Hon. (Dr.) Harshana Suriyapperuma - Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning

¶ 01 Madam Presiding Member, thank you for facilitating this very important discussion. Unfortunately, during this important Debate, many of the points raised by the Opposition were not aligned to the subject. What we can see is that the present Government of the National People's Power has steered this society to a healthy discourse. Key economic indicators are being brought onto the correct trajectory.

¶ 02 Hon. Presiding Member, emphasizing the importance of this piece of legislation we are discussing today, I would like to say that the delivery of promises we gave to the people is important. One of them is to facilitate business, to make it easier to do business in Sri Lanka. Saying no to corruption and having necessary systems and processes in place, Sri Lanka would once again be recognized as a nation serious about addressing its chronic issues. One of them relates to making use of online facilities by the certification agencies.

¶ 03 But, before getting on to technical details, I would like to highlight a point made by an Hon. Member a short while ago, referring to conflicts of interest. It is important to recognize the requirement to disclose the conflicts of interest. But, Madam, apart from disclosure, it is more important to ensure your ethical conduct while you are on respective boards or government institutions. What was lacking in the past was mentioning their affiliations. But, when decisions were made, they were actively involved in those processes. They were passing information to outsiders who had business interest. We do not have to go far. At the Committee of Parliament inquiring into the Central Bank Bond scam, several Members seated there, while discussions were going on those sensitive matters, made phone calls and shared information with outsiders. Today, those very Members are trying to preach us about conflicts of interest. So, there is absolutely no substance in what those fake Members say with their understanding of conflicts of interest. They are trying to preach us about conflicts of interest, whereas they had breached the very essence or the fundamentals of it while taking part in those Parliamentary Committees. So, for the members of the public, it is important to recognize that; even though they are trying to portray a different conduct, their reputation in terms of doing wrong things is well known to the society.

¶ 04 As a nation, we need to rely on the members of the business community. There are several capable individuals in the business community who have contributed to the success of several businesses. As the Government, we are serious about getting their input where necessary, considering their conduct, the past track record and particularly, their not engaging in wrong activities and corruption-related transactions. Then, we would also like to get business enterprises involved. From the discussions that the Government is having to take Sri Lanka forward to a better place, we cannot leave the business community out and go in a separate direction. No, we will work with the business community, get ideas from those individuals, experts of the business community out there, to take Sri Lanka to a better place. Therefore, we will work with the private sector business community to build this nation, which was ruined by those politicians and the corrupt culture they had built.

¶ 05 Madam, coming back to the subject matter, I would say that it is important to recognize the validity and efficiency these systems would bring about in the nation.

¶ 06 Through these measures, we can increase efficiency, agility and quality of our work and carry it out without shortcomings. One provision says that, instead of previous practices, when dealing with the relevant agencies — the designated institutions — transactions should be via email. Such simple things are only now being introduced.

¶ 07 Madam Presiding Member, in 2025 we speak of a digital future, yet even the use of email for transactions is being introduced only now through this programme. Perhaps other institutions already do this, but for newly designated and registered institutions too, the present Government is paying attention to basic matters like adopting email processes.

¶ 08 Madam, on the one hand, with these process improvements we are referring to, we could say no to corruption and minimize the opportunities and chances for corruption and on the other, would track and trace sources of revenue generation, which is a very important step as far as the country is concerned and the situation we are in, as of now.

¶ 09 Facilitation of businesses to continue their activities is very important. I will take one example to demonstrate that. We have not limited it only to talking, Madam, but have implemented some of these digitization initiatives. The agency related to today’s Debate is the Comptroller General's Office. We have implemented a digitization process there, which requires no individual to go to the Comptroller General's Office to give an application. We implemented it early this year, in January or February, and upon inquiry into the success of the digitization process, the Chambers indicated to me that even though we have implemented digitization, people still have to walk into those counters. Early this week, I, in fact, went to the Comptroller General's Office to see whether it is true, whether people still have to come to the counters. There are five counters available at the office. Only one counter was operating and a few people were there at the counter. I went and spoke to a person at the counter, who was from the business community and had come to get the support of the officers. I asked him, "Why did you have to come here today, when there are online services available?" Madam, he mentioned that he wanted to follow up on an application he had made. I, in fact, thought that the application had been pending for a long time. I went there on a Monday morning. Then, I asked him, "When did you apply?" He said that he applied it on Friday and had come on Monday morning to check on its progress, which, in a way, is a good thing to have an efficient service delivered, even though there was no necessity with hardly a single working day passing from Friday to Monday. Then, I asked him, "Why did you come today? You made the application on Friday and you are here on Monday asking the officials about its progress." We never know why people come there; people may still be used to previous practices, which are not good practices, unfortunately. Then, that person explained the reason why he came. It was due to an emergency; they had ordered some spare parts related to aircraft engines, which they needed to get cleared urgently. That is why he had come in person. Then, I asked from the Department also, "Is there not a process to facilitate this type of outliers or exceptional situations, emergencies?” So, they also explained to the person who had come there. That example is just to highlight what we have implemented so far. Within this six-month period, we have been going ahead with the digital journey in this country. The business community is benefiting, as we speak, from this engagement. Otherwise, every day, they have to send people to those institutions, which is a cost to them and leads to bribery and corruption as well. That is one example. There are many other examples I can give, but for the time being, I will limit it to the Sri Lanka Standards Institution. There, out of seven processes, two with the highest number of traffic are already done online or digitally delivered. These are examples to show the deliveries of the present Government, what we have implemented facilitating and saving cost to the business community and making it easier to do business in Sri Lanka.

