Sri Lanka will have to sell its state properties to pay local and foreign debts, if it cannot increase its export earnings and government revenue, Minister of Technology and Research Patali Champika Ranawaka says. He made these remarks today at a meeting with the business community to discuss the five year (2015-2020) technical investment plan.

Ranawaka agreed that there have been certain gains during the past years in poverty alleviation and reducing unemployment. Yet, the ability to pay debts was rapidly decreasing. He mentioned that in 1977, when markets were opened, the total debt payments were at 28 percent of the government revenue. In 1994 it was 55 percent. But in 2013, the ratio was 102 percent. This means that government revenue could not even repay the debts.

Therefore, the government has been forced to take more and more loans for development and even day to day expenses.

The Minister mentioned that this situation has to be changed, reminding that if it was not changed, Sri Lanka will have to go for austerity measures. In Greece, Iceland, Ukraine and Italy, such austerity measures forced the countries to sell public property. Sri Lanka is in the danger of falling to that stage.

He mentioned that an innovation based economy is one way to escape this fate.