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| Sunday, 10 April 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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'Stories abound of malpractices by certain NGOs' Excerpts of speech by Industry, Investment Promotion and Tourism Minister Anura Bandaranaike at the forum of the Sri Lanka - America Friendship Society. The tsunami that devastated Sri Lanka on the morning of December 26, was the most destructive natural disaster, in our recorded history. 30,974 people died, 4,698 people are yet missing, 553,287 people have been displaced, 1,169 children have been orphaned, 3729 children have lost one parent, 114,000 houses destroyed. The tsunami that struck our shores, did not discriminate. It destroyed Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim homes. It destroyed the lives of Christians and Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. Within hours of the event, Sri Lanka had united. In true Sri Lankan tradition, those who were fortunate, were helping those who had been stricken. One hundred days ago, in the immediate impact of this horrendous disaster, all sections of our multi-structured society responded magnanimously and positively. Under the leadership of Her Excellency the President, the institutional mechanisms for relief operations were set up promptly, and without delay, under the Presidential Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN). Despite the never-ending barrage of often-lopsided criticism of State agencies, alleging inaction, in fairness to the State agencies, both at the center and the periphery, it must be admitted, that there was a significant measure of success in relief operations in immediate response to the disaster. None died of starvation or famish; None died for lack of medical care; There were no outbreaks of disease, when epidemics of various sorts were expected, which was ratified by the World Health Organization; Law and Order was effectively maintained. Basic infrastructure such as roads, telecommunication and electricity restored within a week; In a few days our engineers of the much-maligned Sri Lankan Railways, restored 40 kilometers of railway track-acclaimed by the BBC as a heroic response by a dedicated set of people. The first phase of the rescue and relief operation was, in my view, handled admirably well, by the Sri Lankan Government and its organizations. In fact, visiting dignitaries such as Kofi Annan, Colin Powell, James Wolfensohn - President of the World Bank, and so many other world leaders, shared in this admiration of State-sector efficiency. Many countries and world communities came to our aid and assistance, in various ways. Amongst others, America and American friends of Sri Lanka have helped us, in numerous ways, in our times of need. American marines worked shoulder to shoulder with Sri Lankans, to clear the wreckage and rubble; For this we are indeed grateful! This crisis that affected all races, particularly destroying the North and East of the Country, has given a golden opportunity for those who have been at war with the State, for the last 20 years, to come into a feasible arrangement with the government of Sri Lanka, to ensure that the Tsunami relief reaches their people, without scoring political points. The lives of the Tamil people and the rehabilitation of the North and East, is important to us, as the rest of the country. Crisis affected all races Our Tamil brethren lost lives and livelihoods in Trincomalee and Batticaloa. Our Muslim brothers suffered likewise in Ampara in the East and the Sinhalese were affected in the South. Immediate relief efforts did not, in any way, discriminate. Relief efforts took place in LTTE controlled areas, as well as in Government controlled areas. Sri Lanka's network of armed forces played a lead role in providing emergency rations, water and basic needs. The men were mobilized for an unconventional "war". The part played by the hundreds of armed forces staff in the field and on the ground, though low-key and hardly acknowledged publicly, was a vital factor in the steady provision of essentials in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami. It was a reaching out to the hearts and minds of those who had suffered. Today, this has translated into the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government working out an agenda of relief assistance, together. Isn't this a reason for optimism? Perhaps we can win enough trust to sit together and discuss other matters as well. The second phase has as its main objective, the normalisation of life of those shattered by the disaster. The short-term relief package covered the ration card, funeral benefits, kitchen utensils and resettlement allowance, within a total budget of Rs 10,890 Million. This phase too has been more or less well handled in execution. The major issue in the second phase, for which a solution is yet not in place, relates to transitional shelter for those in uncomfortable tents, schools and temples or with relatives and friends in congested living rooms. Working on the obviously wrong precept, that the State can do no good, there has been a mushrooming and unbelievable proliferation of a new society of over 6,000 NGOs, some national and others international. The majority of these NGOs, that are receiving billions of dollars from international donors, are well intentioned and doing a magnificent job. However, stories abound of the malpractices by certain NGOs, siphoning funds and material, even luxury vehicles, consumer electronics and material