Irresponsible Borrowing Stalled Sri Lanka’s Growth

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka’s failure to achieve sustained economic prosperity following the end of the civil conflict in 2009 was largely due to irresponsible borrowing, not a lack of capacity among its people, according to Deputy Minister of Economic Development Anil Jayantha Fernando.

Speaking at a public forum on Thursday (16), Fernando reflected on the post-war period, particularly the year 2010, which was widely seen as a turning point for national development.

“Now 2010 was regarded as a year of bringing, or the initiating prosperity,” he said. “I would rather say that irresponsible borrowing. You may see some growth in economic development, but it was not sustainable, because most of the borrowing had not gone into productive economic channels.”

He emphasized that Sri Lanka’s citizens are capable of contributing meaningfully to economic development, but structural missteps and poor financial decisions hindered progress.

“Opportunities alone don’t bring change. What we need is action—and that includes committed government intervention,” Fernando stated.

Clarifying the role of political engagement, Fernando distinguished between politicization and political facilitation.

“Politicization is also wrongly interpreted. Politicization is intervening, mediating, engaging, influencing two different matters to maximize the private interest. Therefore, we are not going to promote politicization, but political engagement, political interference, is pretty much there to facilitate investment.”

He stressed that the government’s role is not merely regulatory but proactive, aimed at ensuring that economic decisions are aligned with national development goals. “Our mandate is to look at everything carefully and support you. This is not politicization—it’s facilitation.”