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Zoned Out: Export Ambitions Hindered by Land Limitations
Get PDF3p. This article was published as an opinion column by the Daily Mirror in print and is available online at https://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/Zoned-Out-Export-ambitions-hindered-by-land-limitations/172-269037The experiences of East Asian and Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, show that foreign direct investment (FDI) into export-oriented sectors is critical to accelerate growth in manufactured exports. But, compared to these countries, Sri Lanka has a poor track record of attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). The total yearly FDI inflows into Sri Lanka have remained below USD 1 billion for decades. In contrast, during the last decade, average annual FDI into Malaysia was USD 10 billion, Thailand USD 9 billion, and Vietnam USD 12 billion. With an annual FDI track record of over USD 2 billion, even the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the region, such as Cambodia and Bangladesh, fare better than Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka has known for a considerable time that the difficulty of accessing land, a basic requirement for any investment, is a key bottleneck investors face in Sri Lanka. For example, enterprises surveyed by the World Bank in 2011 identified access to land as the most critical challenge faced when investing in Sri Lanka.
Industrial zones, specifically export processing zones (EPZs), have been the blueprint for many East and Southeast Asian countries to create industrial land suitable for investments within a short period. These zones offer multiple benefits, such as pre-allocated land, reliable utility services, better road and port connectivity and unified customs services, eliminating the many infrastructure gaps and bureaucratic hurdles investors face in developing countries.
When Sri Lanka embarked upon an export-oriented investment drive in the 1980s it followed the same path and invested in EPZs. Today, it has 15 operational EPZs. However, a study by the Harvard Center for Development Studies in 2016 found that the country's EPZs were operating at nearly full capacity. In the largest zones, namely in Katunayake, Biyagama, Koggala, Seethawaka, Horana and Mirigama, less than 10% of the land was vacant
Most Active MPs in parliament in February 2023
No full textThis infographic is available in English and Sinhala.This Infographic shows the Most Active MPs of the 9th Parliament in February 2023. They are Lakshman Kiriella, Wimal Weerawansa, Susil Premajayantha, Nimal Lanza and Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam. Lakshman Kiriella is the most contributed MP in the Parliament in February 2023
MPs Attendance in Parliament - July 2023
No full textThis infographic is available in English, Sinhala and Tamil.This infographic shows the attendance of MPs in the Parliament during the 8 sittings in July 2023. This infographic also highlights the 7 MPs who had the lowest attendance during the Parliament sittings. Those MPs were Harin Fernando, Rohini Kumari Wijerathna, S. Noharathalingam, R. Sampanthan, Premalal Jayasekara, Ali Sabry Raheem and Dhammika Perera
Total and primary deficits run in opposite directions
No full textThis infographic was posted on the Public Finance Platform in English.The governments primary deficit improved in the first half of 2023 compared to the corresponding period in 2022, while the budget deficit worsened increasing from LKR -903 Bn to LKR -1,243 Bn which implies a significant 93 percent increase an interest payments. Revenue increased by 43 percent from LKR 918 Bn to LKR 1315 Bn resulting in the primary deficit turning from a deficit into a surplus. Total expenditure increased as well, from LKR 1822 Bn in Q2 2022 to LKR 2560 Bn in Q2 2023, noting a 40 percent increase
Mood of the Nation February 2023 update: Coverage in Sirasa TV News1st
No full textThis News1st news coverage telecasted on 20 February 2023.A News1st news coverage on the ‘Mood of the Nation’ February 2023 update.
'Mood of the Nation’ is a syndicated survey conducted by Verité Research to assess the approval, satisfaction, and confidence of the nation in relation to the government, the country, and the economy
"කරදර කිරීමක්" ද? "ලිංගික අපයෝජනයක්" ද?
No full textThis entry includes 7 write-ups and 7 infographics (both in Sinhala).In the month of July 2023, Sinhala newspapers Mawbima, Lankadeepa, Dinamina and Aruna published articles
that trivialised sex crimes.
