Creditable credit scheme

As we mentioned the other day in these columns hardly a day passes without some plan or other being drawn up by the Government to resuscitate the battered North. This is as it should be since no vacuum should be left, lest this allows frustration to set in among the people particularly the youth. However, the most important among these initiatives are the steps taken by the Government to rebuild the Northern economy and by extension the livelihoods of the people of the North.

For, even if the IDPs are resettled in their own habitats there has to be a sound economy to sustain them. Hence the priority attached by the Government to rebuild the once sturdy Northern economy is a move in the right direction. But a herculean task awaits the Government in this respect. For it will have to start from scratch given the devastation wrought by three decades of war. Today the economy of the North is in shambles. Yet even amidst this gloom there were glimpses of the legendary enterprise and drive of the Northerner.

It is revealed that even under the conflict situation the Northern Province produced 10 percent of the total paddy production of the country, red onions - 40 percent and chillies - 10 percent. One can only assume the benefits that would have accrued to the country's food production drive as a whole if the North was allowed to realize its full potential. But there are also other areas with vast potential that needs to be revived such as small and medium scale industries, tourism and the service sector in the North that is all but dead.

This no doubt requires a huge commitment on the part of the authorities not to mention the heavy infusion of capital required. Hence the significance of the Special Credit Scheme launched by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to develop the North.

According to this scheme titled 'Awakening North' designed for the development of the Northern Province, the Central Bank will step into offer loans to enterprises willing to revive economic activity in the agriculture, livestock development, fisheries, micro and small enterprises which in turn would boost livelihood development of the people in the North. According to a recent news story Rs. 3,000 million has been earmarked for disbursement at concessionary terms among eligible Micro, Small and Medium Scale enterprises through designated financial institutions. The new loan scheme primarily envisages meeting the investment needs of the people to restart their livelihood activities.

Of course the quantum would seem minuscule given the dimensions of the economic devastation and rebuilding and reconstruction that is to be undertaken. But a start has to be made and made without delay. The loan is meant to stimulate income-generating activities encompassing the vast development potential of the North. With the Banking sector too set to fan out into the North one could assume that sufficient financial resources would be pumped into rejuvenate the economy bringing the real fruits of the Northern Spring to its people.

Rehabilitating offenders

It is reported that 1.5 percent of Sri Lanka's population are in jail for some offence or other. Among these are 260 persons on death row. A sizeable number of them are behind bars for drug related offences. But it is also true that a bulk of those incarcerated are there due to their inability to pay fines or furnish bail. Prison reform has been a topic often debated but little headway has been made over the years from the statistics shown. True, we have many rehabilitation vocational training programs for prisoners. But records show a steep increase in the number of reconvicts, a clear indication that prisoner reform programs are not a total success.

Therefore steps should be taken to make our prisoners more acceptable to society by removing the stigma attached to being held behind bars. Of course hardcore criminals should be dealt with severely with no leniency shown if the Government hopes to tackle the galloping crime rate. The current four percent prosecution rate too is a far from satisfactory record that needs to be reversed. But measures should also be taken to ensure that minor offenders are separated from the hardcore elements in prisons. Today most of these minor offenders come out as hardened men who indulge in serious crime. This, while being a threat to society also exposes the flawed prison system. Ways should be explored to minimise this cycle of minor offenders going back to prison, with the help of experts and even religious leaders. This would reduce the present prison overcrowding while helping create a crime-free society.