Acquired assets to be privatized again – Keheliya – Media Minister

When donkeys are given the job of running a government, in this case in Sri Lanka, these pronouncements sound like far-fetched dreams. It is only in Sri Lanka that someone without any blushes can say “we took over Companies on Nov 9^th and in a week we are ready to resell it back to them if the proposals (by that we mean a bribe to the rulers) are to the satisfaction of those! Presumably a sycophantic dunce. What a bunch of morons? It is asinine if the statement was true and said in all honesty and it is also asinine if it is a joke said in complete bad taste.

Then why acquire them in the first place and put at risk thousands of jobs due to the perception that this country is not safe for business as the government with such an overwhelming majority in parliament can do as they please. There is no independence of the Judiciary and Legislature from the Executive. This is a clear example of cockiness getting the better of good judgment. When the perception of a good environment is just as important as the actuality, the dictatorship does not realize its effect as they have never had to work hard to run a business that did not involve bribery and corruption on a grand scale.

Do understand that any new proposals presented by the people from whom the govt. grabbed these businesses can be used by a competitor as there are no scruples and the govt. is using these comprehensive business plans as ways to leverage for a better deal from third parties to whom they would prefer to sell these assets.

It is rumored that this whole set of companies was taken over rather than restructured under existing ownership, was because there were cases of large bribes that could be given for these companies by the new investors. I hope they realize in Sri Lanka a bribe is NOT a guarantee that an unexpected law will not apply to them. It is a gamble. The sooner the foreigners realize this the less likely any additional investment will be forthcoming.

This sleight of hand to try and confuse the mind will not work as the damage has already been done, and trying to undo the damage so created is impossible, by making these ridiculous and childish statements.

It will be very interesting to see who will be bidding for this whole list of companies and the hidden costs paid by the bidders for these enterprises. It is sad that the fallout, which was only to be expected, was not predicted by the government side so drunk with power. The wholesale damage to the economy of Sri Lanka by this action is very much to be regretted.