National program to alleviate poverty

*Boost for rural development

*Voice of the people given priority

By Dhaneshi Yatawara

In the Appropriation bill for 2015 presented last week by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to the Cabinet of Ministers, targets are set to achieve an economic growth rate of 8.2 percent and a budget deficit of 4.4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the next year. While giving priority to increase basic infrastructure facilities which are below the national average in social development, focus is to ensure development by creating more livelihood and employment opportunities, food security, energy security and environmental safety with a special concern on low income and poor families.

Village development in progress

Each year the Government gives high priority to steps required to improve the living conditions of the poor and low income families. Yet as a developing country, poverty and poverty elevation are part and parcel of our development process. Different Governments at different times introduced novel concepts to eradicate poverty but all missed one line - including the community decision. The current poverty alleviation programs of the present Government under the 'Mahinda Chinthana' vision for the future has given the priority for the voice of the villagers. Under the current programs such as the Divi Neguma, Gama Neguma, Gemi Diriya, community level ownership and autonomy in the community decision making process and implementation are institutional features.

Empower rural masses

"Samurdhi' was the Government initiated National program implemented in 1994 to alleviate poverty. Though finding a solution to eradicate poverty is no easy solution, priority was given to development of rural infrastructure facilities, improving health and nutritional conditions among rural community and create opportunities, under 'Samurdhi'.

At the time Samurdhi was implemented in Sri Lanka the level of poverty in the communities was comparatively high, according to Bandula Thilakasiri Director General of the Department of Divi Neguma. The Ministry of Samurdhi, Youth Affairs and Sports was established in 1994 to launch the above Program. In 2004, the Ministry's name was changed to Ministry of Samurdhi and Poverty Alleviation and again it was converted as the division of Samurdhi under the Ministry of Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development. Today the Ministry is changed in to the Economic Development Ministry. The Samurdhi Authority is now under the Department of Divi Neguma which operates under the Economic Development Ministry.

Understanding the importance of the empowering the rural masses, President Mahinda Rajapaksa taking over Presidency for the first time in 2005, instructed the Government to initiate a special program to uplift village communities. Thus the Gama Neguma (Village uplift) started in 2006 on par with the Mahinda Chinthana.

"Strategies changed over time correcting the earlier faults the mechanism faced. Today to eradicate poverty, focus is given to rural development rather than to provide people with material benefits," said Thilakasiri explaining the present situation.

Country of villages

So it is the strategy of teaching the poor to fish instead of giving fish for every meal. "This is not just a single line approach. While several other ministries such as the Agriculture, Agrarian Services, Small Industries etc facilitated people with supportive systems to establish self employment, the rural development programs like the Gama Neguma provided the developed infrastructure setting a conducive environment.

Sri Lanka has always been a country of villages. The village, while retaining its identity with its impressive features, can be developed as a micro centre of growth - with the vision that village has to be a decent and comfortable place for people to live, work and engage in their cultural and communal activities. Thus rural development was a crucial factor to make this a reality. Rural development provided people properly done roads to travel, market places, water and sanitation facilities and electricity. These were essential for the villagers to make money out of their products. "Rural development directly encouraged people to improve their livelihood activities."

Despite the different rural development approaches which had taken place over the past 60 years of post-independent era, no significant progress has been achieved to bring about a change in the lifestyle of rural masses to acceptable levels. The Western Province's contribution to the national economy is only around 45 percent. It is the other eight regions which include a lot of rural villages that contribute to form the rest of the national economy. The livelihood development program at household level is 'Divi Neguma' which aims at empowering the family. Yet the program is a national drive.

Initially Divi Neguma National program was launched to establish one million domestic economic units. The main objective of the project is to uplift the living standard of families, to improve their nutritional level and ensure food safety while minimising the cost of living enabling the families to generate an extra income as well.

It is the concept of the Mahinda Chinthana policy to transfer the 16,000 villages in the country to prosperous units by 2016 providing fast track development for less developed regions of the country. The strength of the country is the strength of the village.

Village is the next focus on regional development focus. At the village level the rural infrastructure development program is the 'Gama Neguma'. Accordingly the 'Gama Neguma' will develop a region upgrading the livelihood of the local people, infrastructure as well as sanitary and water facilities. This is to bring the backward regions to the forefront and make them significant contributors to the national economy to stand up as a developed country.

Uva and the North Central provinces were comparatively more backward in development. "Today with the contribution of the rural and regional development programs under the present Government over the past years have significantly upgraded the infrastructure of the area as well as the living standards of the rural masses. And it is quite a satisfying achievement," Rathnasiri said adding his experience following a recent visit to the Uva Province.

Participatory Development

The Government has to give a boost to the most needy areas as funds are limited resources for countries such as ours. Hence the programs like Divi Neguma, Gama Neguma utilises the participatory development method, which is fully involving the benefactors in to the development process at decision making level as well as implementation. This promotes to utilise the untapped capabilities and the organisational and institutional abilities of low income earners. This would eventually empower them and make them productive and efficient contributors to the national economy and redeem them from poverty.

These current concepts for poverty alleviation pools all resources in a village. Thus, a productive, transparent and integrated development plan is implemented.

For the success of any development initiative there must be a mechanism to address the needs of the rural communities. Fortunately today, we no more hear of terrorism threatening villages in Sri Lanka. Fighting with great determination and courage, our valiant soldiers wiped out terrorism from this island nation paving the way for it to regain the lost beauty of a paradise. It is the rural village that makes this country a paradise.

Sri Lanka is blessed with fertile soil and a prosperous culture along with its hard working native people of the land. The potentials are there, they need only a bit of support. The development plan has identified this basic reality and focuses on utilising the existing potentials. Hence, developing the rural community and bringing back its golden era will not be confined to a dream.