In this article, I am proposing an idea for the Sri Lankan private sector to develop Sri Lanka. It would
be an initiative that many private companies would partake in, independent of the government. This
initiative would have the participation of many private companies with an aim to take Sri Lanka
forward, based on what the private sector is capable of doing in its current setup. This project would
be profit making, but with a motivation to improve the country. I’m aware that the way the private
sector operates is by competition, but the private sector is known to sometimes collaborate on
certain issues. I hope my idea will get people thinking about the feasibility of this initiative. I’ll now
mention my ideas on how this project could go about.
Those responsible for this project would study and take note of the strengths the private sector has
over the public sector. They would avoid ideas that may be controversial and/or seemingly tied to a
political ideology. This is as there will be Sri Lankans of different political views working together on
the project. Finding common ground is important, where the project planners would come up with a
list of common objectives that Sri Lankans across the political divide want for the country. They
would then narrow the list down based on factors like cost and practicality.
This project would have a plan consisting of a timetable that’ll list by what date things can get done. The project would go on irrespective of any changes that happen in government. This would give international investors a consistent message of changes and changes in the pipeline that can garner their investments. This would also give Sri Lankans an ability to see how good this team is going ahead with their plan and use it to hold them to account.
I’ll now list some improvements this project could deal with:
- More investments are needed in Sri Lanka’s manufacturing sector to boost exports. Work on increasing domestic investments in the manufacturing sector as well as in other sectors.
- Work on obtaining more FDIs (Foreign Direct Investments) in the manufacturing sector and other sectors.
- Work to combat bribery and corruption in the private sector.
- Work to improve the ethical conduct of the private sector.
- Work to improve job opportunities, thus reducing the number of unemployed people in Sri Lanka.
- Take steps to increase the average wage in Sri Lanka.
- Have entrepreneurship as an important factor of this project where entrepreneurship is encouraged and looked out for.
- Find ways to remove the hassles of getting things done in Sri Lanka.
- Come up with a list of efficient service ideas businesses can use to improve their service delivery for both consumers and the businesses. Following that, work on implementing the practical ideas.
- Work on developing solutions to Sri Lanka’s problems that businesses can fix with new services.
- Work on getting major international businesses to set up shop in Sri Lanka where the project team communicates to these international companies how a Sri Lankan presence can benefit them.
- Work on increasing and diversifying Sri Lanka’s exports.
- Work to make Sri Lanka a hub based on its strategic location.
This was a idea I came up with for the Sri Lankan private sector to develop Sri Lanka. There are
more things that could be done not listed here. I’d be interested in hearing people’s thoughts on my
proposal and people’s ideas of what a project like this could do. I think that if the private sector
works together in a plan like this, they are capable of taking the country further.
