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This is where policy preparation matters. At Advocata Institute, we believe that reform should not begin only after a crisis has arrived or a government has taken office. The groundwork needs to be done beforehand. Our role is to develop practical, evidence-based policy solutions that can be taken forward by political leaders and policymakers when the opportunity for reform arises.
Doing the work before the crisis
Advocata’s work on Sri Lanka’s debt crisis provides a clear example of this approach.
In September 2020, at a time when debt sustainability was not yet at the centre of Sri Lanka’s public policy debate, Murtaza Jafferjee, Chairman of Advocata Institute, presented a three-part primer on national television titled “How Can We Improve Debt Sustainability in Sri Lanka?” The series placed Sri Lanka’s debt sustainability challenges into the public conversation well before the country eventually defaulted on its debt in 2022.
This is an important part of Advocata’s role: to identify structural problems before they become full-blown crises and develop policy solutions before policymakers urgently need them.
The early analysis highlighted the deeper structural issues behind it: persistent fiscal deficits, weak government revenue, limited fiscal space, slowing economic growth and the country’s diminishing debt-carrying capacity. It also pointed to the need for fiscal adjustment, stronger revenue mobilisation, debt restructuring and a fundamental shift in Sri Lanka’s growth trajectory towards greater productivity, investment and exports.
Perhaps most importantly, the analysis emphasised that time was of the essence. The longer a debt overhang persists, the greater the eventual adjustment required and the greater the economic costs. Debt itself can constrain investment and growth by diverting resources towards servicing obligations rather than productive investment.
By the time Sri Lanka’s economic crisis unfolded, Advocata had already been researching and advocating for reforms across areas such as state-owned enterprises, trade, taxation, food security, labour markets and public finance. The crisis created a reform window but having this work ready meant that policymakers did not have to start from zero.
The same principle informed our 2022 Reset Conference, which brought together policymakers, experts and stakeholders to examine the structural reforms Sri Lanka needed to move beyond crisis management and towards sustainable economic growth.
M Roberts, two years into the current government’s term, the question is therefore not simply what has the government done? It is also: How effectively has Sri Lanka used the reform window created by the economic crisis, and how much of the groundwork required for long-term reform has actually been translated into implementation?
A two-year performance review provides an opportunity to examine this distinction.There have been important steps forward, but the broader reform agenda remains unfinished. Stabilising the economy is only the first stage. The next challenge is to ensure that stabilisation translates into stronger institutions, greater productivity, private-sector investment, better jobs and improved living standards.
This is precisely why independent policy institutions such as Advocata matter. Political leadership can open the door to reform. But policy preparation helps determine what happens once that door is open.
Our objective is not to work for one political party or one government. It is to ensure that Sri Lanka’s policymakers, whoever they may be, have access to credible, implementable policy options when the political opportunity for reform arises. The economic crisis created a reset moment for Sri Lanka. The task now is to ensure that the lessons of that crisis are not lost, and that the reform window is used to build an economy that is more competitive, resilient and capable of delivering prosperity.
The real measure of reform is not the announcement. It is implementation.
Crises create urgency. Political mandates create opportunity. But lasting reform requires preparation, evidence and the courage to implement.
At Advocata, we will continue doing the work before the window opens, so that when the opportunity for reform comes, Sri Lanka is ready.
Warm regards,
Dhananath Fernando
Chief Executive Officer,
Advocata Institute. |
