The new project, with an investment of approx. 1.9 million USD, will prioritize decent work opportunities for the most vulnerable and marginalized women and men. It will primarily focus on supporting value chains in the agriculture and fisheries sector towards achieving a growing and inclusive economy in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province.
Chargée d’affaires a.i., Norwegian Embassy in Colombo, Ms Hilde Berg-Hansen, and ILO Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Ms Simrin Singh signed the partnership agreement for the ‘Promoting Advancement of Vulnerable Persons and Enterprises’ (PAVE) Project.
Colombo, Thursday 10th November 2022 – The Norwegian Embassy in Colombo and the International Labour Organization signed a partnership agreement today for a new development cooperation project centered on decent employment creation and livelihood generation for the most vulnerable groups in the Northern Province, including female heads of households, persons with disabilities, and youth. The project, titled Promoting Advancement of Vulnerable Persons and Enterprises (PAVE), is built upon key pillars of advancing inclusive growth, private sector investment, entrepreneurship, and digitalization, through interventions in the agricultural and fisheries value chains.
Building on over a decade of ILO’s work in promoting sustainable, and inclusive growth strategies for conflict affected communities, PAVE will be implemented over the next three years. It aims to establish 100 new enterprises, improve the business practices of 100 existing enterprises, as well as directly contribute to creating and increasing income generation opportunities for 3,000 individuals. Strategic interventions, such as supporting large companies in select value chains to establish processing plants in the targeted areas; supporting the introduction of climate smart agriculture practices; developing capacities of existing and potential micro and small enterprises; strengthening micro and small enterprises’ access to business development services and finance; and advancing digital transformation, will form the core of PAVE’s efforts.
Speaking on the partnership, Ms. Hilde Berg-Hansen, Chargée d’affaires a.i., of the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo, stated that Norway is pleased to continue the longstanding partnership with ILO. “This project is highly relevant to Norway’s regional development priorities, particularly in the areas of promotion of climate smart agriculture among smallholder farmers to address hunger and food security, and promotion of gender equality and sustainable economic growth to create jobs and address poverty.” She further said, “we strongly believe that supporting SMEs during the current economic crisis in Sri Lanka is crucial to protect vulnerable groups in society. We congratulate ILO, its country team, and the private sector partners for their continuous support to vulnerable communities in the country.”
“The ILO greatly appreciates Norway’s partnership and continued commitment to the promotion of decent work and employment opportunities for the most vulnerable women, men and persons with disabilities in the Northern Province, a support which is so very crucial as Sri Lanka faces this unprecedented crisis,” said Simrin Singh, ILO Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
The PAVE project is one of ILO’s responses in creating decent work opportunities to support inclusive growth and reconciliation in post-conflict districts, and is also an overall contribution towards Sri Lanka’s recovery from the economic and financial crisis.
The Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) yesterday urged the government to expedite negotiations on free trade agreements (FTAs) to enhance the industry’s resilience and global competitiveness amid rising fears of a global economic recession.
Elaborating on its rationale, JAAF noted that FTAs have become an integral part of the global trading system, particularly over the past three decades. In that time there has been an exponential increase in FTAs notified to the WTO – from just 19 in 1990 to 292 by January 2019.
In the last decade, Asian countries in particular have understood the crucial value of FTAs as a means to liberalize trade and investment. Vietnam for example has an impressive growth trajectory in exports that correlates closely with the FTAs entered into by them, with the Vietnamese government making necessary commitments to ensure compliance.
Sri Lanka currently faces the risk of losing out on trade benefits enjoyed by regional peers as countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and India are already in advanced FTA negotiations with the European Union. Indonesia having started discussions as early as 2016 enjoyed leeway to restart trade negotiations to suit new realities with the pandemic breakout.
Sri Lanka is a member of just two bilateral trade agreements and three regional trade agreements. In order to harness the power of trade to spark an economic revival, JAAF noted that all stakeholders would have to work together in order to improve the utilization of Sri Lanka’s existing agreements, in addition to negotiating new concessions.
Sri Lanka’s top five apparel export markets are the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. Currently, the US, EU and the UK comprise about 86 percent of Sri Lanka’s total exports.
However, the rise in inflation and a significant risk of winter gas shortages in the island’s primary export markets such as the UK and EU has severely compromised the industry’s ability to solely rely on these countries to maintain its commendable export performance.