On the 10th of July, Mawbima and Aruna reported the sexual abuse of novice monks at the hand of an older monk. Mawbima used the words 'karadara kara' to trivialise the crime, whereas Aruna addressed the seriousness of the crime by referring to it as 'apayojanaya'.
On the 13th of July, Sinhala newspapers published headlines about the sexual abuse faced by a Turkish lady while travelling in a bus. The sex crime was trivialised by Lankadeepa, Mawbima and Dinamina. Only Aruna reported the incident ethically.
On this same day, Mawbima published a headline which sought to sensationalise an individual who had sexually abused a female student, by referring to the abuser as a "ප්රේම යාචකයා" (prema yachakaya).
On the 18th of July, Sinhala newspapers Aruna and Lankadeepa trivialised sexual abuse by using words such as "හදි කළැයි" (hadi kalei) and "වැඩ අල්ලන්න" (weda allanna).
On the 19th of July, the Sinhala newspaper Lankadeepa published a headline which trivialised a sex crime committed against a young girl.
On the 25th of July, Sinhala newspapers published articles with headlines that referred to sexual abuse as "දූෂණය" (dooshanaya) and "කෙලෙසීම" (keleseema). This kind of reporting trivialises sexual harassment faced by people.
On the 28th of July, the Sinhala newspaper Dinamina published an article with a headline which trivialised an incident of sexual abuse
Backwards in Blacklisting: Enabling Corruption in Procurement
Get PDF3p. This article was published as an opinion column by the Daily Mirror in print and is available online at https://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/Backwards-in-blacklisting-Enabling-corruption-in-procurement/172-271829Failure to tackle corruption is a key factor that contributed to the economic crisis the country is faced with today. Taking concrete steps to reduce corruption, therefore, is critical to recover from the current crisis and to put the country on a sustainable growth path. Public procurement is an important area the country has to focus on in its fight against corruption. Public procurement refers to the purchasing of goods and services by the government, ranging from stationary items to services of contractors to construct ports and power plants. Corruption in procurement pushes up the price of contracts, leading to the waste of scarce
public funds. Research indicates that the amount lost on public contracts due to corruption can amount to 10–25% of a public contract’s value on average. This article points out one of the critical shortcomings in the public procurement regulatory framework in Sri Lanka that makes it highly vulnerable to corruption. The current regulatory framework fails to recognise engaging in fraudulent and corrupt activities during procurement as a valid reason for blacklisting. Sri Lanka is in fact a backward outlier in the South Asian region in this respect
"කුකුල් කොටු භාරගත් මානව හිමිකම් නරි" - මෙම කතුවැකිය පිළිබඳ ඔබේ අදහස?
No full textThis entry has one write-up and one infographic (both in Sinhala).On 19 September 2023, Aruna editorial stated the when criminals are captured and are interrogated by the police, these criminals threaten the police saying that they will appeal to human rights groups. The editorial therefore blames human rights groups, alleging that because of them, police officers are unable to do their duty, and even more so, unable to get promotions to advance in their career. Such an editorial stance is indirectly encouraging police brutality
Why did Sri Lanka fall short of revised 2022 tax revenue target?
No full textThis infographic was posted on the Public Finance Platform in all three languages: English, Sinhala and Tamil.Sri Lanka missed its tax revenue target in 2022, falling short by Rs 101 bn. Prioritizing fiscal consolidation has been given greater importance as part of the current IMF program. A series of budget deficits, excessive borrowing, and poor debt management paved way to the economic crisis which began in 2021. Excise taxes on liquor and VAT contributed the most to the overall short fall in tax revenue
IMF Resolution - Voting Breakdown
No full textThis infographic is available in English and Sinhala.On April 28 2023, the parliament passed a resolution for the implementation of the arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with a majority of 96 votes. The following compilation of infographics reflects the MP voting counts by political party, including the list of MPs that voted in favour, against and MPs who were absent during the vote. 121 votes were cast in favour of the resolution, while 25 votes were cast against it and 78 MPs were absent