Sri Lanka has reached a stage where it can successfully conclude the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme by next year, Professor Seetha Bandara of the Department of Economics at the University of Kelaniya said.
Addressing the national convention of the ruling National People's Power (NPP) affiliated National Intellectual Organization, she said that the country has currently managed to maintain a positive economic growth rate of 5 per cent while driving foreign remittances beyond USD 8 billion.
She pointed out that the present government inherited an economy akin to a patient in an intensive care unit, struggling to import essential food and medicines or even secure a week's supply of fuel, but has now built foreign reserves past USD 7 billion.
Expressing views on the role of the National Intellectual Organization following the election of the government, she said that supporting the government does not mean rubber stamping every official decision.
Prof. Bandara emphasised that while endorsing correct policies, actively intervening to rectify erroneous decisions remains a historic responsibility of the academic and intellectual community.
Noting that the only group in the world possessing expert knowledge is within the National Intellectual Organization and that the unique and deep knowledge possessed by those intellectuals should not be limited merely to academic research papers, books, or lecture halls, she pointed out that this expert knowledge should be directly applied practically for state governance and policy formulation.
She added that although not every member can enter Parliament, intellectuals from the organization are actively guiding the state machinery onto the right trajectory through roles in Parliament as well as chairpersons and board members of public institutions.
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