I refer to the news item on the front page of your issue of the 25th   June, under the above heading. This refers to a speech of Minister, Dr Sarath Amunugama at a Conference jointly organised by the Institute of Policy Studies, and the World Bank on  "Protecting the poor in Sri Lanka in crisis and beyond", on the 24th June.

I was present at this Conference,  and was surprised by the Minister’s  sweeping statement, where he seemed to castigate 140 Chairmen of State institutions over the past 50 years, for obtaining  hand outs from the Treasury, to stay afloat. Your Editorial of the 26th June also  refers to this issue. At the Tea/Coffee  break, I spoke to the Minister, whom I have known for some years, and told him that not all State institutions depend on  Treasury hand outs. I said that after retiring from the Public Service, as the Head of the Commerce Dept, I was appointed  Chairman of two State enterprises ie the  Geological Survey and Mines Bureau, and  the Lanka Mineral Sands Corporation. Both enterprises did not obtain any assistance from the Treasury, and in fact, Lanka Mineral Sands in some years provided loans to the Treasury, in one year I remember it was Rs 600 million. These  were from the profits earned by this institution. This was a few years ago, and  I do not think the situation would have changed since then. The Minister graciously acknowledged that public sector institutions could be made profitable.

It is a popular misconception that all State Institutions run at a loss and are a drain on the public purse. There are the Rupavahini Corporation and ITN which are well run and profitable. Of the larger State bodies, the Bank of Ceylon and the People’s Bank are performing well. Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation was also making substantial profits, before  it was ‘illegally’ privatised. Of course one cannot deny, that there are some State enterprises, which run at a loss, for various reasons, and have to be bailed out by the Treasury. But to say that 140 State bodies, over the past 50 years have been dependent on Treasury ‘hand outs’ is questionable. I have some experience of working in a private bank, and have therefore observed the scene from both sides. To be fair by the State institutions, they have to operate under various constraints which the private sector rarely  experiences. Finally, how has the global economic and financial crisis, impacted on the Public and Private sectors? In the developed countries, which are the worst affected by the crises, it is the private sector by and large, which has been bailed out by the State. Even the legendary General Motors, have filed for bankruptcy, and would be reinvented as "Government Motors"!