According to JAAF, the signs of a slowdown are already emerging, including a drop in foreign orders to the industry.
In that context, JAAF reiterated the need for Sri Lanka to diversify its apparel export markets with countries like China, India, Japan and Australia.
Sri Lankan apparel firms are also prevented from competing on a level-playing field with regional apparel powerhouses like Vietnam, Thailand and Bangladesh, all of whom have secured preferential access and duty concessions to international markets that Sri Lanka does not have.
The impact on the prosperity of these nations is visible through trade in their sustained growth in share of trade as a percentage of GDP over the years. In Thailand, trade as a percentage of GDP was 75.8 percent in 1990 and increased to 117 percent in 2021. In Bangladesh it was 19 percent in 1990 and increased to 28 percent in 2021.
By contrast, Sri Lanka’s trade concessions are confined to the UK and EU and come with a variety of strict conditions pertaining to WTO’s rules of origin, compromising Sri Lanka’s utilization of these concessions to about 50 percent.
However, it is important to note that the barriers of rules of origin are curbed to a great extent for Sri Lanka under UK’s new Developing Country Trading Scheme (DCTS). Further, Sri Lanka is also at the risk of losing GSP Plus concessions by December 2023 if the stipulated socio-economic requirements of the scheme are not met.
JAAF highlighted that the proposed Chinese FTA is of paramount importance to the apparel industry to eliminate the barriers for apparel exports.
“JAAF understands the negotiations depend on the progress of sovereign debt restructuring with China. However, JAAF is hopeful to gain more clarity on negotiation timelines from the Department of Commerce in the coming weeks,” the association said.
Further, to integrate better with the region, Sri Lanka’s apparel industry is hopeful to receive preferential access to the Indian market where they are currently restricted to only supplying eight million pieces.
The industry also sees opportunity in lobbying for Canada’s GPT Plus scheme. JAFF noted that opportunities also exist with the UK’s new DCTS scheme. The UK is aggressively looking at FTAs and has already progressed with many countries including India. Sri Lanka should not get left behind at this critical time
The United Kingdom (UK) wants Sri Lanka to reduce market access barriers and improve ease of doing business which will further boost the UK–Sri Lanka trade and investment relationship, the UK High Commission in Sri Lanka announced today Friday 11.
The UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for Sri Lanka Lord Davies of Abersoch visited Colombo from 9th to 11th November 2022.
During the visit Lord Davies had meetings with Minister of Trade Nalin Fernando, State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe, and Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe.
Discussions focused on Sri Lanka’s trade and investment landscape, and plans on reforms and improving ease of doing business to support Sri Lanka’s path towards sustainable economic recovery.
Lord Davies engaged with wide-ranging representation from across the business community.
This included economic analysts, UK transnational education providers, senior business representatives, women business leaders, members of the committee of the Council for Business with Britain. He also visited UK companies in the market, including London Stock Exchange Group, and Jaguar Land Rover’s showroom.
Lord Davies outlining details of his visit to Sri Lanka noted that he had some insightful conversations and saw first-hand the innovative and hi-tech operations of some of the UK companies in the market.
While economic challenges continue, it was encouraging to hear from companies about ambitions to increase their business in-country; he said adding that he had an impressive discussion with women business leaders on the efforts to support more female leadership in the workplace and the encouragement of female entrepreneurship.
He claimed that he was impressed by the significant impact that UK educational qualifications delivered in Sri Lanka makes towards the country’s talented workforce.
He disclosed that he has had some engaging conversations with government stakeholders and economic analysts on the necessity of free and open market conditions which the UK champions globally, along with discussions on overcoming economic challenges.
He has pledged to continuing my support to UK companies as they look to enter or grow their existing business with Sri Lanka.
United States has imposed sanctions on an individual who was identified as the Sri Lanka based-business partner of a sanctioned al-Qa’ida financial facilitator and external operations plotter.
According to a statement issued by the US Department of the Treasury, the individual named Mohamad Irshad Mohamd Haris Nizar had been al-Qa’ida financial facilitator.
Ahmed Luqman Talib’s business partner in Sri Lanka since at least late 2018.
“Their business dealings in Sri Lanka have generated nearly USD 200,000 per year in profit; the majority of Talib’s income was derived from one-third of those proceeds.”
Reportedly, Nizar is also a relative of Talib.
