Sri Lanka's Governance Failure: An Economist's Brutal Diagnosis | ft. Kithmina Hewage

In this episode of Circa, I sit down with Kithmina Hewage — economist, former Political Adviser to the British High Commission in Colombo, World Economic Forum expert network member, and World Bank consultant who has advised governments across 17 Asian economies. Kithmina also happens to be the man who taught me debating and Model UN in school. He speaks here entirely in his personal capacity.We get into the forces reshaping the global economy and what they mean for a small island nation trying to recover from the worst crisis in its history. From resource nationalism and the AI race to the IMF, the civil service, and the affordability crisis squeezing ordinary Sri Lankans — this is an honest, unsparing conversation about why the country keeps making the same mistakes.Chapters:00:00 — Introduction03:00 — What debating teaches you about thinking06:00 — Resource nationalism and the end of free trade14:00 — The AI disruption debate: growth for whom?24:00 — Why developing economies are being left behind30:00 — The IMF: necessary medicine or double-edged sword?40:00 — The real problem with Sri Lankan governance50:00 — Politicized civil service and the cost of bad hiring60:00 — Customs, red tape, and why nobody wants to build here68:00 — The affordability crisis and the road to growthFollow Circa and subscribe so you don't miss an episode.📩 Subscribe to PEST on Substack: https://vipuleshthiyagarajah.substack.com🌐 Website: https://vipuleshthiyagarajah.com🔗 All links: https://linkin.bio/vipulesh#SriLanka #Economics #IMF #ResourceNationalism #Geopolitics #Podcast #SriLankaEconomy #SouthAsia #Trade #AI #PoliticalEconomy #Colombo #Governance #EmergingMarkets #CircaPodcast