The Prime Minister Speaks: He does so with knowledge, vision and precision

It was a privilege to be part of an audience of between 200 and 250 people when the Prime Minister addressed AMCHAM recently. I had been present at the same event one year ago too, and he was as impressive this year as he was then. He was welcomed by AMCHAM President Ravin Basnayake, after which the PM spoke. He was expansive, spoke with knowledge, vision and precision as has become his style, was unperturbed, and in good spirits, in spite of his heavy work schedule. He spoke of several tasks already achieved. The first task was to stabilize the economy which was the main reason behind forming the Unity Government, which had inherited an economy which was beyond their eyebrows in debt with no revenue collection. He said they were not in a position to repay the large foreign debts which put pressure on the rupee.Therefore the objective was to tackle the balance of payment and to create employment.The income from traditional exports and foreign employment was insufficient. In a middle income country one has to venture forth to find other sources and markets which go hand in hand.They were building the infrastructure for a good road system, two harbours and two airports. It is up to the private sector too, to find good, new markets,encourage investors to come here and create jobs.There is a lot of black money, which will never come here, collected from drugs, smuggling, money laundering and so on.

Re-gaining the GSP plus will help the economy, being modest he failed to comment on his role in getting this back.The Indian economy was booming and Indian industrialists want another production base which we can provide, and we have an FTA with China.The three largest financial markets are the EU, India and China and we’re talking to all of them.We have an agreement with Singapore.We are also looking at co-operation with Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand.We have the dual infrastructure for the South West corridor from Kandy to Hambantota. Galle will be developed into a high-end tourism centre. Colombo will be a megapolis, and we are determined to make this the business hub of the Indian Ocean. There will be a special task force to draft legislation for a financial city which will be completed by the end of 2017, there is a well thought out scheme for the development of Kandy and the governments of India and Japan will help to develop the Trincomalee harbour. Tourism and Agriculture will be developed in the hill country and compulsory education for 13 years will be introduced.We will give incentives for exports, tourism, etc., to make this one window, a one-stop-shop for all facilities including IT. We need the private sector to find new markets, to expand industries, to go out and find investors, tell them how good Sri Lanka is, to double our export earnings, go into manufacturing. So I appeal to you to invest, expand, help to bring more people into Sri Lanka, the more the merrier, this may be the last and grandest opportunity to do this, if we don’t look sharp, countries like Afghanistan may get ahead of us. So help us to take Sri Lanka ahead, the economy which was sinking when we took over, is now thankfully floating.  

"We need the private sector to find new markets, to expand industries, to go out and find investors, tell them how good Sri Lanka is, to double our export earnings, go into manufacturing"

When it came to question time, the PM was at his best, in good humour and tackled all the questions with ease. While the questions asked by AMCHAM members and their guests were pertinent and mostly to the point, I thought that the young man who was MC went rather over the top with his, but the PM was unruffled and gave as good as he got. To a question about whether Arjuna Mahendran is his friend, he answered, “yes he is, as is the present governor. The one before that was an acquaintance as he was a member of my party.” He got loud claps and cheers for his answers. But I couldn’t help but wonder what the fate of the questioner would have been, if he had dared to ask those questions of the rulers of the last regime. He would have been whisked away in a white van to end up in no-man’s land, as happened to some in those horrific years, which remain in the recesses of my mind like a nightmare! I must say that the Ministers present, Ravi Karunanayake, Harsha de Silva and Eran Wickramaratne, also handled their questions well as did the Central Bank Governor Indrajith Coomaraswamy. A senior member of AMCHAM who called me later in the day remarked that there is no-one who can equal the PM in speeches of this kind or in answering questions off the cuff. I agreed that I have only seen this kind of witty repartee in the late Dudley Senanayake. I was glad to see many young men and women in the audience, they are the future who can take this message, build on it, and act on it. While dogs outside keep barking, the caravan will and must move on.

We have one joker in the JO pack saying that they were responsible for Trump’s victory by getting him the Srilankan vote. The biggest favour Trump could do for Sri Lanka is to give this man honorary citizenship of the US as a reward and a scholarship for his much needed education in mathematics! Others who have shown that they are incapable of even disciplining their own children are also quick to grab any opportunity for personal publicity to shout long and loud with accusations in an unpleasant obnoxious manner.   Ranil Wickremesinghe has trodden a hard path to power, a path which was littered with routed opponents and embittered rivals.The changes he has envisioned for our country will remain a monument to his vision and legendary flair.The silver in his hair now adds to the impression of experience and trustworthiness which he was always respected for. 
People must learn to appreciate what has been achieved by the government led by President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe. We have at long last an independent judiciary, freedom to write and say what one feels, justice, freedom to practise the religion of one’s choice without fear of attack. Losses at Srilankan Airlines have been reduced by fifty per cent, medicines have been drastically reduced in price. Why harp on what hasn’t been done, when so much has been done, this is our last chance, we have to make the most of it. Democracy and transparency are back, be thankful for this and let each man or woman do our bit to take this country forward with optimism and vigour.