The US Treasury Department said Nizar is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Talib.
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has also designated Musab Turkmen, Talib’s Türkiye-based brother-in-law and business partner, who conducted businesses activities to assist Talib.
Ahmed Luqman Talib, who was previously designated by OFAC for facilitating the international movement of individuals and finances in furtherance of al-Qa’ida’s objectives.
Australian authorities arrested Talib on March 25, 2021, and days later charged him with plotting incursions into foreign states for the purpose of engaging in hostile activities.
“Treasury is taking this action to further disrupt a transnational al-Qa’ida financial facilitation and operational plotting network,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson.
“The United States continues to work with our foreign partners to counter the operational and financial activities of al-Qa’ida and its associates, wherever they may be.”
These individuals are being designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended, which targets terrorist groups and their supporters.
OFAC designated Talib pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, on October 19, 2020, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, al-Qa’ida. Talib conducted business around the world, including in Brazil, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Türkiye, and the Gulf.
As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the individuals named above, and of any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by them, individually, or with other blocked persons, that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC.
Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC or otherwise exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within the United States (including transactions transiting the United States) that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons.
A passive resistance (Sathyagraha) was organised in front of the United Nations Office in Colombo today (11) demanding the immediate release of the members of the Inter-University Students Federation (IUSF) who were arrested under the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
The campaigners urged that IUSF Convener Wasantha Mudalige and Ven. Galewewa Siridhamma Thero of the Inter-University Bhikku Federation (IUBF) be immediately released. The two were arrested by the Police under the PTA.
Meanwhile, the passive resistance campaigners handed over a letter the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka Hanaa Singer-Hamdy. As she herself arrived in the premises, Ms. Singer informed the campaigners that the United Nations is following the case and will take necessary measures in compliance with the letter.
Earlier, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka granted leave to proceed with the Fundamental Rights (FR) petition that was filed pertaining to the arrest of Mudalige. The Supreme Court ordered that the Police should produce the IUSF Convener before Court.
Modern economics subject has formally evolved during the past four centuries in the context of analyses of markets on production and its utilization although markets started a long time ago in the human history through direct exchange of products each other known as barter system. However, invention and evolution of money have eased, expanded and sophisticated markets as well as economics.
Economics is believed to be a set of principles or hypotheses that drive markets to find choices between human wants and resources in order to solve basic economic problems, such as what to produce, how to produce and for whom to produce, confronted by human being whereas productivity/efficiency-based competition in markets gives optimum solutions or choices. Therefore, economics is largely focused on the production or supply side of markets in order to mobilize productive resources to solve basic economic problems.
As such, the demand side of markets is externally determined by needs and wants of human being from time to time. Accordingly, demand and supply are market forces behaving in opposite to maximize benefits where the volatility of market price naturally tends to bring the supply and demand into equilibrium in the quantity that ensures most economic welfare to market participants. This is the free market philosophy of Adam Smith. As such, the economy of a country or a territory is an aggregates of a large number of markets which are inter-liked at various scales.
However, people across the globe have been confronting crises in markets that have caused widespread socio-economic disruptions in countries and societies. Certain crises have spread across country regions and the globe. Therefore, effects of crises on humanity are considered to be significant. The best example is the present economic crisis confronting Sri Lanka due to crises in foreign currency and government debt markets. However, the time taken to reach the equilibrium is not a subject of economics as it is an integral part of market functioning.
However, it is claimed that markets fail from time to time as reflected in market or economic crises causing adverse living standards of people. Therefore, economics and economists are blamed for not being able to prevent market crise/failures and to protect living standards. In that context, country governors have been operating various public service or bureaucratic lines to intervene in markets to make them operate in a manner they believe desirable to improve economic welfare and living standards of people beyond what markets provides.
This line of bureaucratic intervention is fashionably known as macroeconomic management. Fiscal policy, monetary policy, fair market regulations and state business enterprises are major tools used in the macroeconomic management. The management is undertaken on various approaches such as facilitation of fair markets, prudent market conduct, market stability and market discipline depending on the nature and economic significance of respective markets and economic legislation enforced.
However, the macroeconomic managers often resort to a key set of economic statistics such as GDP growth, per capita income, inflation, unemployment rate and exchange rate produced by themselves and often alleged for creative accounting to justify the efficacy of their economic management on economic welfare gains and living standards.
