MSMEs lobby group urges President to lockdown for two weeks

• Confederation of Micro, Small and Medium Industry in Sri Lanka calls for export zones to function under bio-bubble system
• Essential services and crucial economic functions to continue with special permits
• Accelerate vaccination during lockdown, offer free antigen tests to the public

The Confederation of Micro, Small and Medium Industry in Sri Lanka (COSMI) has requested that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa shut down the country for a minimum of two weeks, in order to break the fast escalating fourth wave of the pandemic within the country. 

COSMI believes that the economic consequences of allowing the pandemic to escalate would far outweigh the cost of economic inactivity for a limited lockdown period. 

COSMI President Nawaz Rajabdeen said that even though the President’s concern about the effect of a lockdown on low income groups and daily wage earners was commendable, the voluntary lockdown by businesses across many cities and the looming fear psychosis being created by the pandemic left no option for such vulnerable groups but to refrain from their wage earning activities. This is further aggravated with the weakening of supply chain activities and public transportation with the strict adherence of movement restrictions in the country, he added. 

“The pandemic has spread over all 25 districts, and some of these districts don’t have sufficient medical facilities to respond to the crisis situation. Free antigen tests available to the public could help to stop further spread to those who are most vulnerable, and also reduce the burden on the healthcare services,” Rajabdeen said. 

“We need to consider the same type of lockdown that the country underwent during the second wave, where the crucial economic functions such as export processing, essential logistics services such as ports and shipping, container transportation, airports and air cargo transportations etc., were allowed to function under special permits with strict adherence to health protocols such as the bio-bubble concept, etc. Other essential services too should be allowed to function in the same manner.

“We appreciate the President’s personal commitment on the vaccination drive and we urge the President to accelerate the vaccination program even during the lockdown period, especially through the MOH offices, hospitals and with the mobile vaccination program conducted by the Sri Lanka Army, etc. Such an accelerated vaccination program will prepare the country for a fast reopening of the country after the lockdown.”

COSMI is an umbrella body of regional chambers of commerce and industry with a collective MSME level membership of over 8,000, including a strong women entrepreneur network of over 4,500 successful women-led businesses.