Focus on social equity

The theme at the recent 49th Annual General Meeting of the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) in Colombo was social equity with its chief guest Professor G.L. Peiris, Minister of Export Development and International Trade, saying that social equity was essential in the formulation and implementation of national policy required to move the economy of Sri Lanka forward.

Peiris said the denial of access to opportunity was a key issue for youth around the country but that through various projects taken on by the NCCSL and the Ministry of Export Development and International Trade, social mobility, opportunity and advancement will penetrate the rural heartland.

Last year, Peiris said the export sector grew by 15 per cent, in particular electronics. However, he was not satisfied with the statistics and that benefits must go down to the grass roots level.

The major problem plaguing Sri Lanka is the distribution of resources in the country. He further added that the political structures of the regions must be empowered in order to formulate and implement policy and to better serve the real needs of the people and strengthen democratic values. The only way forward is through a symbiotic relationship between government and industry.

Guest of Honour, Naoko Ishi, country representative for the World Bank also addressed the gathering. She spoke on the importance of small and medium enterprises (SME's) and its vital role in job creation and entrepreneurship in countries around the world. Around 80 per cent of Sri Lankan businesses are SME's and 70 percent of those businesses have been in existence for 10 years or longer. Ishi said they play a key role in propelling the country's economies forward as has been the case in Japan and Taiwan where SME's have been critical to modernization and economic growth over the past five decades. Ishi added that SME's face many challenges. They face difficulty in accessing finance and according to a study, only 29 per cent of Sri Lankan SME's have been able to secure loans from commercial banks.

President of the NCCSL, D. Eassuweran highlighted several achievements in 2007 such as the first ever Ayurveda International Exhibition and Symposium held last September with the participation of almost all the ayurveda sector players in the country and abroad including Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. The exhibition and symposium educated the public on the tremendous capabilities the local ayurveda sector possesses to cure various diseases and ailments.

In 2008, the NCCSL has planned to implement a project to develop the sector, in particular in producing ayurveda herbals in the rural villages for the local and overseas market.