However, markets still fail from time to time and they are blamed for improper conduct while economic managers wash their hands. In response, they further tighten intervention in markets and cause catastrophes to living standards. Some high ranking economic managers tighten the market intervention purposely to cause catastrophes in order to recover markets from the scratch.
For example, the present monetary tightening by the Central Bank targets a large contraction in the economy already contracted by the crisis. It is strange that some of leading economic managers are non-economists who are not aware of economic principles behind markets. Therefore, market failures in fact are caused by market intervention and bottlenecks created by those economic managers.
Therefore, the objective of this article is to present some views on the need for practice of economics on a new concept of humanity in modern economies in place of current concept of economic development and stability as interpreted and monitored by a key set of economic statistics used in macroeconomic management models. The reason is the failure of present macroeconomic management models to prevent market failures and to rescue living standards expeditiously. However, the usual debate on pros and cons of free markets and macroeconomic management is not touched in this article.
Joint evolution of markets and civilization
Markets have evolved side by side with human civilization. The civilization has been evolving from animal-like hunting man in the jungle by moving to mobile animal husbandry and agriculture-based livelihood in tribal societies, regional and country kingdoms, colonialism and modern industrialized sovereign states with democracy and other systems of governance. There is no dispute that evolution of markets was hand in hand with the evolution of governance as markets also fall within the governance system.
Territorial colonialism was a key milestone that helped civilization of many societies across the world supported by imperialist nations. Imperialism ranges from ancient territorial dictators/tribal leaders to European imperialism reported in the recent history of civilization. King Dutugamunu, King Dharmashoka, Kalinga Magha, Napoleon, Mogul Kingdom and British Kingdom are no different other than the time and scale.
Although imperialist nations are heavily criticized globally for exploitation of resources of colonies for the development of imperialist nations, such colonies could have still existed as tribal societies if not for such colonization that helped those societies to associate with other nations/societies or globalization.
For example, there are many tribes still living in jungles like ancient hunting tribes in areas belonging to present sovereign states as such areas were not captured in colony governance system. Therefore, they are neither captured in the present political governance system nor in markets analyzed in modern economics. If not for the British imperial governance system and the access gained through it to the world civilization, many villages in Sri Lanka could still be tribes living in remote forests without interactions with developed nations or more civilized societies.
The globalization of markets through colonization was a fine input for economics to evolve. Accordingly, various economic concepts and principles emerged to promote productivity and trade. For example, mercantilism, theory of absolute advantages and theory of comparative advantages helped promote markets cross-border. The concept of division of labour helped improvement in productivity and industrialization while the concept of free markets led to competition, innovations and mobilization of resources for betterment of human being and civilization.
Improvement in humanity through governance and markets
The evolution of country governance and markets has no doubt led to humanity or development of living quality of population or people captured by the governance and markets in respective countries. Humanity is the opportunity given to people to enjoy a quality of life at contemporary living standards or civilization. If the governance system and markets are not fair enough to distribute opportunities of markets to all population to seek the contemporary quality of humanity, those who receive less opportunities will stay outside benefits of markets and economics.
For example, people in remote villages without easy roads and access to modern health and education services will not be able to access markets competitively for the improvement of humanity. In many countries, the fate of aborigines despite that they are in the present governance system such as voting rights and law and order is a good example for the denial of the access to markets to enjoy the humanity parallel to the rest of the country population.
In some countries, there are tribes or races living without identities and human rights recognized in the governance system and, therefore, the formal access of such tribes to markets and humanity are denied. Therefore, economics will benefit humanity only to the extent of the access of markets locally and cross border given to people and societies. In that context, it is pathetic that present civilized governance systems in some countries have led some tribes or people to exist in rock-bottom poverty without access to governance and markets.
Concentrations of access to markets
There is no dispute over the wide disparity of market access among the persons, societies and geographical areas. Instead, high concentrations of markets among some parties/player are not secret when the distribution of economic wealth and living standards which are outcomes of markets is considered. Although Marxism or other socialistic ideologies attach such disparities as outcomes of governance systems that permit freedom in private property or capitalist systems, it is largely an outcome of differences in access to markets among persons where the governance system also is a contributory factor. For example, regulations and state licenses will help concentrations of markets in persons supported by the prevailing governance system.
