Post-war North-East fast returning to self-sufficiency

Assistance to rejuvenate business :

North-East slowly but surely recovering:

by Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Many lives have been lost, tens of thousands of people disabled while millions suffered due to the bloody LTTE war which was crushed by a humanitarian operation by the government last May.

The damage to the economy, especially to the industries and the enterprises will run in to several billions.

The conflict also held back development plans by the government for the north east while high revenue generating institutions such as Kankasanthurai Cement Factory and Paranthan chemical factory had to be shut down incurring tremendous hardships to the economy.

Jaffna, in the pre conflict period was self-sufficient in every way with the industrial sector booming and residents maintaining a high per capita income. It was estimated that there were 750 industries in Jaffna prior to the conflict and sadly this number has now been reduced to about 35.

The government, soon after the liberation of the East, started to get its development mechanism in place and intensified it when the North too was liberated with several focused programs being launched investing several billions.

With this focus approach North-East is now slowly but surely recovering and heading towards conquering the lost glory of the past and heading towards being a self-sufficient once again.

For a rapid economic recovery reviving industrial sector is of paramount importance as it would increase production and cash flow to the area.

Understanding this factor National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) along with a section of the business community visited Jaffna recently to distribute machinery and equipment required by the small business community to expand their businesses.

The purpose of the assistance to the business community in Jaffna is to rejuvenate their business and uplift the socio economic conditions in the peninsula. The NCCSL business promotion fund sponsored by the Royal Netherlands Government spent Rs. 6.5 million to purchase machinery for the 35 entrepreneurs.

The supplied machinery was manufactured by Sri Lankan companies so that the country will not lose foreign exchange while giving a boost to another local industry.

The Chamber in addition to providing machinery and financial assistance, will also make necessary arrangements to find markets for their products with its corporate members in Colombo. Chamber also took some large scale buyers to Jaffna to enable the identified small businesses to interact market opportunities.

Out of the 35 entrepreneurs 15 are engaged in footwear manufacturing and the others on carpentry, food processing, construction, paper products and light engineering.

Minister of Industrial Development Kumara Welgama, who was the chief guest at this distribution ceremony, said that this will assist the entrepreneurs to sustain their business activities and provide employment opportunities to the youth in the area.

He further said that arrangements are also being made to re-open Kankesanthurai cement factory and Paranthan chemical factory, both of which had been functioning well prior to the ethnic conflict in the Peninsula.

President, Chamber of Commerce, C. Lal de Alwis, said that they also want to identify the small business entrepreneurs in Jaffna and give them a helping hand to start their own businesses.

Senior Deputy President of the National Chamber of Commerce, Asoka Hettigoda, indicated that the NCCSL has so far assisted all industrial sectors in the SME category which consists of leather products, light engineering, coir, soft toys, oil distillation, carpentry and food processing.

Hettigoda also mentioned that the recipients have been assisted in their marketing activities by sponsoring them to attend local and international trade exhibitions, most recently the Kunming International Trade Exhibition in China.

Meanwhile, economist Rohantha Athukorala commended the efforts of the government in the reconstruction and development of the North in the last three months where the focus has been on key infrastructure development such as roads, electricity and water systems.

He said that now is the time for the private sector to move towards the next generation technology like the BPO sector in areas like Jaffna so that Sri Lanka can leap frog the economy like what South Korea did, to cross the 10,000 dollar mark in the near future.

"Another area to focus was the software industry which can easily be a 6 billion dollar industry for Sri Lanka," he said.

He said that the next challenge is to involve the community in the development process in the areas of Mulaitivu, Killinochchi and Mannar.

He said that the Private-Public-People (PPP model) that needs to be driven in making an economic change to the market dynamics seen in western markets.

The case in point explained by Athukorala was the apparel industry of Sri Lanka. He said that even with the key markets of EU and US declining, the Sri Lankan private sector went through internal reforms by way of restructuring the business and looking out at new partnerships that had helped the overall industry deliver a sales revenue of 2 billion dollars as at end of August 2009 which was just about similar to last year's performance. This performance is commendable and the public sector must follow suit as a best practice, emphasised Athukorala.

With the opening of the A9 road now any Sri Lankan can travel to Jaffna from Colombo or vice versa without the security clearance certificate that was required earlier and this would help the business community to expand their business. "Though the air link to Jaffna is there sometimes it is expensive and it also restricts cargo. The opening of the highway would be a boon to Jaffna traders to moves their goods more freely," he said.

Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) also announced that the much awaited Jaffna-Colombo bus service resumed making Jaffna accessible to the general public too.

The fish production in the north had increased in a tremendous manner after the restrictions on fishing in northern seas were lifted in early June. The excess catch is being now transported to Colombo and soon people would be able to see 'Jaffna Fish Stalls' in Colombo. Almost every item sold in other towns are now available in the Jaffna City at the same prices. Civilians in the outskirts of Jaffna do not face obstacles in reaching the City to purchase their requirements as expanded transport facilities are available. Even goods are transported by road. As a result, the Jaffna businessmen said the market has expanded.

The civilians, who were in the habit of purchasing their requirements at exorbitant prices due to terrorism, have heaped praise on the Government for the new environment that prevails in the area. The needs of the civilians are being frequently inquired into under the supervision of Senior Presidential Advisor and Parliamentarian Basil Rajapaksa who is also the chief of the "Uthuru Wasanthaya" Task Force, and on the instructions of the President.

Life has fast returned to normal in the North with civilians eager to start life afresh after three decades of a fear psychosis.