Spotlight: Econ Op-eds in Summary (Week ended 15th January'20)

Snapshots

1. Central Bank’s Road Map for 2020 and Beyond Government’s full cooperation is needed to realise targets

By: W.A. Wijewardena

· In the Central Bank’s Road Map for 2020 and Beyond, multiple weaknesses in the local economy were noted, ranging from slowing growth, to inequality, to fiscal weaknesses. Here, the CBSL noted that it’s role was only supplementary, with the government needing to take proactive action to strengthen the economy.

· While the current state of the economy is thus not considered very positive, the road map addresses the necessity to adopt an effective and innovative economic policy program. The government has to overcome the challenges of declining economic growth, generating sufficient foreign exchange resources and providing relief to businesses.

· For this purpose, the government needs to put in place effective incentive packages and should cooperate with the Central Bank to attain the goals of the bank’s Road Map for 2020 and Beyond. For these purposes, the government is required to continue engagement with the IMF while amending the Monetary Law Act (MLA).

For the full article – Refer Daily FT

2. Sri Lanka needs more education entrepreneurs

By: Dinesh Weerakkody

· While education has been viewed to generate higher incomes for individuals, it is also important knowing where the economy can specialize and develop. Existing capacities of the country’s education system and what specializations it could possibly take up globally should also be explored.

· Sri Lanka needs to look at a range of different factors rather than simply investing more into education. Developing professionals through higher education is also important, since they play a critical role in meeting our development goals. Greater competition between education providers can also increase quality of education for a lower overall cost.

· For decades, the education system has not changed. Important factors associated with changes in the economy, labour force and business networks are ignored. Labour and education reforms are urgently required. The private sector is needed to bring this transformation in education. Therefore, encouraging more education entrepreneurs is essential.

For the full article – Refer Daily FT

(Compiled by: Chayu Damsinghe, Promodhya Abeysekara & Asel Hettiarachchi)