Instances of such concentrations are regarded as systemically important participants or players. They are often treated as too-big-to-fail and, therefore, awarded with preferential treatments over smaller participants. In fact, some markets such as money markets and state monopolies are directly run by the government/governance system. In addition, state policies such as fiscal policy, monetary policy, fair market regulations and state business ventures operate through special preferences awarded to selected persons to enjoy influential market powers or concentrations. Insider dealing practices and conflicts of interest of market participants including regulators are also some sources contributing to concentrations.
The market concentrations spread from local markets to global markets with the help of a network of institutions such as governments, associations and supra-national institutions, i.e., IMF, World Bank and WTO, whereas the supporting network is known as the safety net mechanism. The existence of market concentrations implies that the access of other participants to the market is limited by those concentrations whereas only trickle-down effects of markets are passed on to them at different levels. As such, the subject of economics has got diversified from microeconomics at the initial stage to open economy macroeconomics and public economics at present to cover diversity of markets.
Market Concentrations, Crises and Humanity
Economic crises are nothing but crises of concentrations in markets. It is an established fact that market participants who have concentrated powers or high market shares drive markets for their profit because markets effectively operate within them. Although market movements are initially seen as natural volatilities of market operations, markets do not separate them from unsustainable bubbles at times until some concentrated market participants confront bubble bursts and losses or bankruptcies that threaten them throwing out of the market despite they are considered as too-big-to-fail.
Such bursts are known as market crises. As markets are inter-connected in modern economies, a crisis in one market can have contagion across many other markets and participants to the extent of their exposure or linkage to the crisis-hit concentrations. Most popular example is financial crises that cripple economies and cause economic crises.
For example, present economic crisis in Sri Lanka is a burst of excessive concentrations of government debt and foreign currency markets which caused default due to failure to manage market concentrations. Monetary and fiscal policy operations without taking into consideration of economics of markets have largely contributed to this eventual default.
Therefore, there is no difference between Priyamali financial market model and Government financial/Treasury market model in managing concentrations, other than the systemically importance of the Government model. For example, the default by the Government has entailed a wide range of business bankruptcies and erosion of living standards across the economy (present economic crisis) whereas Priyamali’s default has no national significance. Therefore, the law enforcement is discriminated between Priyamali model operators charged with financial fraud and the Government Treasury model operators (who are leading economists) protected with safety net measures such as debt restructuring, IMF programmes, tax hikes and diverse market controls without any charges of financial fraud.
For example, foreign currency shortage and excessive foreign debt caused default of government foreign debt. As a result, exchange rate rose by nearly 85% and a wide range of import and foreign currency controls were imposed whereas international business trust in Sri Lanka collapsed. This led to historically high inflation at 70%, government interest rates to 33% and loss of production/businesses, employment and income due to trickle-down effects on all markets in the economy. As a result, humanity in view of living standards and opportunities to markets has deteriorated to record lows whereas its recovery would take several years until the Government restructures debt and rebuilds foreign currency market and reserve.
As such, the governance system is such that it promotes concentrations and bailouts of concentrated market participants despite their risky and erroneous conduct. Such bailouts lead to moral hazard problem which encourages such parties to take undue risks by expecting the governance system to bailout them in the event of crises. In that context, such systemically important (or too-big-to-fail) market participants in fact are systemically risky participants that should be avoided from markets.
However, economics presents that it is the level of productivity or efficiency that determines the growth as well as bankruptcy of markets or market participants. Accordingly, crises should represent a market phenomenon in economics. However, if market concentrations are created by the governance policy and concentrated markets are protected and bailed out by the governance system at a cost to market mechanism in general, it is against both economics and humanity, given the denial of the access of the markets to people in favour of such concentrations and the cost of bailout passed on to other people.
Therefore, economics does not present a phenomenon known as market failures. Markets cannot fail but operate with diverse fluctuations in response to acts of market participants where external parties are not able to pinpoint a particular stage of markets as stable or healthy or sustainable. Therefore, market failures are the instances or descriptions created by the economic managers in the prevailing governance system. In fact, they are nothing but failures of economic managers to deliver their public promises for economic management.
Has economics failed to serve humanity?
Therefore, economics does not seem to have been used to serve humanity in present economies although the subject of economics has got sophisticated in its concepts, coverage and research.
First, as highlighted above, economists have been unable to prevent risky market concentrations and resulting market/economic crises or to recommend crisis resolution tools to expedite the recovery.
