Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2017-03-28

Defining the Outcomes and Priorities for the Economic Delivery Programme (EDP) and mandate for the Central Programme Management Unit (CPMU)

- Cabinet has already granted approval to establish a Central Programme Management Unit (CPMU), with a view to making a rapid economic transformation in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, action is being taken to list out the outcome and priorities, establish a Central Programme Management Unit, while making special focus towards accelerating the delivery of most important economic benefits to Sri Lanka, in the next 3 years. It is expected to achieve development in the following 5 priority fields, under the Economic Delivery Programme implemented strictly with a set target:

(i) median income
(ii) private sector jobs
(iii) domestic and foreign investments
(iv) exports
(v) government revenue

The fields of tourism, agriculture and manufacturing have been selected as the fields which could make a direct impact to achieve the anticipated outcome under this programme. Moreover, investments, digital economy and government revenue have been identified as Enablers to this programme. It has been planned to vest the responsibility of implementing this target programme under the leadership of the relevant Ministers and to review its progress by the Hon. Prime Minister and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM), once in two weeks. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Ranil Wickremasinghe, the Prime Minister, in his capacity as the Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs, to implement the programme within a prescribed time frame, was approved by the Cabinet.