Overall economy remains severely damaged: President

Colombo, January 28 (Daily Mirror)- President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said even though surface-level indicators may suggest economic recovery, the overall economy in Sri Lanka remains severely damaged.

The President made these ramrks during an event held at the Customs Department Auditorium to mark International Customs Day under the theme, 'Customs Delivering on its Commitment to Efficiency, Security and Prosperity.’
 
He said simply achieving revenue targets is not enough to rebuild a collapsed economy and that addressing the economic crisis requires increasing the revenue-to-GDP ratio. The economic collapse has significantly disrupted the import-export market.

"All of our actions are currently being carried out within the parameters set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). While surface-level indicators may suggest economic recovery, the overall economy remains severely damaged. 

"Therefore, it is essential to approach the recovery process cautiously and with balance. Even a small mistake can cause significant disruptions to the economy. Therefore, the Customs Department must work collectively to achieve its targeted revenue of Rs. 2,550 billion," he said.

The President said a proposal has been submitted to improve facilities for Customs and establish a new salary structure and that discussions are underway with the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury to provide solutions.

"This year's budget has already addressed the increase in the basic salaries of public sector employees. Additionally, plans are in place to enhance the efficiency of the public service by integrating digitalization and technology. Efforts are also being made to implement legal reforms to build strong institutional frameworks.

"There were conflicts between previous political administrations and the state service mechanism. Due to these disagreements, the political leadership failed to implement the necessary reforms to strengthen institutional frameworks at the right time. It was a challenging period to establish robust institutional
structures.

"The failure to introduce timely institutional changes resulted in the expected outcomes not being achieved. Consequently, before we could secure many opportunities for ourselves, external parties took advantage of our resources. As a result, Sri Lanka missed several opportunities to leverage its natural strategic position as a nation.

"In the future, necessary measures must be taken to facilitate operations at the Sri Lanka Port, targeting a capacity of 11.3 million containers. Achieving this will require collective effort from all employees. Without such unity, the country cannot move forward. This year, the Customs Department has been assigned a revenue target of LKR 2,550 billion," he said.