Sri Lankan Economy: Perspectives On Growth And Development
Source: Compiled with CBSL data
Dhanusha Pathirana
Sri Lanka in 1H2013 underwent a real economic growth of 6.5% outpacing most regional economies amidst a general slowdown in world economic activity and becoming one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. The
post-war growth in real output since 2010 averaged 7.5% indicating the rapid pace of expansion in real activity levels. In this backdrop, Sri Lanka emerged as a haven for foreign investors providing investment prospects even during times of general global uncertainty. However, these foreign investments were predominantly portfolio investments (government securities and equity) and not FDIs. The FDIs were mainly of a rentier nature (casinos, hotels, etc.,) and do not promote commodity production or transfer of technology to the host economy.
In this light, the ability of local producers to benefit from growth in Asian and world markets demands evaluation given that Sri Lanka’s production structure remains to advance technologically and organisationally, to be able to supply world demand for advanced products. A higher level of technical sophistication and application of science in production provides access to world markets that are constantly expanding in contrast to primary product exports. This is so given that technologically intensive production constantly invents entirely new product categories and hence forms new spheres of investment, permeating a self-expanding and an integrated character to economic growth in general. This is in contrast to technologically neutral production processes that characterise Sri Lanka’s exports and investments in general (garments, tea, trade, tourism, construction, etc.) which do not cause multiplication of new product categories over time.Read More
No country in the world would permit a terrorist movement to reorganise by allowing them to obtain an electoral mandate in the name of democracy, and the armed forces victory over the LTTE was politically betrayed at the Northern provincial election, the Government’s hardline Sinhala coalition ally the Jathika Hela Urumaya said yesterday.
Northern Tamils Still Have Tribal Mentality, Pillay Interfered In Northern Election: JHU
September 27, 2013
No country in the world would permit a terrorist movement to reorganise by allowing them to obtain an electoral mandate in the name of democracy, and the armed forces victory over the LTTE was politically betrayed at the Northern provincial election, the Government’s hardline Sinhala coalition ally the Jathika Hela Urumaya said yesterday.
Minister Champika Ranawaka
Comparing the Tamil National Alliance mandate at last Saturday’s election to the German people’s overwhelming support for Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia, JHU Minister Champika Ranawaka told a news conference that the Government must take responsibility for allowing the political front of a terrorist group to come to power through a free vote after terrorism and Tamil Nazism had been defeated with great difficulty.
“After Germany was defeated, the Allies politically banned the Nazi movement – what did we do? Months after the LTTE Leader was killed, we allowed people in the North to canvass for votes with his face on a poster,” Ranawaka charged.
Ranawaka said the JHU had urged tough action against the TNA when the party’s manifesto was unveiled because the party knew the Tamil party would construe a vote for them as an endorsement of its call for self-determination and self-rule.
“This is no different to what happened with the Vaddukoddai Resolution in 1977,” he said.Read More