Second, certain market participants such as large corporates and multi-nationals have been guided by economics to gain high market shares and concentrations with the support of the governance systems from time to time. In this regard, the economic principle of productivity, efficiency and competitiveness is sold to governments/economic managers.
Third, the public economics has emerged to advocate for market intervention by governments to correct distributional disparities of market outcomes against free market principle followed in derivation of all fundamental economic principles. However, as different governments have different approaches and concepts in determining desirable levels of disparities, geo-political differences have complicated the market mechanism.
Fourth, actions by markets themselves to address side effects of markets such as disparities of market outcomes and access have not been significant. For example, charities managed by philanthropists and private investments in social impact bonds and green businesses are not significant as compared to prevailing problems. The delay in market solutions or response could be partly due to red tapes or bottlenecks fondly kept by economic managers.
Fifth, the subject of economics has turned to economic mathematics on unreal assumptions where that economics serves only professional objectives of those who master such mathematics to secure academic qualifications. Therefore, most of economic text books, research publications, seminars and policy prescriptions have no use for finding solutions to basic economic problems that economics itself attempts to solve. Therefore, any economic crisis tends to persist at least a decade until markets themselves resolve it over time. This is not a problem of economics but a problem of economists to apply economics to the real world.
Urgent need to practice economics with a new concept
Therefore, it is necessary that economics is practiced with a new concept to improve humanity through the expansion of opportunities for production and access to markets while preventing risky concentrations of markets. In this regard, present economic governance models that have been targeting certain macroeconomic numbers such as GDP growth, inflation, unemployment, interest rate, exchange rate and debt should be terminated as they do not measure or indicate improvement in humanity and have miserably failed in front of the global Corona pandemic as reflected by four-decade high inflationary pressures and expected recession spreading across the globe at present. The origin of Sri Lankan economic crisis highlighted above is a different circumstance although the global inflation and recession have aggravated the crisis.
Everybody believes that global inflationary pressures are a result of several supply side disruptions caused by the Corona pandemic 2020/21 and Russian invasion in Ukraine. However, following a habit of interpreting inflation as a result of the excess demand in the economy, central banks who participate in and control over money markets have started restricting credit market conditions by raising interest rates and curtailing printing of money. This follows a disputed monetary economics concept of inflation always and everywhere being a monetary phenomenon consequent to excess supply of money in the money market and resulting excess demand in the commodity market.
As a result, economies have started confronting large-scale recessions in the supply side spanning to several years to come as present monetary economies operate on credit markets. Economic recession means adverse impact on humanity created by economic managers in the second round after the first round effects of supply disruptions and inflationary pressures. However, central banks advocate this kind of market demand side control and forced recession on the supply side against both the principle of automatic market mechanism expected to work efficiently to solve basic economic problems and humanity.
Accordingly, it is proposed that improvement in humanity be targeted in the governance system to be gained through wider and fair access to markets through supply side while economics is allowed to correct instabilities such as concentrations to support humanity. This requires termination of economic numbers targets-based market intervention adopted by diverse economic managers at present.
Therefore, the usual practice of state grants or redistribution of the demand side of markets to support consumption and living standards of the poor or people not privileged to market access is not recognized in this concept.
In this concept of approach to economics and markets, the governance system is not just a means of political democracy to those who govern but a democracy in humanity across all people and societies. In that context, present economic rescue models proposed by same economic managers who caused market failures and economic crisis in Sri Lanka are against humanity of people living in Sri Lanka.
(This article is released in the interest of participating in the professional dialogue to find out solutions to present economic crisis confronted by the general public consequent to the global Corona pandemic, subsequent economic disruptions and shocks both local and global and policy failures.)
(Former Director of Bank Supervision, Assistant Governor, Secretary to the Monetary Board and Compliance Officer of the Central Bank, Former Chairman of the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Board and Credit Information Bureau, Former Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka, Former Member of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Insurance Regulatory Commission and the Author of 10 Economics and Banking Books and a large number of articles publish.
The author holds BA Hons in Economics from University of Colombo, MA in Economics from University of Kansas, USA, and international training exposures in economic management and financial system regulation)
A shipment carrying 60,000 metric tonnes of coal arrived in the island yesterday (10) and will be unloaded today (11), revealed the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).
The shipment arrived from South Africa, and three coal shipments have reached the island in recent weeks, according the CEB.
