Industry and Commerce Ministry gets Rs. 1.2 b boost

Ministry launches aggressive implementation plan

The Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiutheen launched a detailed action plan ‘calendarised by month last evening at the Ministry auditorium on the 1.2 billion rupee trade and commerce development agenda of the government for the year 2011.

The detail plan of work has clear achievement guidelines to ensure that monitoring of its activities can be assessed on a monthly basis. All senior management officials of the Ministry were present together with the key private sector personalities in business.

“As per the budget 2011 the overall emphasis is on the private sector development agenda and the pivotal role that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has to play must be understood within these parameters” said Minister Bathiutheen.

Allocations for this purpose are to be as follows: Development of Industrial estates is to be allocated Rs.263 million, export development initiatives Rs.450 million, Commerce Ministry – for trade development Rs.501 million, Textile development Rs.25 million, Die and mould facilitation centres Rs. 45 million, Leather and foot wear Industry Rs.15 million, to name a few.   

The Minister re-iterated that moneys had been allocated across the value chain in multiple sectors based on a carefully architectured trade and development initiative. He went on to say that all Advisory Committee members of the Ministry and the Export Development Board (EDB) who are from the private sector will be consulted by him on a quarterly basis so that a clear understanding from the ground end can be gathered for each market segment and product category so that the government officials can work in partnership to ensure that Sri Lanka’s trade can be made competitive.

He also highlighted that the role that trade officers will play in each respective market so that Sri Lanka exports can reach 15 billion dollars by 2015 and 20 billion by 2020. The Ministry of Industry Cluster Group will be meeting the Minister within the next two weeks so that the planned budgetary activity will start getting implemented with the Ministry officials immediately. Work will begin tomorrow said Minister Rishad Bathiutheen.

The Secretary to the Ministry and all Chairmen together with the key advisory partners participated at the launch meeting. A separate new programme to develop 1 million household economic groups as per the budget announced by the President is also being formulated so that micro industry development will become at the smallest unit in Sri Lanka at the Household level.

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce emphasised the new working culture that must be inculcated into the Ministry officials which is all about proactive decision-making that is based on achievement of results said the Minister and not about just doing one’s task. If this new attitude is not adopted Sri Lanka cannot achieve a high growth driven agenda that will result in the country achieving the Wonder of Asia Vision that the President has envisaged, commented the Minister.

On a monthly basis a review will be done on all agencies that come under the purview of the Ministry and the Minister emphasised that media reporting should not be the objective, but getting work done and impacting the private sector for a strong  economic growth.