Sri Lanka, Sept. 7 -- Plans to prematurely renegotiate the lease agreements of Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) set a dangerous precedent against security of tenure and risk discouraging foreign direct investment (FDI) into state-owned lands, the Advocata Institute warned.
This follows a statement made by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who announced that the government is reviewing existing RPC lease agreements, which are not due to expire until 2045, with plans to replace them with new agreements incorporating unspecified provisions on estate worker rights.
Advocata stressed that arbitrary or ad-hoc renegotiations undermine security of tenure and private sector confidence, dampening investment, both domestic and foreign, into Sr...