Speed up, Ravi K tells State agencies at Ease of Doing Biz Forum

By Charumini de Silva

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake on Wednesday made it clear that key Government agencies must improve their efficiency.

“We cannot run a Government with delays of this nature. As Government servants, you all have to be more efficient in making the processes hassle-free for industries to expand their economic activities,” he pointed out at the sixth ‘Ease of Doing Business’ forum.

The Minister’s remark was in response to delays highlighted in granting approval to start a small enterprise in manufacturing electrical switch boards and power factor correction capacitor banks. 

As the Forum took up 23 issues, Karunanayake urged the public servants to find new procedural methods to simplify the approval process of doing business in Government agencies. 

While appreciating the efforts of the bureaucrats gathered to resolve issues with the business community and private sector, he noted:

 “I don’t think it really moves as fast as you are saying when it moves out of the room. Whatever problem it may be, that’s what you all are there for. 



The speed of Government sector organisations needs to improve at a faster pace. Think out of the box — we want things moving forward.” 

Around 100 representatives of private companies were present at the Forum.

Karunanayake also emphasised that if these issues raised at the Forum continued, he would have to make it a point to the relevant minister on the inefficiency of the officers in respective organisations.

“We find the same thing happening once, twice, thereafter we will have to bring it to your minister concerned that there is no solution coming out, and you are only part of the problem that is there. Don’t be a part of the problem. Help to get a vibrant system going on,” he urged.

The bulk of the issues raised was related to taxation, agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure development, energy, finance and ICT sector. The forum provides a live platform to address the procedural and regulatory issues and facilitate in finding on-the-spot solutions to uplift the doing business environment in Sri Lanka.

According to the Finance Ministry, nearly 300 queries have been submitted through the Ease of Doing Business Forum and the Ease of Doing Business Unit (EODB Unit) of Ministry of Finance, where 80% of issues raised by the business community have successfully been resolved.

The EODB Unit works actively with the relevant Government institutions to provide prompt solutions to overcome issues faced by the private sector in doing business in Sri Lanka.   

At Wednesday’s Forum among the 23 queries presented included those raised by KLS Energy Lanka, K.I.K Lanka, and Dankotuwa Textile Mill Ltd. 

KLS Energy Lanka is a renewable energy developer seeking to establish wind/solar hybrid plant in Kankesanthurai, Jaffna, with an investment of around $ 220 million. The company is pending approvals from Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to implement the valid Power Purchasing Agreement and connect its plant to the grid. However, the firm is still pending approval for its power system study and interconnection proposal from the CEB.

Highlighting the importance of the project, the Minister directed the CEB officials to look into the matter immediately and fast-track the approval process. 

K.I.K. Lanka, a registered BOI company, manufacturing electrical panels and metal enclosure systems, pointed out severe problems they face in disposing steel scrap from their factory as it had piled up in their factories at an alarming rate. The firm thus requested authorities to facilitate them to dispose the scrap from the factories without suffering a loss. The Minister directed the Finance Ministry officials to look into the matter with immediate effect. 

Dankotuwa Textile Mill Ltd. said that it had to close down its factory which provided employment to over 1,200 people due to the Budget decision this year. The firm noted that it had heavily invested in producing school uniform fabrics but couldn’t compete with the import price this year and lost the tender. Thereby it suggested a change in the policy decision on school uniforms. However, the Minister made it clear that the Government had created a level playing field for everybody and it was up to the private sector to seize the opportunities available.