Towards better productivity and prosperity of our nation

Tuesday, 3 January 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Quintus Fernando

I wish to present a few points for discussion, solutions to which I am sure will help our country achieve its economic goals and for us to be more productive and more prosperous.

Our legal system has strangled the economy

nFirstly, it is our judiciary system. It is very slow. It cannot keep phase with a fast growing economy. It only leads to disappointment among litigants. It only makes lawyers rich. Litigants cannot hear what the judge says or what the lawyers say. Litigants are given step motherly treatment in courts. They are helpless. They suffer in silence. Pride of place is given to lawyers. Millions of man-hours, which should be used for productive purposes are being wasted daily in court houses. Judges start hearing cases only at 10:00 o’clock, whereas school children start their day at 7:30am. Commercial disputes cannot be solved at such a slow pace. Land cases take more than 15 years to settle. Entire legal process needs revision, a task which should not be left in the hands of the lawyers alone, as they have vested interests.

nWe must understand that like the Parliament and the Executive, Judiciary is the third pillar of democratic governance. This fact is easily forgotten. We have not supervised, reviewed and updated the Judiciary, rather we have left it to the lawyers alone.

Transport System that is Limping

A bank manager from Moratuwa who is working in Colombo Fort needs two hours, one-way to come to his bank. It works out to four hours a day. He is tired and not in a mood to work when he gets to his desk. See the time wasted daily on the road in crowed buses and trains, once again millions of hours. See the amount of fuel burnt, spare parts wasted and the impact on the air pollution.

If a better transport system is introduced, we can improve the productivity of our people, I would say several times more.

Underutilised State Assets

There are very many state resources such as plant and machinery, vehicles, land and buildings and state employees, idling and not put to good use. We get to know these things only by TV. There are 225 MPs and very many Government servants who could help us to identify these idle assets. As soon as possible, the Government must make an inventory of the assets concerned and divert them to revenue generating ventures.

May I kindly request the Prime Minister and the other ministers concerned to take suitable steps with regards to the above shortcomings?