The explanation that Minister Milinda Moragoda gave in parliament on Monday participating in the Budget 2002 committee stage discussion, about the work of the new Ministry of Policy Development and Implementation, holds out some hope for the country to come out of the rut it finds itself in today.

Placing before parliament Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s vision of transforming Sri Lanka into a productive and technologically advanced society, fit to compete with the rest of the world, Minister Moragoda who is the deputy in charge of this vital ministry said its activities encompass policy development, national planning and coordination of foreign assistance. It also oversees, he said, the National Development Trust Fund and the Institute of policy studies, the newly created National Youth Corps and the NGO secretariat. Further it plays the pivotal role in coordinating policy, monitoring and reviewing the progress of all development work undertaken by the government, he explained.

The onerous nature of this ministry’s duties is thus clear. Its overall objective as explained by the Minister, is to establish a dynamic economic environment for the country to move forward to development and prosperity. The Prime Minister has quite correctly appointed a committee named Policy Development Committee comprising competent and experienced persons from government, the private sector and academia.

A number of sub committees also have been appointed, according to the minister, to assist the PDC to carry out its task in a speedy, expeditious and practical manner. Among the PDC’s challenging objectives are, to devise a strategy to achieve annual GDP growth of 10 per cent for the next ten years starting from 2003, and to make the Prime Minister’s dream of building Sri Lanka into the prime value addition platform and logistical hub servicing the region. Achievement of this objective requires building up of our aviation, shipping and ports facilities and also the creation of a new human resources centre where the region will find the best there is to offer in terms of financial services, information technology, management and administrative skills, value added agriculture and manufacturing.

What the country immediately needs is the speedy movement towards achieving the first objective of an increased rate of growth in GDP. This obviously cannot be attained if the country proceeds in the same way where political and bureaucratic lethargy and bungling are allowed to delay or obstruct the implementation of development projects. While shortage of funds has often been complained of as excuses for nonimplementation of vital projects, the utilisation rate of foreign aid remains very low. This rate is said to be one of the lowest in the world and it has understandably created a credibility gap with the international donor community.

The problems and controversies that have developed in many fields of development activity in the country are clearly the result of bad or absence of proper planning and the non-implementation of even the limited development plans that had been drawn up under successive governments. There is no doubt that our political culture that prompts political parties and leaders to take decisions for partisan advantage rather than for national advantage and welfare, has been at the bottom of the country’s multifarious problems. The power crisis that the country is groaning under today, is a clear example of the successive administrations’ failure to separate hard economic issues from politics and the incapability of formulating and implementing plans with all-party agreement and support.

Numerous have been the projects and schemes proposed in this country for achieving economic progress. But many out of them have been sacrificed at the altar of political expediency. The few projects that had been implemented in the past defying such political opposition, have proven to be successes. What is urgently needed today, therefore, is the creation of a dynamic economic environment in which issues relating to economics will be courageously resolved considering mainly the economic advantages to the country. It is here the Policy Development Committee procedure comes in handy. Once decisions have been taken by this committee, they should be implemented without hesitation. Dilly-dallying and procrastination has throughout been the bane of this country.