Eng. Ananda Deavsinghe is a professionally qualified engineer with a Master’s degree in Public Management (Sri Lanka), a BSc. (Eng.) Hons. (Sri Lanka) and is currently reading for his DBA at the University of Colombo. He is also an associate member of AMIESL. He has extensive business experience as the CEO of private sector organisations. In an interview with the Sunday Observer, Eng. Devasinghe discussed the details of National Strategic Plan for Sri Lanka.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q: What is the vision and purpose of Piripun?
A: We are a civil organisation called Piripun Deshayak, which consists of a team of Sri Lankans who have voluntarily taken the initiative to reclaim the social, economic, legal, and political freedom of the country in line with the technological changes of the 4th Industrial Revolution and global and regional dynamics.
We have no affiliation with or inclination towards any political, ethnic, or religious divisions. Our primary aim is to develop an unbiased “National Strategic Policy Framework (NSPF)” for the country with the support of professionals, academics, entrepreneurs, social activists, and other interested parties.
We have taken a participatory approach to developing this framework, and so far, we have reached some of the stakeholder groups through Piripun Child, PiripunViruliya, Piripun Youth, and Piripun Suruviruwo, and more segments will be added in the future.
Q: Why are you proposing a strategic framework for Sri Lanka?
A: To date, Sri Lanka has been ruled by the election manifestos of different political parties rather than by a solid road map to development. Even if a plan existed, it was overlooked or poorly implemented after the election, shattering the expectations of the voters. We believe a country led with no plan is similar to that of a “boatman with no paddle.”
The success of Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and many other countries can be attributed to having a vision for the country, able leadership with an interest in taking the country forward, a plan in place to achieve the vision and its successful implementation.
For example, Bangladesh Vision 2041 is to eradicate extreme poverty, achieve the upper middle class by 2030, and achieve the status of a high-income nation by 2041. (www.peertechzpublications.com/articles/ACMPH-6-221.php). Similarly, Singapore achieved a per capita income (PCI) of US$ 926 in 1970 and a PCI of US$ 102,450 in 2021 despite limited resources.
If so, why did Sri Lanka fail despite inheriting a strategic location, an abundance of natural resources, scenic beauty and many more strategic assets. It’s simply because we do not have a vision in place to develop the country. A strategic plan specifies the “vision” for the country, and the other elements of the plan would follow. After a very long wait and having realised that no political party seems interested in developing this country, we, as a civil organisation, are trying to bridge this gap by developing a National Strategic Policy Framework (NSPF) for the next 25 years, named “Sri Lanka 2040,” with the ultimate aim of achieving “developed country status” for Sri Lanka. We propose that by 2040, Sri Lanka will be a highly developed, sustainable model country in Asia.
Q: What do you want to achieve through this plan?
A: This plan covers all 49 subsectors of the economy that fall under three major sectors: Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, Industries, and Services. We expect to reach USD 270 billion by 2040 while keeping the PCI at USD 12,000 to maintain developed country status.
The other key macroeconomic fundamentals we aim for include economic growth rate of 5 percent to 7 percent, single digit inflation, the balance of payment surplus, competitive foreign exchange rates, single digit unemployment, and depreciation of natural resources (Green Accounting).
We would adopt a sustainable approach to development of NSPF and propose unique strategies to achieve the Vision under each sector. The Agriculture sector strategies include; invading Industry 4.0 into local agriculture, introducing agro-economic zones, golden rice triangle, grooming Agri-entrepreneurs, establishing new forms of Agri-business organizations, establishing Agri-business development services (AgBDS), and promoting export oriented agriculture.
The Industry sector strategies include; market oriented diversification based on natural, competitive and comparative advantages, connecting local industries to the global manufacturing value chain (GMVC), developing sophisticated, hi-tech human resource, cutting edge technology infusion and introducing innovative industry creation models.
The service sector strategies include; paradigm shift towards trade-in service domination, invading industry 4.0 into local industries, prioritising ‘fortune sectors’ such as tourism and education, strengthening creative economy performance, introducing Silicon Valley of Sri Lanka, introducing ‘hub status’ for medical, education and logistics, and Employment Linked Training Purchase (ELTP). All three sectors’ strategies would focus on the most underutilised “nation branding” that the country lacks.
Q: How do you intend to develop the strategic plan?
A: The core team, including me, developed the National Strategic Policy Framework (NSPF) and the plan, which were presented to a gathering of political leaders, media, clergy, social activists, civil organisations, and the general public on December 9 at the Construction Industries Development Authority Auditorium. Dr. Premasiri Gamage, Vice President of Piripun Organisation (Presenter), Dr. W. G. Somaratne, Dr. Prasad Mahindarathne, Dr. Preethi Gunaratne, Dr. Eng. W. S. Wimalasooriya and MrShohan Wijesinghe are among the core team members pictured.
We intend to develop sector plans for all 49 sub-sectors of the economy with the support of sector specialists in each area and present the draft framework to all stakeholders for debate prior to the finalization of the National Strategic Policy Framework (NSPF) for Sri Lanka.
Q: How would you implement the plan?
A: We believe that implementation of the plan is a daunting task. The implementation will be incorporated into the plan by specifying activities, responsibilities, and timelines.
A patriotic, visionary leader with a transformational leadership style, as well as a team of 16 to 18 professionals supported by sector specialist teams, are required for successful implementation. As the country is facing severe economic turmoil, we will allow the country to stabilise over the next two years, and the NSPF will be launched in 2025.
However, the prerequisites for the paradigm shift and subsequent implementation of NSPF need to be addressed in the years 2023 and 2024 and include a change in the mindset of the citizens, the formulation of national policies, the implementation of Education 4.0, and introducing strict governance systems to minimise widespread corruption.
We would like to invite like-minded professionals and other interested citizens to join hands with us to accomplish this task successfully. Finally, if the present Government is willing to initiate these changes, Piripun Deshayak organisation will facilitate their implementation.