When Stupidity Rules the Private Sector

By Adolf 

In the high-stakes arena of national economic recovery, the most dangerous threats often do not come from external enemies, but from the deeply entrenched, stubborn ignorance of domestic leadership. The recent clash between business leaders in Sri Lanka, as reported by Daily Mirror, serves as a textbook example of how misguided corporate ego and a refusal to face reality can cripple a nation’s path to recovery.

The debate, hosted by the Sri Lanka-Korea Business Council, laid bare a fundamental schism in the private sector. On one side stands Aroshi Nanayakkara, a so-called global consulting CEO, god knows from where (never heard of the company), who argues that Sri Lanka must urgently embrace foreign capital and knowledge to survive. On the other side stands Kaniskha Mannakkara of CAL Holdings Group, who represents the dangerously complacent—and frankly, stupid—mindset that is holding the country hostage.

Willful Blindness 

Mannakkara’s argument is a masterclass in willful blindness. He boldly claims that the nation is not starved of capital, insisting that there is “a lot of liquidity out there” within the domestic banking sector. He argues that the money simply isn’t deployed properly, suggesting that the solution lies purely in internal restructuring, while rejecting foreign capital flows as a “severe miscalculation.”

This is economic delusion at its finest. When a nation is drowning in bankruptcy, with foreign exchange reserves at critical lows, claiming that the domestic system has enough money to pull itself out of the quagmire is like a drowning man insisting he can breathe underwater. It is an ego-driven refusal to admit that the domestic system has fundamentally failed. If the liquidity is truly there, why is the economy collapsing? Why aren’t companies able to import essential goods? Mannakkara’s assertion isn’t just flawed economic logic; it is a dangerous attempt to isolate the country just as it needs global integration the most, particularly during a massive technological and industrial shift worldwide.

Furthermore, his argument betrays an underlying arrogance: the belief that domestic institutions are superior to international markets. Nanayakkara rightly points out the sobering truth—that Sri Lanka needs the knowledge base that comes from foreign markets, not just the cash. While Mannakkara acts as the gatekeeper of a failed status quo, Nanayakkara attempts to highlight the structural rot at the core: a democratic system so riddled with frequent electoral cycles and shifting mandates that it is utterly incapable of maintaining the long-term vision required for economic transformation. The stupidity of Nanayakkara is very evident; she has no clue about the importance of accountability and clearing the deck. She has no understanding of the importance of a civil service, where continuity is assured by them. Nanayakkara is apparently a former Chairman of the Directors. No wonder our Directors have tunnel vision when they have leaders like Nanayakkara.

This is the ultimate irony of the “stupid” private sector. Business leaders like Mannakkara and Nanayakkara often spend their days loudly berating the government for its corruption and inefficiency. Yet, when they are faced with a solution—bringing in foreign capital to stabilize the economy—they instantly throw up nationalist walls and pretend the problem doesn’t exist. They demand government efficiency while simultaneously rejecting the very structural reforms and external resources needed to achieve it.

Ignorance is no excuse

Nanayakkara, however, paints a picture of a nation trapped in a perpetual loop. She questions if democracy is the “right way to go” when every five years, a new parliament arrives with new mandates, obliterating any progress made. This political volatility is a death sentence for any economy attempting to execute a long-term recovery plan. This is a frightening thought for a leader who promotes good governance. Yet, instead of focusing on these structural realities, Mannakkara and his ilk retreat into a comfortable bubble of local liquidity and isolationism. “Stupidity” in the private sector isn’t a lack of intellectual capacity; it is the conscious choice to ignore urgent, glaring realities in favor of comfortable, nationalistic narratives. If Sri Lanka is to survive, it must never listen to shortsighted leaders like the Nanayakkaras or Mannakkaras of the world. It must accept that it does not have the answers, that the “liquidity” is a mirage, and that without foreign capital and a fundamental overhaul of its political economy, the country will face total collapse. The private sector must stop pretending it can survive in a vacuum; the era of economic ignorance is over, and the price for clinging to it is too high to pay. It is best people like the Nanayakkaras or Mannakkaras keep their ideas to themselves.

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