The Colombo Chief Magistrate today (11) imposed an overseas travel ban on State Minister of Tourism Diana Gamage, based on a complaint challenging her passport, birth certificate and national identity card.
The travel ban was imposed by the Court as the facts presented by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) based on its investigation into the case were taken up for consideration today.
The travel ban will be in effect till November 17, 2022.
Following the passing in of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, which provides prohibition of dual citizens from entering Parliament, Mrs. Gamage’s speculated dual citizenship has been at the centre of discussion on the political arena.
A special meeting attended by the Party leaders and members of the Committee on Parliamentary Business to discuss the draft bill for the establishment of the Budget Office of the Parliament was held yesterday (10) in Parliament under the chairmanship of Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena and the participation of Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.
The MPs who were present had a lengthy discussion on the draft bill related to the establishment of the budget office of the parliament. Also, it was decided to meet again in two weeks after further study of this bill.
Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapakse, Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the House, Susil Premajayantha, Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella, Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva, Mahinda Amaraweera, Ali Sabry, Douglas Devananda, and MPs Johnston Fernando, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Gamini Lokage, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Dayasiri Jayasekara, Kabir Hashim, Kumara Welgama, Sagara Kariyavasam, Shan Vijayalal de Silva, Wimal Weerawansa, Harsha De Silva, Weerasumana Weerasinghe, V. Radhakrishnan and A.L.M. Ataullah were present at the meeting.
• Officers are rarely prosecuted for misconduct, including the brutal use of force on citizens. In rare cases, officers found guilty are given minor disciplinary punishments or given warnings.
• The NPC received a total of Rs.127, 764, 000 budgetary allocation in 2018 which was more than double what it had received in the year 2015 — Rs.47, 030, 000. However, statistics indicate that the commission has failed to fulfil one of the complementary functions — transforming the Sri Lanka Police into an efficient, transparent, and responsive service that upholds Human Rights, ensures public accountability, and adheres to the Rule of Law.
• According to information obtained through an RTI by the writer, the rate of complaints at NPC being stuck with no progress has been increasing over the last five years. From the 2017 to June 30, 2022 time period, the total numbers of unsolved complaints were 5, 21, 96, 276, 1344, and 713, respectively. When asked about the delay, the NPC blamed the Covid-19 pandemic.
• It revealed that mechanisms to hold State actors to account for their actions have been eroded; checks on the arbitrary use of power have been diluted, if not dissolved; and even institutions to protect the Independence of the Judiciary have been eviscerated.
Police breaking up a protest at the Parliament roundabout in July, 2021. Pic by Kithsiri de Mel
Nine Thousand Two Hundred Ninety Five (9295). That is the number of public complaints that have been lodged against Sri Lanka Police with the National Police Commission (NPC) during the last five years. These complaints include cases of unlawful arrest, false charges, assault, torture, partiality, abuse of power, as well as Police inaction.
This number on record is small compared to the actual number of incidents taking place on the streets of Sri Lanka daily. Even with this high number of reported cases of Police violence and misconduct, one would expect the conviction rate and solving of complaints to be high as well, since there is a dedicated oversight body named the National Police Commission (NPC) that is responsible for ensuring that the Police are accountable for their acts of violence.
However, officers are rarely prosecuted for misconduct, including the brutal use of force on citizens. In rare cases, officers found guilty are given minor disciplinary punishments or given warnings. “Police officers don’t believe that they are ever going to be held accountable for what they do on the streets,” Basil Fernando, Director for Policy and Programme, Asian Human Rights Commission, said.
Increasing rate of unsolved cases
Although armed with the power of the State and empowered to use force against ordinary citizens, Police is accountable like any organization or any ordinary citizen. According to the Police Media Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa, Sri Lanka Police also does have an internal system to hear complaints against cops. In fact, internal management mechanisms if well implemented can be a powerful way of holding police officers to account. But is it enough? Has the internal system ever commanded the full confidence of the public?
The National Police Commission was established under the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in October 2015 with a mission to safeguard the public from unlawful action and/or inaction by the Police. Annually more and more public money is being spent to maintain the operations of the NPC only to see the performance of the Commission becoming more questionable over the years.
