Daily News Online

DateLine Thursday, 6 September 2007

News Bar »

News: Mobile tax will offset price subsidy loss ...        Political: Jeyaraj dares Opposition to table No-Faith Motion ...       Business: Broadband for the future ...        Sports: Wijesekera must do the triple jump as well - Pullins ...

Home

 | SHARE MARKET  | EXCHANGE RATE  | TRADING  | PICTURE GALLERY  | ARCHIVES | 

dailynews
 ONLINE


OTHER PUBLICATIONS


OTHER LINKS

Marriage Proposals
Classified
Government Gazette

 


 

Mechanism to promtoe agriculture

Minister Maithripala Sirisena means well for at least he has estimated the cost of import of agricultural produce for consumption.

If one can go back time successive Governments made passing reference to the problem of self-sufficiency and we have been moving further away from the problem. The main reason for this people responsible for planning failed to account for what Sri Lanka received as aid and we failed to come up with and aggressive policy.

The resarchers were more interested in speculative research which had little bearing on the needs of the farmers. If one looks around, most of the crop varieties promoted by the Department of Agriculture were developed about half a century ago which are commonly referred to as MI varieties.

The last time I was there, the agricultural land allocated for research purposes were carved out for housing and that was more than 20 years ago. I had a one time colleague of mine worked at the Survey Department and he was involved with a team working on the mapping of ground water resources in Sri Lanka.

This was important considering the Dry Zone was exclusively dependent on rain fed irrigation. With better water management practices, agricultural production can be increased significantly. What mechanism has been put in place to achieve this objective?

Mr. Sirisena ought to get his experts to work out as to how fertiliser is allocated - tea, rubber, coconut and paddy. Marginal land should be taken out of paddy farming for anything less than 50 bushels per acre per season ought to be declared uneconomic. Promote the cultivation of traditional crops through incentives.

Before making any policy decisions, it is important to make an inventory of land resources, current production and then objectives. To serve the colonial empire, good agricultural land was alienated to produce tea, rubber and it is time some of these land are put back to arable farming.


Winners and losers

The winner is always the answer; The loser is always part of the problem. The winner always has a programme; The loser always has an excuse. The winner says, “Let me do it for you”. The loser says: “That is not my job”. The winner sees an answer for every problem; The loser sees a problem for every answer.

The winner says, “It may be difficult but it is possible”; The loser says, “It may be possible but it is too difficult”. When a winner makes a mistake, he says, “I was wrong”; When a loser makes a mistake, he says, “It wasn’t my fault”.

A winner makes commitments; A loser makes promises. Winners have dreams; Losers have schemes. Winners say, “I must do something”; Losers say, “Something must be done”.

Winners are a part of the team; Losers are apart from the team. Winners see the gain; Losers see the pain. Winners see possibilities; Losers see problems. Winners believe in win/win; Losers believe for them to win someone has to lose. Winners see the potential; Losers see the past.

Winners are like a thermostat; Losers are like thermometers. Winners choose what they say; Losers say what they choose.

Winners use hard arguments but soft words; Losers use soft arguments but hard words. Winners stand firm on values but compromise on petty things; losers stand firm on petty things but compromise on values.

Winners follow the philosophy of empathy: “Don’t do to others what you would not want them to do to you”; Losers follow the philosophy, “Do it to others before they do it to you” Winners make it happen; losers let it happen.


UN agencies in Sri Lanka

I recollect the recent international hue and cry over the World Bank chief’s girlfriend receiving perks she was not entitled to. He was ultimately forced to stand down from the World Bank.

Recently, there were a number of letters in the Press on local World Bank Chief, who has left Sri Lanka, having his girl friend, later his wife, being nominated as an expatriate consultant for UN aids. She replaced a local consultant who was competent and paid much less than the so called expatriate consultant.

These experiences do not occur suddenly. They happen all the time. Any long-term staff members’, short-term consultants’ or short-term professionals’ C.V. must be studied carefully. Have they, the qualifications and expertise? Are they really needed? Are local experts not capable of carrying out these tasks?

During the post tsunami period, Sri Lanka was inundated with the so called experts. In fact, one young consultant informed a Head of Mission that he had come to learn, but at what cost! The UNDP, its allied Agencies and the World Bank were guilty.

Do we know how much was spent on administrative costs, including salaries? There were instances of consultants over-staying their period, as well as entering into this country before visas were approved.

How much was actually spent on short-term and long-term rehabilitation measures? The Department of External Resources, the UN section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Local Ministry must insist on transparency and monitor the cost and technical inputs.

There are also instances of Heads of Departments, whose relative run NGOs, which are generously funded by the respective UN Agency, for favours received. “You scratch my back; I scratch yours!”

Certainly both local and international NGOs must be monitored for their work and impact. Their financial inputs should also be periodically revived. You also have an international mafia, where Heads of Missions have their spouses working in other international agencies.

Spouses of diplomatic personnel also work in UN and UN allied agencies for substantial salaries. Fortunately, I was reliably informed that Asian Heads of Mission are not guilty of this. Even though our countries have got independence, the global network keeps our developing countries economically subservient.

An Independent Sovereign State has all the right in the world to maintain checks and balances. These are more important issues to address, than to allow key UN personnel to visit Sri Lanka and then blast them as ‘terrorists!”

‘SHERLOCK HOLMES’


Traffic congestion near Kelani bridge

This is a serious problem. Numerous users are greatly inconvenienced in coming to and going from Colombo. The economy of the country suffers from the enormous wastage of fuel and productive time. There is an onerous burden on the security personnel who have to check the congested traffic?

Why are two bridges which are built across the Kelani River not opened to the traffic?

There is a bridge which would connect Mattakkuliya and Vystwyke Road to Hendala, Uswatakeiyawa Road. The Colombo end approach roads are not made, although the bridge was completed many years ago.

The approach now goes through narrow winding Hendala Ferry Road crowded with rows of small buildings. The road surface is in a deplorable condition. It is not lack of funds. Is it that a few Sri Lankans have decided to hold their fellow countrymen to ransom and will not vacate their premises?

Is it that bureaucracy is squabbling over the trace of the approach road, aggravated by meddling parties in local politics? Is there no public spirited Statesman who can solve this problem? The one who does solve it, should have his statue erected by the approach road.

There is another bridge across the Kelani River near the Kelani Rajamaha Vihara premises. The bridge is named Kelanisiri bridge started 13 years ago and completed a few years back.

It is a two lane smaller bridge good enough for light vehicles. Two bus routes start from the Colombo end. Buses go to Borella and Pettah. Pedestrians have to walk across the bridge to get to these buses.

Could our energetic Ministers of Roadways and Transport visit these bridges and take action to make them public thoroughfares and not let the money spent on them be wasted? Perhaps our President well-known for his prompt action can carry this through.

EMAIL |   PRINTABLE VIEW | FEEDBACK

Gamin Gamata - Presidential Community & Welfare Service
www.cf.lk/hedgescourt
www.buyabans.com
Ceylinco Banyan Villas
www.srilankans.com
www.greenfieldlanka.com
www.ceylincocondominiums.com
www.army.lk
www.news.lk
www.defence.lk
www.helpheroes.lk/
www.peaceinsrilanka.org

| News | Editorial | Business | Features | Political | Security | Sport | World | Letters | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House Copyright © 2006 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.

Comments and suggestions to : Web Editor