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| Sunday, 23 January 2005 |
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Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Those to whom much is given, much is expected by Lloyd F Yapa In the last article in this column we mentioned the need for a plan or strategy to rise from the wreckage caused by the 12/26/04 tsunami and other disasters faced by this country, especially during the last twenty five years or so. Such a plan is needed to build a significantly better Sri Lanka within the shortest possible time, as other countries in the region had forged ahead, when we in this country were wasting resources in internecine conflicts. A plan will also enable us to make optimal use of the aid, that is being extended to the country so generously as well as to tap the enormous enthusiasm building up locally for reconstruction. It will in addition avoid patchwork solutions, which normally result from alien programes likely to be foisted on the country with such assistance. The purpose of this particular article is to touch on certain aspects of such planning: Avoid thinking small 1. The customary tendency is to think small, give some quick relief to the affected people and resume our usual fun and games. This should be avoided as we could squander the great opportunity offered to us on a platter, sort of, to banish dire poverty from our land forever. This is what the people look forward to. Regional development 2. The ideal way to approach the subject is the preparation of regional development plans (within the overall national plan mentioned above), especially for the affected areas indicating goals, measurable objectives/targets, strategies and action plans along with costs, persons responsible and times of commencement and completion. The strategies to be adopted will depend on the constraints and opportunities present in the different areas, for the identification of which data has to be collected. The success rate of such plans will depend mainly on whether they have been formulated in consultation with the stakeholders and people of the different areas or not. Sector plans 3. The regional development plans will invariably contain sector plans dealing with agriculture, fisheries, industries and services including tourism. As one of the main objectives of such plans is to enhance the incomes of the people to the maximum extent possible, only the most feasible activities/projects should be selected on the basis of available resources and the marketability of the outputs. The feasibility of such activities will also depend on the scale, in which it is undertaken, the facilities and services available. For example the Bentota Beach Complex had not attracted long staying tourists due to the absence of sufficient activities to keep them occupied. This in turn was due to the insufficiency of rooms available and therefore the lack of adequate custom. If the number of rooms were larger, the private sector would have stepped in with the supply of facilities and services demanded by a greater number of tourists. The insufficiency of rooms was also due to the fact, that the local population had not been given an opportunity to invest/participate in such and other related efforts. The same truth of scale applies to other activities such as agriculture, fisheries and industries. Each activity has its own 'critical mass' or self- sustaining scale. The types of facilities and services will also differ. These have to be identified in advance by collection of relevant data. It would have been observed, that the fisheries sector in this country was rather small, producing only about 300,000 tons of fish annually, compared to the resources available in the surrounding oceans and the heavy demand for fish products. Talking about resources, well-organized foreign fishing fleets are now engaged in poaching them intensively. Some coastal areas are also suitable for setting up prawn farms and pearl fisheries. There is therefore potential for setting up a few thriving fisheries clusters. Where agriculture is concerned, the potentials are well known. There will be opportunities to process the agricultural produce as well. What remains to be done is to select the most feasible areas (crops) for clusters from the point of view of returns to farmers and other entrepreneurs, while taking precautions to reduce damage from floods and droughts. In time these well planned clusters could become thriving urban centres capable of spreading development to adjacent areas. Physical plan 4. Along with the regional development plans for the affected areas, most of which also happen to be parts of the poorest in the country, an integrated spatial (physical) plan of the towns and villages to be developed should be prepared as quickly as possible. Such an approach could not only avoid haphazard building witnessed in the past, but also achieve maximum productivity. The data collection for the physical planning should also be undertaken with an eye for the identification of suitable locations for rural/urban clusters to service agriculture, industry and services. The latter in turn should be linked up with a world class network of roads, railways, ports and airports in such a manner, that inputs and outputs can be transported to points of processing and consumption with the minimum of cost and time. Other considerations in this process to be taken account of include, designing structures to withstand various disasters, planning of settlements to integrate the various communities, reshaping the plots of land so as to be conducive to the use of machinery (to raise productivity) and last not least the conservation of the precious natural environment. Empowerment 5. In addition to planning such facilities in consultation with the stakeholders/ beneficiaries concerned, they should be handed over to suitable corporate bodies comprising of representatives of the people for management. This is the concept of empowerment of the local people, without which the facilities will not be maintained or used optimally. This should include strengthening of local government institutions as well. Collection of socio -economic data pertaining, especially to the ultimate beneficiaries and their service providers is therefore of the utmost importance. Homegrown 6. A plan of this nature has to be homegrown i.e. it should be prepared mainly by local experts to ensure the incorporation of the values and concerns of the people and due consideration being given to local peculiarities. Thus much is expected from the authorities. Aid is flowing in and a moratorium on debt repayments to foreign donors is also on the cards. Most authorities have failed time and again to grab such opportunities in the past. This time around, we cannot fail, as the whole world would be watching us. The people too have high expectations. |
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