According to its Annual Expenditure Reports, the NPC received a total of Rs.127,764,000 budgetary allocation in 2018 which was more than double what it had received in the year 2015 — Rs.47, 030,000. However, statistics indicate that the commission has failed to fulfil one of the complementary functions — transforming the Sri Lanka Police into an efficient, transparent, and responsive service that upholds Human Rights, ensures public accountability, and adheres to the Rule of Law.
According to information obtained through an RTI by the writer, the rate of complaints at NPC being stuck with no progress has been increasing over the last five years. From the 2017 to June 30, 2022 time period, the total numbers of unsolved complaints were 5, 21, 96, 276, 1344, and 713, respectively. When asked about the delay, the NPC blamed the Covid-19 pandemic.
Even the resolved cases are not technically resolved. A source at the NPC revealed that a considerable number of resolved cases are those in which the aggrieved parties stopped contributing to the inquiry “for reasons best known to them.” When the complainant no longer participates in the inquiry, the NPC stops pursuing such cases due to a “lack of evidence”. These numbers show that Sri Lanka not only inherited the culture of Police brutality from the past but also the acceptance of this kind of unfair behaviour because the Police are not held accountable for their illegal actions.
“The National Police Commission is an eyewash.
When a person’s lungs fail due to respiratory disease, they try to get oxygen from an external machine, which is a temporary method to keep the person alive. The NPC is also like an external oxygen machine. The root cause of the problems with Police in the country—a lack of strong work culture. I have been observing the performance of NPC since its inception. There is nothing we can say we are happy about this institution. It only has paper power. The Sri Lanka Police is a very powerful institution. What NPC is doing is just public relations work for the Police.”
Are independent commissions really independent?
Renowned academic Professor Siri Hettige, who had been appointed to the post of the Chairman of the National Police Commission in 2016, didn’t stay in his post for over a year. In January 2017, he resigned, citing an academic commitment. Speaking to the media, Prof. Hettige compared the attempt to overhaul an institution to “similar to rehabilitating an alcoholic.”
When he was working, he had initiated a series of joint action plans in order to address outstanding issues, including the elimination of corruption and impunity within the NPC. In a brief interview with the Daily Mirror, Prof. Hettige talked about how most of Sri Lanka’s democratic institutions have become less independent and less effective over time. “This decline in the independence and effectiveness of the democratic institutions, including the Police and the Public Service, has made these institutions obsolete.”
“When I was Chair, I tried to make a few changes. In fact, I did some initial things which didn’t see the light of the day. Then I resigned,” Prof. Hettige said. He went on to say that there is no point in talking about these Independent Commissions now because they are no longer independent.
He criticised that under the present system of governance, the rule of law, transparency, and accountability are no longer visible. “The institutional fabric, which is a very important factor in a country, is severely damaged,” he opined.
Sri Lanka Police lacks a strong work culture
In a report titled “Authority without Accountability: the Crisis of Impunity in Sri Lanka,” the International Commission of Jurists revealed in 2021 that in Sri Lanka, impunity has over the years become institutionalised and systematized. It revealed that mechanisms to hold State actors to account for their actions have been eroded; checks on the arbitrary use of power have been diluted, if not dissolved; and even institutions to protect the Independence of the Judiciary have been eviscerated.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Director for Policy and Programme, Asian Human Rights Commission Attorney at Law, Basil Fernando, said, like other experts in the use of force, minimum force is the first principle. “This is a very important principle to follow because Police officers hold people’s lives in their hands. Their duty is to protect lives, not to take them,” he said.
“The root cause of the problems with Police in the country—a lack of strong work culture. I have been observing the performance of NPC since its inception. There is nothing we can say we are happy about this institution. It only has paper power. The Sri Lanka Police is a very powerful institution. What NPC is doing is just public relations work for the Police.”
Attorney Basil Fernando underlined that the NPC lacked the kind of independence to do its job purely in the way the law requires. “The National Police Commission is an eyewash. When a person’s lungs fail due to respiratory disease, they try to get oxygen from an external machine, which is a temporary method to keep the person alive. The NPC is also like an external oxygen machine,” he said.
He believes that the actual number of Police misconduct cases is nothing compared to the reported cases as victims have no confidence in the NPC to investigate their complaints and take necessary legal action against law-breaking Police officers.
“If you lodge complaints and see that nothing happens for years, you feel like giving up. Then the NPC says the number of public complaints is lower. In recent times, after the Aragalaya started, a large number of illegal arrests have been taking place in the country. The numbers should be higher than in many previous years.”
