Mahinda wants move to privatize state assets postponed
Former Prime Minister and leader of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), Mahinda Rajapaksa, has called for the postponement of the Government decision to privatize state assets.
Rajapaksa said that as a measure to ease the widespread discontent over the government’s divestiture drive, he proposes that all moves to sell off state owned assets or enterprises be postponed until a new Government is formed after the next Presidential election.
“The new Government will then be able to deal with state owned properties and enterprises in accordance with the mandate they obtain at the election,” he said.
Rajapaksa said that the Government’s plans to sell off certain national assets and state owned enterprises have given rise to discontent among trade unions, political parties and the general public.
“The present divestiture drive is ostensibly aimed at minimizing govt. expenditure on loss-making state owned enterprises and meeting certain IMF conditions in that regard. I ruled the country for more than nine years from November 2005 to January 2015 without ever selling a single state owned enterprise. In fact, my Government actually re-acquired some state owned enterprises such as the Insurance Corporation, and Lanka Hospitals that had been sold off by previous governments and these enterprises continue to make profits for the state to date,” he said.
Rajapaksa said that any restructuring of state owned enterprises should take place with maximum transparency, according to a national plan, in a manner consistent with national security and in consultation with the employees.
“Having said that, I wish to stress that the trade union sector for its part, should take a more nuanced approach towards private sector participation in state owned enterprises. Going by the dictionary definition of privatization, any involvement of the private sector in the ownership structure or the control of a state owned asset or enterprise can be characterized as privatization. However, trade unions should not oppose every attempt to obtain foreign or private sector investment in a government owned enterprise. A pragmatic and non-dogmatic approach to such matters is required,” he added.
Rajapaksa also noted that some political parties have an ideology driven, dogmatic approach to privatization and seeks to privatize anything and everything that can be privatized.
“Many trade unions also have a similarly dogmatic attitude and tend to oppose any involvement of the private sector in state owned enterprises. Both these extremes are harmful to the country,” he said.
Rajapaksa said that the only real way national assets and strategically important state owned enterprises can be safeguarded is by having a Government that takes a pragmatic and non-dogmatic approach to such matters.
He also claimed that when he ruled the country for more than nine years, the economy flourished and there was not even a discussion on the subject of privatization. (Colombo Gazette)