for their personal use, while victims of the tsunami continue to suffer. A major drawback in the second phase of the relief effort has been the breakdown of coordination of relief activities and the hopeless lack of access to vital information. Our private sector, I must say, magnificently rose to the occasion, displaying an incredibly high degree of responsibility. Companies sought out their employees who had "gone missing" in the aftermath, to ascertain the status of their well-being and safety. Many private sector institutions, local and foreign investors and businesses have come forward to reconstruct the homes of those affected. The events in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami also revealed woeful inadequacy of our disaster preparedness. When the waters receded, unwittingly, into the valley of death, rode our men, women and children. For a country that has not experienced the full force of a tsunami, Sri Lanka was taken completely unawares, on the day after Christmas, when disaster struck. Now the situation is different. The events on the night of March 28 when institutions and people responded to the possibility of a tsunami, diligently, is indeed a positive development; a far cry from what happened on December 26 last year. A greater national awareness of disaster preparedness must be created amongst all segments of our society. This should be a subject in our school curriculum. The reconstruction phase in the aftermath of the tsunami provides a massive business opportunity for the building and construction industry. Where NGOs are involved, Sri Lanka's building industry will be able to work side-by-side with overseas companies, learning new techniques, improving their knowledge and forging new links....On the matter of housing, foreign grants and other organizations have committed to rebuild the entire housing sector of the affected, and today, most of the reconstruction of houses have been undertaken and commitments made. Political perfidy There was national, political, ethnic and ideological understanding across the political arena, in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami. Unfortunately, political perfidy overtook all that, and now bickering has begun on minor details, completely forgetting the large picture. The Government knows that other leading political parties in Sri Lanka can show the required political maturity to come together in times of crisis. But there must be the political will to do so. Our people, shedding political differences, rose to the occasion providing us - the country's leaders - with a shining example. Shouldn't we as the country's leaders, humbly acknowledge and follow this example? The Government has pledged to help our people, to recover from this disaster with dignity, and accelerate the healing process. As Minister of Tourism, I wish to place before you some of the strategies adopted by the government for the revival of the industry. The tsunami disaster ocurred at a time Sri Lanka Tourism was heading for a permanent recovery, after facing continuous drawbacks from during the past two decades. The highest arrivals of 566,202 was recorded in the year 2004 while earning to the economy US Dollars 416 Million for the first time in the history of Sri Lanka Tourism. Tourism generates 112,000 direct and indirect jobs. As a result of the tsunami, 56 hotels along the East Coast, South Coast and the South West Coast, went out of business rendering 3,500 rooms un-operational. Tourist arrivals during the months of January to February dropped by -20% compared to the arrivals during the corresponding period in the year 2004. Hotel occupancy rate which was around 85% throughout the year 2004, dropped to 30 to 35% in January & February, other than in Colombo hotels. To face this situation strategically, I appointed a Tourism Task Force which included top level hotel and travel industry personnel and senior officials, and advised them to draw up an action plan for the resurgence of the declining Tourism industry. On their recommendation, the "Bounce Back Sri Lanka" Advertising Campaign was vigorously launched for confidence building and mind setting of the tourists. The Tourism Conference in Milan, Italy, specially designed to support tsunami affected countries including Sri Lanka, coincided with the BIT Trade Fair, Likewise, the WTO appointed a task force committee, to ascertain the various relief assistance to be given to Sri Lanka and other affected countries in which my Ministry Secretary is a member. To restore accommodation facilities back to normal, the Government has agreed to introduce a duty free importation package for importation of material and equipment for refurbishment and reconstruction of the damaged hotel properties. To ease the financial difficulties faced by the industry, a special loan scheme has been introduced wherein an affected hotelier or a tourism businessmen can obtain a loan of Rs. 10 million for a 6% interest with a grace period of one year. To inject dynamism to tourism which has been already recognized as a thrust industry. A New Tourism Law will be brought to Parliament very soon for approval. This law proposes to set up a separate public and private sector driven bureau, to undertake Tourism Marketing and Promotion in a professional manner. With this new change the present Sri Lanka Tourist Board will be elevated
to a Tourism Development Authority, which will exercise enforcement of
regulations and Tourism Development, Research and International Affairs. |
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