THE WAKE-UP CALL

Dr. Gamini Gunawardane’s no-holds-barred take on Sri Lanka

Q: How do you perceive Sri Lanka today in terms of progress or perhaps the lack thereof?

A: I along with my compatriots living in the US have observed the multiple facets of modern Sri Lanka.

On the one hand, it is a country that despite all its difficulties maintains a growth rate of four to five percent, notable infrastructure improvements and a private sector that is continuously engaged in business development.

And on the other hand, the political leadership lacks an honest vision or economic development, and is engaged primarily in working for personal gains; a public sector that continues to lack the willingness to modernise to provide efficient services; and educational institutions that are not keeping pace with global trends in education and research.

These conflicting trends seem to impede the country in realising its vision of becoming another Singapore or an Asian hub in many potential areas of global activity.

Q: What were your impressions of Sri Lanka on your last visit – and how much has it changed from the past?

A: We observe some improvements in infrastructure (buildings and roads). And we may also note the many high-level conferences with global themes. However, we don’t witness tangible improvements in public and private sector processes, to make them more efficient and customer oriented.

For example, one of the most highly rated commercial banks is unable to locate the bank account of a customer by name and documents – to verify the name. One of the largest ISPs in Sri Lanka also cannot locate a customer’s account number by name and other supporting personal information.

Many banks continue to take a long time taking photocopies of foreign currency notes submitted for a simple exchange into rupees – whereas one can get this done at a private currency exchange in minutes.

Q: From afar, how do you perceive news about Sri Lanka?

A: Thanks to the availability of Sri Lankan newspapers and TV programmes on the internet, we are up-to-date on news of Sri Lanka. The perception among Sri Lankans in the US seems to be that the country has great potential to become a modern financial hub such as Singapore or Hong Kong, and/or achieve technological and commercial success much like India.

The news that we receive through Sri Lankan news media and the internet is mostly about political turmoil and infighting, and political influence overriding many aspects of development and consumer life.

Q: How do you view the brain drain? And why is there no reversal of it, in your opinion?

A: The brain drain of younger qualified Sri Lankans is caused by the availability of higher paying jobs, as well as better economic and education opportunities, in other countries.

However, the reluctance among senior expatriates to return to their homeland is very much due to the lack of recognition and respect in the home country. There is clearly a view among senior and qualified expatriates that the attitude in Sri Lanka continues to be one of foreigners being better than our own people.

Q: So what should Sri Lanka focus on most in the coming decade?

A: Formulate clear and simple plans for economic growth and coordination between the institutions involved. Believe that good governance includes minimising corruption, as well as providing efficient and fair service delivery to everyone, including those who do not have contacts and influence.

Change the unnecessarily large and complex public governance structures, with huge cabinets and several levels of central, provincial and local government. Adopt simpler organisational and governance structures. Make appointments outside the same set of people alleged to have been engaged in poor decisions.

Q: And what are your hopes for the country in the next decade or so?

A: Frankly, I’m not very optimistic unless a strong and honest person takes the lead – someone who has a vision and the ability to implement programmes along the lines of the comments I have made.

– LMD