Small and medium sector traders in the city will be compelled to close down as no solution has been offered by the authorities to relieve them from turmoil following the Easter Sunday attacks which brought business to a stand-still, said a Colombo Business Association (CBA) official at a media briefing in Colombo, last week.
The CBA comprising over 10,000 members warned that many shops across the country are on the brink of closure, as sales have been declining steadily since April 21.
“Most traders are unable to pay the salaries of employees as the numbers of customers who patronise shops has dropped drastically. We request the government to grant the same moratorium and tax concessions as offered to tourism related companies,” a CBA representative said. CBA President Dr. Venkateshwaran said the CBA had repeatedly requested a meeting with the authorities, but so far neither President Maithripala Sirisena nor Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinge have agreed to give a ear to their problems.
“The government can ask for a grace period to repay its loans and offer some respite to the small scale business operators who are part of the business chain in the country. We cannot understand why our requests are being turned down when we pay taxes on time and even have to make room when politicians travel on roads,” Dr. Venkateshwaran said.
“The only silver lining for us is the favourable outcome we expect from the pow-wow we had with the Central Bank Governor last week to support tourism and non-tourism sectors,” he said.
CBA Secretary General Chaminda Vidyanagamage said if the trend continues all business including banks and even media houses will not be able to sustain operations. The non performing loans (NPLs) of banks will increase as traders will not be able to repay loans.
The CBA in a letter to the President, the Prime Minister, Finance Minister and the Central Bank Governor highlighted issues faced by traders in the city.
The letter contains issues arising within businesses, between businessmen, enterprises, with banks and finance institutions, issues affecting tourism related establishments, foreign direct investments, inability of farmers to transport their produce to the city and issues pertaining to labourers due to the prevailing security situation in the country. CBA Chief Organiser G.M. Riyaz said the unity that existed among all religions and races in the business community has been broken. Today, there is suspicion and mistrust towards Muslim businessmen which is a major hindrance to the smooth operations of businesses.
“Tourism related businesses are the most affected sector. Sri Lanka was ranked ‘top country for travel in 2019’ by the Lonely Planet.
“We were excited about the recommendation and had plans to capitalize on it. All that ended as a pipe dream,” CBA Vice President N. Karthik said adding that the CBA does not see any seriousness nor united effort to address the issues.