• Nat. security to be prioritised in the process 

A future government of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) led National People’s Power (NPP) will take over the divested national assets following a special study, said NPP Executive Committee Member Bimal Rathnayake. 

Speaking at a press conference held at the NPP’s head office yesterday (4), Rathnayake said that they would not be able to take over all the State entities that were divested during the past governments at once since the country has no capability to do so with its current economic status. However, he noted that the NPP will stop the divestiture of any kind of State-owned enterprise (SOE) and will take measures to enhance the productivity of such entities. He also noted that the State entities that are important in terms of national security, will be given priority when taking over the fully divested or semi-privatised SOEs. He also noted that the process would take some time, as it is very difficult to take over State entities that have been divested under long-term agreements. He further noted that an NPP Government would restructure all the State corporations in order to update them with new systems of administration and global trends.

“We accept the need for restructuring these SOEs. But, it does not mean any type of divestment or partnership with individuals or foreign countries. We will restructure these SOEs, replacing outdated management structures with new administrative systems, which are needed at this time,” he said.

He also noted that these SOEs were established to serve the people, and that therefore, a future government led by the NPP will make all these entities accountable to the public.