Development challenges-III
Over the past three
decades we were told that salvation lies in an export oriented
economy. Consequently the economy was geared for the purpose
with more emphasis placed on export oriented industry and
agriculture.
Export Promotion Zones with restrictive labour rights were
established and the investors were given incessant concessions
in the form of reduced or minimal custom duties, tax holidays
etc.
While enhanced export brought enhanced income over the years
their per capita returns dropped due to constant reduction in
export prices and restricted access to foreign markets,
especially in the West. The global financial crisis has made
matters worse due to reduced demand and threats to withhold
concessions granted earlier.
The capitalist market is not a level playing field. It is
operated not only under the law of demand and supply but is
basically driven by profit. What prevails is the law of the
jungle where the stronger wins.
Since powerful countries subsidise their products, especially
those of agriculture commodities from developing nations such as
ours are always at a disadvantage in international trading. The
Doha Trade Round which has been formed to address this issue is
yet to deliver due to varied obstacle placed by the developed
countries.
The only way to secure sales is to lower the prices which
could be done with advantage if and only if we could produce the
goods cheaper. How could this be done? In the answer to this
question lies the key to success as well as development. The
only way to reduce prices is to lower the cost of production.
This could be done only with harnessing of superior technology.
No development strategy would succeed if adequate investments
are not made for human resource development, and research and
development (R & D). Unfortunately our investments in this
sphere are among the lowest in the region.
It is useless boasting about literacy rates and health
indices if we do not invest more on social infrastructure and R
& D. The United States dominates in the number of patents
registered per year.
Moreover there is also piracy where the developed countries
stealthily patent age old technologies preserved by people,
especially the indigenous populations, in the Third World.
If Sri Lanka is to make headway we must lavishly invest on
technology enhancement. Experience has shown that development of
indigenous technology with the use of modern as well as
traditional knowledge is a must. Here the benefits of the
digital revolution come very handy for it is a means of
leapfrogging to the future wiping out traditional backwardness.
Each country has to choose some specialized sectors to which
such technology should be productively applied so as to
guarantee the cheapest production cost and a monopoly profit in
the international market. Value addition through the application
of higher technology is a must in many fields, especially in the
case of the production of traditional crops such as tea, rubber
and coconut as well as in more recent fields like manufactured
gems and jewellery products.
Japan, China and the Asian Tigers have spent continuously for
a considerable number of years substantial outlays for human
resource development prior to their industrial take off. Our
education system needs to be focused on this national need and
even methods of teaching and curricula of educational
institutions should be so decided to achieve a higher
technological level for the country. It is not quantity that
matters but quality.
Finally, the most important missing link to get all these
developments to take place is a new man, a new worker, a new
technician and a new technologist. In other words, we need more
commitment, more dedication and more honesty from the working
people.
It is not possible to attain developed country status if
everyone from the boss down to the lowest ranker in a work place
robs or wastes its assets. Robbing includes theft of man hours
too. The public sector has to be disciplined in this sense more
than the private sector.
Also ways and means should be found to remove alienation of
the worker from the work. In such an alienated work environment
employees do not own their work or take pleasure in the work
they perform.
Motivation of the employee is lost and the production is
doomed. Thus modern, people-friendly and efficient management
techniques have to be developed as another sine qua non to
leapfrog to development.
These were few of our random thoughts on development and we
hope there were sufficient digestive material among them. |