Financial Times

Regional businesses plead for more resources
Regional businesses in Sri Lanka are pleading for a bigger allocation of the country’s resources saying Colombo often gets a hefty and unequal share of the financial pie.

Dudley Jayasekera, President of Central Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry based in Kandy, says the regions always get the short end of the stick when national budget cuts are made.

Giving an example, he said when budget cuts are made invariably capital expenditure becomes the target. Capital spending often means infrastructure for the regions, thus hurting regional development.

“People in the region should be consulted. There should be more powers to the regions. Everything happens at the centre (Colombo). Our voice is not influential enough to get Colombo to listen,” Jayasekera said in an interview in Kandy.

He said the bulk of the country’s development takes place in Colombo and thus the regions get little or nothing of the overall pie. “Unless the regions are developed, the burning issues in the country like the ethnic conflict, terrorism, unemployment and law and order will remain.”

Regional chambers under the umbrella of the UNDP-led Business Peace Alliance (BPA) are hoping to group together as a single voice and make a plea for more resources for the regions. Jayasekera said the regions need infrastructure facilities which is vital for development.

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