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Outlining its policy on privatisation the People’s Alliance (PA) today said that it opposed the government move to privatise certain key government institutes and services. The People’s Alliance, which is the largest opposition political party has stated that it is the responsibility of government to safeguard state assets. “These organisations and services play an important role in the life of the people of our country,” the PA policy statement on privatisation announced today said. “We don’t oppose private sector participation in our economy. What we say is that government should not sell our assets,” Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapakse said at a press briefing. The People’s Alliance emphasises that a private sector is an essential component of a developing society and that it is necessary to establish, maintain and assist a capable and strong private sector. The statement said that it is the responsibility of the government to recognise the shortcomings in the state sector and by rectifying them through an efficient administration to make this sector competitive with the private sector.
The Policy of the People’s Alliance regarding the Privatisation of State Enterprises The People’s Alliance opposes the moves of the present government to privatise the following state assets, organisations and services: The State Banks The Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation The State Transport Services Education Health Water supply State Television and Radio Services The Harbours Public Roads and Highways Control of Power and Energy Airports Natural Resources Postal Services We wish to emphasise that a People’s Alliance Government will not privatise the above organisations and services. In formulating an economic policy that meets national needs, while taking account of the general trend of all economies towards a market orientation, the benefits to be derived from foreign trade, the emergence of regional organisations and the pressures exerted by the international financial institutions, the People’s Alliance states that to safeguard the national interest and to ensure social justice of the above ventures and services should be the responsibility of the state. Further the above organisations and services play an important role in the life of the people of our country. The objective of the People’s Alliance is not just to make all the services profitable ones but to ensure that they provide the people a better life. The civilised attitude is not one of making a profit by any means but rather to ensure that the people receive the services that they need with ease and equitably. It is our belief that this is the responsibility of a government. This does not imply that all services should be controlled by the State. The People’s Alliance emphasises that a private sector is an essential component of a developing society and that it is necessary to establish, maintain and assist a capable and strong private sector. At the same time it must be realised that in this era of globalisation even in highly developed rich countries some privatised organisations have failed and that the State has had to step into prop them up. An example is the Rail Service in Britain and America. Further the loss of competition leads to the development of private monopolies, which result in highly adverse consequences to the economy and people’s lives. We accept that it is the responsibility of the government to recognise the shortcomings in the State Sector and by rectifying them through an efficient administration to make this sector competitive with the Private Sector. Excessive political interference has been a major factor adversely affecting the efficient performance of the State Sector and it is important to prevent this in the future. We emphasise that the People’s Alliance is strongly opposed to the privatisation of the above organisations and services for the reasons adduced as well as for other reasons and that we are in the process of informing the public of the dangers of what the government is doing and of mobilising them to protest against these measures which are against the interest of the people and the country. D. M. Jayaratne General Secretary of the People’s Alliance
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