Increase In Per Capita Income
Sri Lanka has registered its highest growth of economic development since independence says the Department of Census and Statistics.
The economy of 2011 grew at the rate of 8.3 percent while in the previous year a growth of 8.0 percent was achieved said Additional Director General of Census and Statistics, D. C. Gunawardana.
Per Capita Income has also increased to 2836 US dollars from 2400 US dollars the previous year.
Gunwardana expressed hopes that high economic growth could be sustained as growth has been seen in several sub sectors.
Sustaining Growth
Professor Sirimal Abeyratna of the University of Colombo said that the economic growth reported in figures could not be witnessed in reality.
“Overall the export sector is weak and investor confidence is low,” said Professor Abeyratna.
He said that although ending the war has helped the economy to pick up, the gains could not be sustained if the export sector does not develop and new investments attracted to Sri Lanka.
Commenting on the overall management of the economy Professor Abeyratna said that, “the situation is far from satisfactory.”
Another “Cabraal”?
Professor Sirimal Abeyratne’s assessment is certainly more sensible and acceptable to the man in the street.
2836 USD is peanuts in international terms. Go to the villages and see how poorly they live some with only one meal a day. So does this PCI mean any thing? PCI is result of the GDP divided by the population. It does not take in to consideration how much a person earns. The better indicator, though still does not depict the reality, would be the average income of a person in a country but with a realistic representation of the data.
Yes the professor is correct.
1.The rupee has fallen as never before, (not even during the worst times of the war), and purchasing power of the poor has declined as a result so there are more people living in poverty and greater income inquality.
2. The Increase in per capita income which is an averaging out which does not reflect economic inequality is misleading because only a few have gained from the neoliberal policies of the Rajapakse regime.
3. Similarly GDP figures are misleading and includes all the consumption spending on luxury cars that has in fact increased the public DEBT and led to the loss of the value of the rupee
4. The fall of the rupee and loss in purchasing power has increased inequality and poverty and it is the poor who are paying for the national debt and the extravagence of Rajapakse with Nivard Cabraal’s advice and borrowing spree on Commercial markets to fund Rajaapkse’s white elephant projects in Hambantota and the Commonwelath games bid.
Cabraal is a spin master who disguises criminal negligence and waste of public funds by painting rosy pictures and should be tried in court for criminal negligence and held ACCUNTABLE for policy malfeasence.
Rubbish… just because most citizens don’t pay attention to statistics, doesn’t mean authorities manipulate them.
The Additional Secretary General of Census and Statistics is not an economist and he is not in a position to declare the growth of economy. And simply how many of the 20 million getting $2836, by doing simple arithmetic like minister Bandula Guwardane saying Rs. 2500 enough for a person to live (meals) for a month.
The donkey is going to do the dog’s job to satisfy the master. Hail Srilanka.
Increased per capita is due to increase in money printing. It is not real currency increase. Inflation is up.
OBVIOUSLY THE STATISTICS ARE BASED ON THE EARNINGS OF THE GOVERNING POLITICIANS. I WONDER WHETHER BANDULA’ STATEMENT WAS
BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED BY SAME SOURCE OR
OUR “FINANCIAL WIZARD” CABARAAL.
WHEN WILL WE HAVE “THE SRI LANKA SPRING” ???????????
IT WILL NOT COME TILL WE, GET OUR “BACK-BONES”
WE ARE ALSO A NATION SUFFERING FROM “ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION”
WE ARE NATION OF “PONNAYAS”
OBVIOUSLY THE STATISTICS ARE BASED ON THE EARNINGS OF THE GOVERNING POLITICIANS. I WONDER WHETHER BANDULA’ STATEMENT WAS
BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED BY SAME SOURCE OR
OUR “FINANCIAL WIZARD” CABARAAL.
WHEN WILL WE HAVE “THE SRI LANKA SPRING” ???????????
IT WILL NOT COME TILL WE, GET OUR “BACK-BONES”
WE ARE ALSO A NATION SUFFERING FROM “ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION”