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Corruption costs Sri Lanka 2% economic growth: senior economist
Saturday, 11 August 2007 - 9:57 PM SL Time
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Public sector corruption in Sri Lanka is a key factor driving poverty and the country is losing two percentage points of economic growth a year from resources lost to sleaze, a senior economist said.
`We always talk about the loss in growth due to the terrorist war, but we hardly talk of the loss due to this other terrorism ? corruption,` President of the Sri Lanka Economics Association (SLEA) A D V de S Indraratna said in a hard hitting delivery, opening the annual sessions of the group.
`Corruption can impact poverty if it affects either the available investible resources or productivity.`
Indraratna was speaking at the annual sessions of the SLEA. Indraratna said large volumes of revenue are forgone due to corruption. Sri Lanka`s auditor general has already uncovered a 3.2 billion rupee value added tax fraud.
The head of the parliament`s Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) had said that 100 billion rupees were lost in 26 public enterprises due to corruption.
Indraratna says when the losses due to identified corruption elsewhere is added, the total annual loss would be higher
`If these funds had been saved and invested, Sri Lanka`s growth rate would be raised by a further 2 percentage points without any further increase in the present rate of gross investment or productivity.`
He said corruption slowed growth and reduced resources available for distribution and also slashed disposable income available in the hands of individuals.
`It aggravates inequity,` Indraratna said. `In all these, the burden falls relatively heavily on the poor because eventually, the marginal utility of money is relatively high for the poor on one hand and corruption is a regressive tax on them.`
The theme of the 2007 annual sessions of the SLEA is `Inequity, Poverty and Development.`
He charged that too little attention was paid to the effect of corruption on poverty.
`Public officials and our politicians fight shy of even mentioning it as a cause of our poverty, and even among us economists only a very few have shown interest in the study of this nexus between corruption and inequity and poverty.`
He said if state revenues were not lost due to corruption they would go to reduce the `burgeoning budget deficit.`
Indraratna said there was `rampant corruption` in infrastructure projects both at central and provincial government levels.
`This is owing to contractors getting away with sub-standard work or pilfering inputs or not using specified materials, by giving commissions or kickbacks to officials or elected representatives who are overlooking such projects.`
Indraratna said the poor had to give bribes to get public services that were due to them without charge.
The poor that could not afford to pay bribes to local officials or police were denied access to public services and justice, he said.
`Even with regard to the supply of material inputs such as fertilizer, seed paddy and water, corruption worsens the poverty of the rural farmer.`
He said another key cause of poverty was inflation, which affected the poor most because their money income did not keep pace with inflation.
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ShanA
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11 Aug 2007 15:00:04 GMT Report for Abuse
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| Why we vote these politicos back to office every time. We are responsible for the mess. |
groovygirl
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11 Aug 2007 15:01:36 GMT Report for Abuse
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'We always talk about the loss in growth due to the terrorist war, but we hardly talk of the loss due to this other terrorism ? corruption,' President of the Sri Lanka Economics Association (SLEA) A D V de S Indraratna said in a hard hitting delivery, opening the annual sessions of the group.
Mahinda Chintanaya at it's best!
gg |
Priyanthy
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11 Aug 2007 15:02:16 GMT Report for Abuse
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but we hardly talk of the loss due to this other terrorism ? corruption,' President of the Sri Lanka Economics Association
Go and see how much is inside the pockets of Rajapkase brothers. |
strategist
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11 Aug 2007 15:03:47 GMT Report for Abuse
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Prof Indraratne was not appointed to the University Grants Committe. This is how he retalliates. |
Rapaport
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11 Aug 2007 15:04:58 GMT Report for Abuse
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Wow! We missed 60% growth cos of corruption in the last 3 decades then! Thats ONLY cos of corruption! |
Kamani
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11 Aug 2007 15:05:53 GMT Report for Abuse
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Corruption is nothing new to us. Whoever comes to power are corrupted.
There are no uncorrupted leaders in any country, that is what we are missing.
The point is make the country better even stealing money and people will not criticise.
Bush, Blair all are corrupted but they keep the country running, so steal money but run the county too. |
Kamani
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11 Aug 2007 15:09:22 GMT Report for Abuse
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| We also must be grateful for the Tamil diaspora who send their welfare benfits, credit card scams to Sri Lanka to help the LTTE which also is a part of economy. So diaspora, we need more corruption, stealing, credit card scams, welfare fraud etc. |
MaKaSo
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11 Aug 2007 15:10:02 GMT Report for Abuse
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Prof Indraratne was not appointed to the University Grants Committe. This is how he retalliates.
What ever the case, he is telling the truth. All the politicians and public officers are responsible for this situation.
As ShanA said, it is the people who elect the same politicians again and again. It is very difficult to change this practise unless we change the attitude.
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groovygirl
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11 Aug 2007 15:12:24 GMT Report for Abuse
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As ShanA said, it is the people who elect the same politicians again and again. It is very difficult to change this practise unless we change the attitude.
agree with you 100% |
kiwikanga
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11 Aug 2007 15:17:26 GMT Report for Abuse
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Corruption, it's a way of life in SL and that's how things ARE done in SL. Without corruption it wouldn't be SL!!
Edited By - kiwikanga - 11 Aug 2007 15:17:59 GMT |
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