Black Gold

Sri Lankan authorities announced a couple of years ago that a large deposit of oil was lying off the western coastal belt. This was greeted with a mixture of optimism and pessimism by many Sri Lankans, as several previous attempts at exploring oil had ended in failure.

However, this time there is a discernible difference. Whereas the previous oil hunters literally probed in the dark, accurate satellite-mapped geothermal data is now available thanks to modern technology.

The Government has expedited the oil quest, which is a very progressive step considering Sri Lanka's heavy fuel import bill. The foreign exchange savings will be simply enormous.

According to Petroleum Minister A.H.M. Fowzie, the Government is set to offer licences for six crude exploration blocks within three months. Sri Lanka has offered one deep sea block on a nomination basis to India.

This will not be an overnight commercial reality, as exploration, feasibility studies and finally the construction of extraction infrastructure are likely to take several years. But what is important is that a start has been made.

Needless to say, the whole process from awarding the tenders to actually exploiting the resource should be transparent.

Accountability is of paramount importance in such a vast-scale project. While foreign involvement will be inevitable in a project of this nature, the authorities should ensure that the ultimate beneficiaries are Sri Lankans.

Just one look at the Middle East is enough to convince even the most hardened sceptic of the power of oil.

These countries, many of which have no other natural resources or attractions, have become fabulously wealthy thanks to their crude oil. They have become so powerful that even the Western industrial nations are at their mercy.

Although oil is a finite resource, the world is far from exhausting its reserves of oil. The world has hardly seen the reserves and deposits belonging to Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iraq. And reports of the death of the gasoline-powered internal combustion engine have been greatly exaggerated.

It is likely to be the dominant form of powertrain for at least three more decades, even if fuel cell powered vehicles emerge into the mainstream market by 2020.

It is too early to predict the quantity of oil that can ultimately be extracted from the deposits available around Sri Lanka, but it would not be churlish to speak of an economic and social revolution. Oil can, and does, transform nations.

It is thus important to ensure is that all areas of the country benefit equally from the exploitation of this resource. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has expressed precisely the same sentiment at a recent gathering.

Development has favoured the Western Province, but the benefits of oil should flow to all peoples and areas of the country.

An impressive achievement

This is the 21st century, where a cure is available for practically every disease except for cancer and AIDS. But can you imagine that millions die around the world from diseases that can easily be prevented with a vaccine or adherence to simple precautions ?

This is sadly the state of the world we live in. Fortunately, the voices and forces of sanity are gaining the upper hand in this uphill struggle.

It was reported yesterday that the WHO, in collaboration with health authorities of individual countries, had managed to halve deaths from measles by 2005 compared with their 1999 levels.

The prestigious medial journal Lancet reported that deaths from measles fell by 60 per cent, from 873,000 in 1999 to 345,000 at the end of 2005. This was thanks to a massive effort to immunise children in poor countries, according to a study published yesterday by The Lancet.

In all, the vaccination campaign prevented 7.5 million deaths, according to the study authored by WHO experts. Of that tally, 5.2 million were saved through routine immunisation and another 2.3 million by special "catch-up" vaccinations in regions that had been poorly covered.

The study includes a map of global measles deaths showing that high mortality rates have been rolled back across much of western and eastern tropical Africa and Southeast Asia, although they remain entrenched in central Africa and South Asia.

That revelation should spur health authorities in South Asia, including Sri Lanka, to work harder to cut down on deaths not just from measles but also from tuberculosis and malaria.

Sri Lanka has an impressive healthcare record and in fact its health care indices are mostly on par with those of developed countries.

Yet, that is no reason for complacency. Immunisation and preventive campaigns should be intensified around the island to eradicate deadly diseases from our midst.

An Ideal for all seasons

As Liberals we warmly welcome the insights of others. Universalism has therefore been one of the fundamental attitudes of our Liberalism. We have no doubt that the most constructive unity is the unity of shared conviction, not that of blind loyalty. This fundamental attitude of Liberalism is of vital significance in our present context.

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