'Delays in recovery process would swell ranks of the poor'- part II

BY PROF. WISWA Warnapala, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

Continued from June 24 of Leader Page

TODAY we have an economy whose rural economic surplus is appropriated by the urban economy. In other words, the rural economy is dominated by the urban economy. This needs to be rectified and it can be rectified only by organising a tremendous shift of resources to the rural economy.

The budget of our government, which my Hon. friend Dr. Sarath Amunugama introduced, has addressed this task of shifting the resources to the rural economy.

The new government assumed duties in April 2004, has a development strategy aimed at achieving higher economic growth and poverty reduction in Sri Lanka. It highlights the fact that economic growth alone is not sufficient to reduce poverty; instead, it should focus on pro-poor growth strategies.

The major policy approach of the Government to navigate pro-poor pro-growth strategy is called the 'National Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy' (NPRGS).

The main objectives of the NPRGS are to facilitate the poor to participate in productive economic activities, while giving them income support during the transition, reduce the poverty gap between different social strata, and minimize regional variations to narrow regional disparties in development.

Reforming and synergizing existing poverty alleviation programs and projects and helping the poor to understand the causes of their poverty, identify their needs and potentials, and match needs with resources too, are some of the objectives of the NPRGS. Further, this new development strategy is closely aligned with the Millennium Development Goals.

The new framework also recognises the importance of the practices of participatory development in achieving pro-poor growth. In such a framework, the poor will occupy the centre of their own development process and will develop positive development partnerships with the stakeholders in the system.

The new framework stresses the importance of micro-level policy, planning and implementation in promoting sustainable economic development and poverty reduction in the country. It focuses on strengthening of the Divisional Secretaries Divisions (D.S. Divisions).

The D.S. Divisions will act as co-ordination centres of overall administration of the poverty reduction programs, in consultation with the people's representatives and the representatives of the relevant government agencies.

For this purpose, each D.S. Division will prepare a development plan including a plan for poverty reduction in the area. This approach will enable the people in the area to identify their priorities and location specific strategies to fulfil their needs.

The financial flows to D.S. Divisions from various sources will be utilised for this purpose.

The new development framework also identifies the importance of synergizing all the poverty alleviation and rural development programs. The 'reformed' Samurdhi Program will be the main poverty alleviation program, while other sub-programs are to be operated in a well-co-ordinated manner with Samurdhi.

Some important sub-programs aimed at poverty alleviation and rural development include Small-and-Medium Enterprise (SME) development project, rehabilitation of rural roads, community water supply and sanitation project, vocational training and skills development, rural infrastructure development, primary healthcare and nutrition programs, rehabilitation of 1,000 minor tanks, etc.

Village economy needs to be revitalised and it is on the basis of the revitalisation that all resources including the irrigation resources which we have inherited from the great hydraulic civilisation of the Anuradhapura period in our history could be tapped for the benefit of the people and such a transformation would lay a foundation for an effective program of poverty alleviation in Sri Lanka. Such a strategy is certain to empower the poor to enable them to gain a command over the resources required for them to escape from dire poverty.

In concluding I would like to thank again the organisers of this international seminar, consisting of distinguished participants from different countries, for giving me an opportunity to share some of my thoughts with them. I thank you for your attention.

Concluded