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by Lionel Gulawita, Diriya Foundation

Sri Lanka has been surely a democracy but with indiscipline, political controversy, and intense vituperation during the past. It is also a land of waste, corruption and many a question mark in general on economic and financial administration.

Perhaps it is also a unique Asian country where politicians argue, use rhetoric and advise and admonish others while standing themselves on heaps of their own untenable situations, errors and misdeeds. The country has to clear this rotten garbage around and enter into political stability in order to ensure a meaningful peace accord, create institutional development to permanently establish peace, redemocratization and economic development.

Democracy is the lifeblood of freedom. The people in the North and East were entitled to regain all the freedoms they lost immediately from the date the MoU was signed. Once the peace accord is entered into the people are no longer under the warlords in the area. Peace begets life full of freedoms. Without democracy there could neither be human rights nor peace. Hence democracy is an essential ingredient to sustain peace and human rights.

Human rights are no favour by anyone. He who denies human rights of the people is a tyrant, dictator, tormentor, persecutor, or despot. Recognition for human rights should therefore be a highlight of the peace gained. Everyone is entitled to all his rights recognized as a free citizen. The State is under obligation to provide him blanket security and protect his rights. NGOs with human rights concerns are entitled to raise their voice when rights violations take place in any part of Sri Lanka or the outside world. Peace should therefore bring in a full-scale rights package together with all liberties enunciated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Development is a fundamental human right. Poverty, sickness, illiteracy, and crime arise from non-development. Terrorists marshal their support from the poor and illiterates in the undeveloped localities. Development make people independent economically, politically and also socially and their own decision-makers.

Article 23 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights specifies that:

a. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.

b. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.

c. Everyone, who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.

Thus human rights require the Government "notwithstanding their level of national wealth, to move immediately and as quickly as possible towards the realization of economic rights".

Therefore the Government obligation is clear on the economic rights of the people. The effort the Government should make is being apparently pursued. Addressing the United Nations' Assembly recently Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe stated inter alia, that the other countries progressed in economic development while Sri Lanka was unfortunately engaged in internal strife and warfare. The country is looking forward with confidence to see development making a genuine difference in their lifestyles.

Development at snails-pace should be avoided. Fast development should be the theme on all fronts. This needs strategic planning which shortcuts the route to prosperity. Export economy is a proved strategy in Sri Lanka. It was neglected and given up due to political imprudence and miscalculations. To reactivate the export economy, it is necessary to encourage export industries declaring the Year of Exports and arranging the launching pad for Sri Lanka to leapfrog into NIC status.

Exhibitions, fairs, export seminars, large-scale enterprise development, development of small-scale industries and similar activities not only create the requisite awareness but also result in heightening the morale of exporters and the individual countrymen to set up their self employment endeavors and step up the production of goods for the foreign market.

At awareness programs they will be aware of what goods to produce for which market, technical guidelines and assistance, production incentives, credit facilities available and the benefits to them and the country's economy from developing of exports etc.

Human resources

Knowledge and innovation are keys to future development. Quality human resources are also a plus sign in a vibrant economy. Human resources development centres are hence necessary in each electorate to develop:

a.trade-specific skills through different technical courses, provide talent-based opportunities of advanced training for the youth

b. to promote small industries and employment of technicians and technocrats in townships.

The courses offered to the youth may include civil construction, motor mechanism, welding, house wiring, industrial electricity, technical drawing, electronics, Information Technology, entrepreneurial development, vocational English, entrepreneurial training, machining, air conditioning, general and auto, account keeping etc.

The training would also be a short-term strategy to create employment for the unemployed and also to increase the number of youth employable in countries abroad.

A country receives the attention of developed nations for major credit convergence, technology transfers and international cooperation when it reaches the status of a Newly Industrialized Country. (NIC) Upto that time a country is considered poor, less developed or developing and may receive the benevolence of the rich nations or conditional credit infusions through IMF or World Bank Institutions or any other source. Such dollar aids given are on limited-scale for sector development invariably after aid-receiving country promises to effect series of donor recommended 'cuts' on recurring Government expenditure.

The appropriate ground is being set for development and large-scale international credit outlay. Sri Lanka's governance, internal democracy, rules and regulations, labour laws, human rights situation etc is sound. With the new government in the saddle, investor confidence has risen remarkably well. The industrialists in large number are ready to install their industries using BoI incentives. The Colombo bourse is registering high turnover in the volume of demand on shares and share prices.

The country is poised and the people enthusiastic on the new economic order to work hard and economically forge ahead. The ceasefire agreement paves way for the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment into the country. The peace begun is an added motivation to the foreign investors to open up export industries to cater to the potential dollar-rich markets abroad. Tourism that suffered many a setback in the recent past has turned round with increasing tourist arrivals.

Further, agriculture, industry and the service sectors should be managerially efficient and productivity conscious to move ahead into NIC status promoting country's exports at least to tally the import bill.

Other than our tea, rubber, coconut and garments, Sri Lanka has a variety of non-traditional exports which include gems, jewellery, vegetable, fruits and nuts, cut flowers, foliage plants, aquarium fish, leather goods, value added goods, furniture, handicrafts etc. attract considerable demand abroad. Sri Lanka's handicrafts are of high quality and attract upmarket prices abroad.

The World Trade Center and EDB assistance and guidance to the producers are vital for the product promotion abroad.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's ambitious plan to develop the country under 5 Economic Commissions is creditable.

The proposal though gigantic is a pragmatic strategy. The Prime Minister is aware that large scale development is the solution to the economic ills the country is facing and butterfly industries are no answer to a run down economy. So we need to think in terms of big business and move into worksites with caterpillars and bulldozers to speed up the development. Many countries have done so with tangible results.

The Economic Commissions to be established will open up great possibilities created for large-scale production and employment.

The energized economic activity under the said 5 Economic Zones will enhance the production many fold. Export development and market promotion should therefore be our main strategy for faster growth.

The proposed 5 Economic Commissions are to take over all development activity involving every electorate in Sri Lanka.

Inter-zonal consultations, sharing innovative skills and experience. Healthy competition will promote productivity and production within the Zones.

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