Post-war North-East fast returning to self-sufficiency
Assistance to rejuvenate business :
North-East slowly but surely recovering:
by Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Minister of Industrial Development, Kumara Welgama, with
President, NCCSL C. Lal de Alwis, (on his left) and Senior
Deputy President - NCCSL Asoka Hettigoda, examining some of the
equipment to be distributed to Jaffna industrialists. |

Economist Rohantha
Atukorale |
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.

A youth in Jaffna |
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. |