Private sector has been disappointing: Dr. Coomaraswamy

Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy

Former Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy on Saturday opined that the private sector has been so disappointing to say the least.

“They (private sector) have been singing hosanna even for third rate programs initiated by several governments over the years. They would not tolerate such programs even in a boardroom in their companies,” claimed Dr. Coomaraswamy speaking at the Daily FT, ICCSL and SLID seminar on Saturday on the topic “The Required Trajectory for Sri Lanka’s Economy, post 2024.”

He was responding to a question about the role of the private sector as a partner to ensure the Country’s economic programs remain on track.330

In his remarks Dr. Coomaraswamy also expressed total confidence that the Government would complete the debt restructuring process and the IMF review in the next few months and emphasised the need to stick to the agreed fundamentals with the IMF.

Speaking at the webinar, Economist and India’s Planning Commission former Deputy Chairman Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia congratulated the Sri Lankan Government for turning the crisis around and moving the country to the positive trajectory in a short time.

Dr. Montek highlighted the enormous potential for Electricity exports into India and attracting Indian tourists into the country .However he noted the urgency to fix the process issues or the soft infrastructure that irritates Indian businesses when doing business in Sri Lanka.