The Silk Road Journal by Mahika Ming

As per Ministry of Commerce of China, mainland alone had attracted foreign direct investment  (FDIs)  worth approx. 1.7 billion USD in 2021 at time the world was battling COVID 19. It is an approx. 15% increase from 2020. This according to sources excludes banking, securities and insurance sectors. China learned from good cases and studied on how to attract investment as the first step. Investments on Hi Tech industries and services sectors have increased by approx. 17%. Investments coming from partners of the Belt and Road and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) into mainland also rose by approx. 29% year on year.  Analysts believe that China shortening its negative list on investments has also contributed to this growth rate. According to experts who worked with the founders of the Greater Colombo Economic Commission, if Sri Lanka wishes to attract international investors it should first make the Board of Investment the final authority in managing economic affairs and implement long-term sound economic fundamentals while improving business environment to maintain growth.

At present Sri Lanka doesn’t seem like a country attempting to attract FDIs. So far, during the past 74 years it seems like a “how to win the next election” planning exercise for Sri Lankan policy makers. A pattern of downgrading the quality and discipline of the workforce and dismantling well managed enterprises (which ensured no budget deficits) can be seen especially during the so called progressive governments (1956, 1960 and 1970). Defeated Prime Minister Sir John Kotalawala has once said that “Bandaranaike (SWRD) let the dogs out” referring to the work force behavior that was seen after 1956. Mrs. Sirima Bandaranaike reportedly had said that Dr. N.M. Perera (who founded the socialist sama samaja party in 1935) killed her husband many times before the man was actually gunned down supposedly by a man in a robe who was actually eyeing prosperity from the nationalized Colombo port. A fair analysis should be done especially by the middle class who get pressurized more in the current situation to see how service sectors including transport, plantation and education and industrial sectors fell. Singapore and JVP in Sri Lanka were founded in 1965.

Did the process of falling down gain speed during 56, 60, 70 and 87? Did the quality of education fall with the nationalization of schools in 1962 (Buddhist and Catholic)? Still has the number of private schools and the demand for education in the English medium increased over the years? Is there a link between quality deterioration of nursing services and abolishing voluntary services of Catholic nuns at state hospitals? Has anyone counted the silent sufferings of the public due to health sector politics? Who let the dogs out to keep the investors away?

Photo - Sir John Kotalawala

The writer is an analyst with interests in the financial and sustainable development sectors with postgraduate exposure in the Far East (mahika.ming@gmail.com).