LESSONS IN CRISIS PREPAREDNESS
Q: How do you view Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 response so far? What are the pros and cons?
A: I for one am of the opinion that our initial response to the islandwide lockdown to limit the spread of COVID-19 was admirable. Timely action enabled the authorities to properly quarantine overseas returnees and infected persons adequately.
Apart from the islandwide lockdown, some other commendable measures were the efficient establishment of quarantine and recovery centres, such as the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), mobilisation of the 1990 ambulance system and essential items delivery system, which was enabled in part to the private sector.
However, this [effort] hasn’t been without its shortcomings: sending soldiers of the tri-forces on leave during the crucial New Year period, after having requested the entire population to stay at home, might have removed the necessary infrastructure supporting our medical workers on the frontline.
Furthermore, not using the apex body – the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) – as the advisory body to the task force spearheading our response might have been shortsighted. Additionally, not engaging the full capacity for testing, including private sector laboratories, early on was a bad move.
This negatives have been exacerbated by extremely poor communication – usually only in one language for a multilingual population – ad-hoc decision making about easing the curfew and unclear directives covering physical distancing, which have caused unnecessary hardships to the people.
Q: In your view, how should the authorities balance the twin imperatives of safety and the economy?
A: There is no blueprint to anchor the response of any government around the world – however, in my opinion foremost in all strategies should be to save lives. You can revive an economy but cannot reverse the death toll.
Admittedly, this does cause complications because saving lives also requires the protection of livelihoods especially among low income and daily wage groups. As such, the government must carefully consider the right policies required to maintain this balance.
Q: What lessons have we – the business community – learnt from this crisis?
A: We have learned an expensive lesson – in spite of various contingency plans by governments and businesses worldwide, it is now clear that one can be too prepared to handle a crisis.
A crisis can arise in many forms: natural disasters, terrorism; economic and financial turmoil, and now health. Occasionally, these crises can be linked to each other as well; and as such, one can never be too careful. Steps must be taken in preparation for future crises, and we must never forget the theory that cash is king without ever leveraging beyond our capacity.
The question for the business community now will be how well it can redeploy its workforce quickly and adapt to change. Our workforce needs to be trained like the military to adapt and work at any time – in my opinion, this crisis demands that we should plan for fewer specialists and more all-rounders when hiring.
ABOUT LMD’S A LISTERS
BOOST TO REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT
Q: What are your expectations of the business environment in the next 12 months or so? A: With the reduction in interest rates and increase in money circulation, people have a greater tendency to invest in real estate over the money market amidst the pandemic. We have seen similar patterns even in developed markets such…
EMERGENCE OF A NEW ECONOMY
Q: How did the pandemic necessitate a digital economy? A: Countries were not prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the economy and people, but it has resulted in the emergence of a new economy and way of life. It is technology, and the spirit of humans to survive and push past boundaries that have…
PRIORITISING CRUCIAL SECTORS
Q: What are your expectations of the business environment in the next 12 months or so? A: I believe that business is not likely to pick up until at least mid-next year for the hospitality sector. Business was nonexistent and as a measure to prevent exorbitant losses, we converted our hotel into a quarantine centre…
A POSITIVE AND FLEXIBLE PATHWAY
Q: Do you expect the national economy to pick up this year? A: If the third wave of the pandemic is brought under control as soon as possible, then we can expect the national economy to pick up towards the second half of the year. To ensure this happens, the vaccine must be sourced in…
RELIABLE PARTNERS IN A CRISIS
Q: In brief, what are the main challenges confronting corporates at this time? A: I think corporates today are besieged with a plethora of problems caused by the prevailing situation. First and foremost is the challenge in keeping their workers safe from COVID-19, and flowing from that is the inability to keep production cycles running…
IN A STATE OF DELEVERAGING
Q: How do you perceive the economic climate at present? A: I would like to really think about the state that the country’s economy is in. Our debt repayments are much higher than our income and this puts Sri Lanka in a state of deleveraging. This recently manifested itself in a 14.2 percent increase in…
EVER EVOLVING EXPECTATIONS
Q: What modern-day challenges do businesses face? A: Information overload – in the new world we live in, there’s never a lack of information. About 2.5 quintillion data bytes are added every day; more data is created in a single day than the combined amount generated over 99 percent of human history. Previous generations of…
EXPANDING CREDIT FACILITIES
Q: What is the bank’s corporate strategy for 2021/22? A: DFCC Bank’s 2021/22 plan is based on our five year strategy for 2020-2025 with the aim of making it one of the most customer centric and digitally enabled banks by 2025. Our lending plans will align with the government’s budget proposals to facilitate the growth…
REMAINING IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Q: What are Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority’s (SLTDA) priorities for 2021/22? A: The global tourism industry will continue to experience a huge shift in the way of doing business. Our innovative bio-bubble concept launch in January was recognised at ITB Berlin. We hope this will boost traveller confidence. Therapeutic destinations and experiential travelling are…