¶ 10 Madam Presiding Member, we are at a national crossroads. Alongside process reforms, we must also amend the legal framework. That is why we debate and bring these measures. We know the days when the country was misled about a Volkswagen factory. In contrast, we are now implementing the programme presented at the election.

¶ 11 Further, there is a new culture we are inculcating. People have voted in favour of that culture. It is an evolution from the manual-based transactions mentioned in the Gazette we are debating today. We are evolving into the digital space, but what is more important is that the Government is on a mission or a journey to deliver what we had promised to people who trusted this Government without knowing who we are.

¶ 12 What they trusted in is the expertise our Members had, the ingenuity in our approach and the governance approach we will implement in Sri Lanka. That is what we are implementing as the days pass by. Support is extended to large businesses, corporations operating here and to the SME sector as well. Our intention is to provide that support and help achieve the aspirations of the businesses. Similarly, it is also our intention to ensure that the aspirations of the people, particularly of the parents, are achieved and delivered. Parents are worried that their children would not have a country to live in after they complete their education. This Government is delivering on those promises.

¶ 13 That is why it is important to discuss these important policies in this House. Madam, today, I was expecting that we would get some suggestions to amend the Regulations we have presented today. There have been discussions, but however, unfortunately, there were no valuable suggestions or recommendations made relating to the matter we are deliberating today. Some Hon. Members were discussing about salt. Madam, I cannot amend this legislation with salt; I need input relating to the Regulations under this legislation. They were saying that we are implementing the law without attending to previous corruptions. Recommendations are required for the Regulations brought under this piece of legislation we are deliberating today.

¶ 14 Madam Presiding Member, today there has been a decent discussion in Parliament. Our people expect that, and they chose a competent set of representatives for that purpose. They believe we will chart the correct course for these Gazette amendments based on proper policy discussion. Yet, today, much of it was about salt. As I said, we cannot amend the Imports and Exports (Control) framework, or these Gazette amendments, with salt.

¶ 15 To move this programme forward, we must further strengthen Government work, pass such Orders when needed, and provide the implementing institutions with the required human and other resources. The present Budget has made provision. Some said the Government will not fund this. Within the Budget, given the current environment and prioritization, we have prepared to provide the necessary resources — human, physical and advisory — to those institutions.

¶ 16 So, let us not make the excuse that resources are a constraint for us to deliver. Let us get it done together with your suggestions. You are able to contribute to these valued debates and discussions.

¶ 17 Similarly, the Government is also engaged in business through our State-owned enterprises. It is important for us to ensure that the governance framework of those businesses is improved. We have an accountable mechanism, that if the entities are not able to deliver the results, the people of the country have to finance those activities as well. Therefore, separate initiatives are underway, as we are discussing, to improve those arrangements, to revise those legislations and to implement them in a timely manner.

¶ 18 Similarly, when we bring in new legislations, it is not only the aspect of the Government that we consider, but we also have dialogues and discussions with the industry as well. Just to highlight an example, we wanted to repeal the SVAT given to businesses. It is also known that the Government has laid the road map even with dates being identified. The SVAT will be repealed with a suitable mechanism implemented, under which entities would be able to submit their documentation through an online platform, the Inland Revenue Department would be able to go through them and provide the applicable refund within the shortest possible time. In this discussion, we engaged with the industries, particularly with the garment segment, which is considered the most-affected. We have had multiple discussions with the industry so far to accommodate their suggestions. As of now, they have suggested to consider trading houses also in this equation. That shows the cooperation between the business community and the present Government. We are not making high-handed decisions; we are making decisions for the betterment of the country. It is Sri Lanka — the North, the South, the East and the West — that we are going to build together with the input and the support of the business community. Another example to demonstrate our engagement with the industry is the continuous discussions the ceramic manufacturers had with the Government to explain the challenges they are going through.

¶ 19 I am extremely happy to announce to this House, Madam, that the National Tariff Policy the Hon. President mentioned in his Budget Speech is also going to be established.

¶ 20 This week, we are going to establish the National Tariff Policy Committee. Its inaugural session will be held this week. We invite the industries to coordinate with the channels that are available through the Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, to take part in those discussions and to submit their suggestions, proposals and challenges they have. So, we have a mechanism in place in the country. For the first time in the history of Sri Lanka, instead of politicians deciding on what should be the tax, a mechanism is now put in place to decide what should be the Excise Duty on articles imported into the country. So, that is a victory and a milestone we have achieved as a country, but we need to make sure that we improve it continuously. It is not only about establishing a committee and having its first meeting, but continuation of the activities. Therefore, I invite the business community to engage with the process. The Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development has played a tremendous role in getting this done.