and industry. Our strategy is to accommodate all the business people in all the areas and to help them to form chambers. We have donor support for establishing and maintaining these chambers and they are enriched by us with all the facilities, infrastructure maintenance and human resources. The Chamber CEO/Secretary General plays an important role in looking after these chambers for their needs and support. Foreign donors visit the chambers to assess the progress after two years of overseeing them. Donors support the Federation for chamber development projects.

My vision is to strengthen these chambers, lobby with the state and fight to overcome their weaknesses. With the Tsunami disaster when the government was taken unawares we were the first chamber to take a positive step to look after our members. Immediately we got in touch with the Minister of Advanced Technology since the other connected ministers were not in the island. Banks were summoned to assess the damages, those affected and destroyed. We have 540 affected businessmen and out of which 140 were our members. We would do our utmost to bring them back into business.

We are unhappy about the 100 metres coastal restriction zone. Keeping in mind the positive role the government should play for development of those business houses that were destroyed within the 100 metres, temporary permits should be given to commence business in the same place, without keeping these business people confined to camps. Where the shops were totally destroyed, the government must provide temporary relocation and those shops that were partly damaged should commence business immediately. If the government has definite plans for a new township and relocation of business houses, I am sure we cannot do them overnight.

Small and medium business - micro level such as pharmacies, bakeries, grocery shops and vegetable vendors must be given some kind of assurance to put them back in business.

Rebuilding the country means rebuilding the economy and in this respect what is the approach of the federation?
We have made several proposals to the Prime Minister as most of the aid donor countries are keen to work with the chambers and they are being given an important role to play to bring business back into operation. We are also addressing some issues like the north and the east. It is very sad to see that the whole government machinery is focused on south. I had a series of meetings with donor countries and they are quite concerned about it.

The affected in the north and the east are struggling for existence for the last 20 years. Either they faced floods or war where no relief operations were in operation. I blame all the politicians in the north and the east because of their personal agendas before people. In the east in particular the victims are undergoing hardships and they are the poorest of the poor. The government should take a more serious attitude about the development strategy in the north and the east immediately.

The government should have a proper private sector-public sector partnership in the distribution and development after the tsunami. Ten districts of our chambers all over the country especially north, east and the south have been affected. After the tsunami we could identify not only our members but also the other businesses that are not members who are either displaced, their businesses destroyed and the number of deaths on record in all these districts.

Since independence, the Sri Lankan economy has been devastated with every government change and even now there is no definite economic policy, whereas countries like India, Thailand and Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong are far superior to us. Why has the private sector failed to take the country forward by pressurizing the government?

Since independence this country has been ruled more by politicians and not civil society. We never had national policies but had only right wing rulers, then right and left rulers, and the left and extreme left rulers. They were interested in grabbing power while having their own policies. They never bothered about the country's development; only their own interests. Even now nobody is concerned about a national policy on education, environment, business, trade and industry in particular which is the way forward. In India there is a national policy for every sector and politicians come and go, but there is a very strong bureaucracy, which the politicians fear.

Pre- independence and in early post-independence there were a number of well-established and well-developed private sector multinational companies. These companies were chased away in order to implement various different economic policies. Now Sri Lanka is on her knees imploring the multinational companies to come in. Also now the government is trying to hand back public enterprises again to the private sector. Why can't the private sector tell the government to make it powerful, rather than the government dictating terms to private sector?

It's very difficult to find a clear policy of the government. Nationalization of big places, big plantation companies and after that have been fragmented. When the government brings multinationals into the country for development in specific areas, the government feels that the previous government struck a deal and it should be investigated which takes us another five years back. No private sector organization likes to come to this country for investment to be dictated by the government or its ministries. Sri Lanka is not the only country who invites multinationals for development as Bangladesh, Pakistan or India are also major players in industrial development.

Our point is the government should leave business (people) to do business and should only act as a facilitator. Every government that comes to power say the private sector is the engine of economic growth but sad to say they put the driver from the government which indeed slows down the entire process.

For example, SAARC's current chamber president is a Sri Lankan who is a dynamic leader and has a positive role to play both in industry and trade and tourism in particular. After the removal of visas for the Indian tourists large number of Indian tourists came to Sri Lanka and now big multinationals have their regional business seminars in our country, which is very much cheaper than, if they had it on their own land.

Back to Business