The Hon. Sunil Rajapaksha

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on a sector that can provide sustainable and correct solutions to many of Sri Lanka’s long-standing socio-economic crises.

¶ 02 In the past, Sri Lanka has been called by various names — the “land of tanks”, the “granary of the East”, and “Ratnadeepa” for its gems. But 75–80 years after Independence, a new name has stuck — “a nation sleeping on a treasure.” If we had a proper programme to utilise the resources we have — which can be converted into dollars or rupees — to solve our social and economic crises, that epithet would not apply to us.

¶ 03 We are currently facing a severe foreign exchange crisis. Our youth face an employment crisis. With development centred in the Western Province, other regions contribute only marginally to national production. Hence the saying, “Milk to Colombo; cucumbers to the village.” A significant portion of our people remain below the poverty line. Therefore, we too have included in our policy statement the need to move towards a production economy. For this, the industrial and entrepreneurial sectors have a major responsibility and task.

¶ 04 We have lagged behind in these areas due to the absence of a sustainable policy: identifying our resources, what products we can competitively produce, where to locate industries, and how to protect them. We need a production and industrial policy, and an SME policy aligned to scale such production. Through that, we can harness resources and develop industries.

¶ 05 Industry and entrepreneurship cannot develop in isolation. Alongside an industrial policy, we need SME policies, cooperative policies, appropriate tariff policies, and an anti-dumping policy. Under the open economy, low-cost, substandard products are dumped into our market below production cost. Our domestic producers cannot compete. We must devise policies to prevent such dumping and create a policy framework conducive to Sri Lankan industries.

¶ 06 In education, from Grade 6, we will introduce “entrepreneurship and financial literacy” to lay the foundation for future entrepreneurs and industrialists. Regionally, we will add elective subjects relevant to local industries. For example, in the Ratnapura District, renowned for gems, children enter the sector via traditional knowledge, not scientific. We propose to introduce a subject like “gemology” so they can enter with modern knowledge. Curricula have already been prepared.

¶ 07 This Budget allocates Rs. 99 billion for economic services and entrepreneurship. Of that, Rs. 38.6 billion is to generate an entrepreneurship drive and support SMEs. We will address SMEs’ key issues — finance and land — and develop industrial estates and villages with necessary facilities. Each estate will cluster related industries — e.g., gem-related products together; the same for handicrafts — creating specialised estates.

¶ 08 We are setting up Industry Development Boards and industrial facilitation centres to support start-ups with infrastructure, knowledge, information, market access, packaging, and marketing. Building from SME to large-scale production, we will implement this across all Divisional Secretariat divisions to spread development nationwide, reduce regional disparities, address unemployment, and maximise local resource use — thereby moving to a production economy.

¶ 09 On the gem industry in my district: It is said we have explored only about 20% of the gem resource, though Sri Lanka is famed for the world’s best gems, notably blue sapphires. Yet we have not become a global leader in gem trade. We plan to establish a gem trading hub linked with Ratnapura, identify new markets, and through exhibitions, make Sri Lanka a centre of the global gem trade. We are preparing new regulations and procedures to regulate the gem trade. With that, we will develop the industry and contribute significantly to national development. Thank you for the time.