Path to success for self-employed

New life new beginning:

Dharman WICKREMARATNE

The sun was setting on the West coast. But it was not too warm due to the sea breeze. Facing us was the 13-acre Galle Face green and on the other side the Taj Samudra Hotel. Towards the Fort was the Presidential Secretariat.

During the Dutch rule of the Maritime Provinces, Galle Face green was a place where convicts were punished. A gallows too had been erected there. Earlier, during the Portuguese period it was a burial ground. Thereafter under British occupation it became a horse-racing track in 1840. Subsequently British Governor Sir Henry Ward ordered that the Galle Face Green be made a place of recreation for the public. It was here that Sri Lanka’s first Prime Minister D S Senanayake fell off his horse and died on March 22, 1952. In 2001 Rs 70 million was spent on the development of the grounds after which the Supreme Court ruled that it was public property.

Self-employment beneficiaries

On March 14, over a thousand people gathered on Galle Face Green. All of them were self-employment beneficiaries, their friends and relatives. Sometime back they were called pavement hawkers. Now they were being presented with 500 Dimo Batta vehicles to help start their lives a new. Metaphorically speaking these people will sway in the wind but they - like bamboo groves - have the strength to withstand even a storm. They have the guts to bear the vicissitudes of life.

The Government’s Divi Neguma program aimed at enhancing the livelihood of self-employed individuals by providing them with mobile units to sell essential goods, was launched by Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa near the Galle Face. Here Minister Basil Rajapaksa makes a token presentation of the key of Dime Batta vehicle to a recipient.

Like streams of clear water flowing between rocks and through roots of trees they have reached this stage through great difficulty. Today they are experiencing welcome changes in their lives following the donation of 500 Dimo Batta vehicles to the Divi Neguma program by the Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC (Dimo) under the sponsorship of the People’s Bank.

The Economic Development Ministry is supervising the program which the Self-Employed Entrepreneurs Federation is directing led by its President Mahinda Kahandagamage.

The vehicles will give them the opportunity of running mobile sales outlets where essential consumer products of good quality will be sold to the public at reasonable prices jointly with the Lanka Sathosa. This will give the consumer the opportunity of buying their requirements of nutritious food items at his doorstep.

A helping hand has to be extended to those struggling in life. The event at Galle Face is the new step in that direction.

In order to facilitate urban development, unauthorized structures put up by pavement hawkers were demolished last year. Most seriously affected as a result were the pavement hawkers of Pettah. They found themselves in a hapless situation after years of earning a livelihood on the pavement. Following the opening of the new shopping complex at the Bo-tree Junction, Pettah, 289 of them were given stalls there on May 29, last year. The work on 534 stalls at Fifth Cross Street, Pettah has now been completed.

Pavement hawkers

More stalls are under construction. All these programs are launched under Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s supervision. I have seen pavement hawkers in almost every country I visited. They are even found in Pacific islands like Samoa and Tuvalu with very small populations. Even in States like Dubai where the laws are very strict one can occasionally see Bangladeshi pavement hawkers moving from place to place to avoid detection.

The exact date on which pavement hawking began in Sri Lanka is not known. However Admiral Adam Wester has stated that he saw travelling salesmen when the Dutch landed in Batticaloa in 1638. It is believed that travelling salesmen of the Portuguese (1505-1658), Dutch (1658-1796) and British periods (1796-1948) became pavement hawkers in later years. Thirty-two-year-old Ranga Susantha is a father of two, residing in Grandpass. We met him, his wife and two children. Susantha’s father, H G Piyadasa (67) hails from Matara. He had been a pavement hawker for 40 years at 4th Cross Street, Pettah.

Susantha had been doing the same on Fifth Cross Street. After pavement hawking was banned they had no means of making a living for the past 10 months. Today the whole family is extremely happy. Susantha is confident that quality items the Lanka Sathosa will provide are bound to attract consumers.

The number of pavement hawkers in Sri Lanka is nearly 25,000. In Pettah alone there are 3,000 of them. But according to police and municipal reports the number is 6,000. Their position was strengthened with the formation of the Self-Employed Entrepreneurs Federation in 2006. Its President Mahinda Kahandagamage too has been a pavement hawker for 35 years.

Attract consumers

A centre for pavement hawkers has been established also in Nugegoda where a Janatha Pola is coming up. Similar centres will come up at Maharagama, Galle, Kandy, Kalutara, Borella, Wellawaya, Yatiyantota, the Manning retail sales outlet in Colombo, Kataragama and Nuwara Eliya. There are many Third World politicians. Some of them cause people to go backward. Others make them stagnate. Politicians who encourage people to go forward are very rare. Minister Basil Rajapaksa falls into the third category.

Malcolm Perera (43) is a father of five. When we met him and his wife Chamila Priyadarshani they could not believe their eyes that they had received a vehicle and also consumer items at subsidized prices for sale.

The whole family became friendly with us within minutes. The hopes of their daughters Maheshika (21), Ruwanthika (17) and Sarangi (7) and their sons, Malith (24) and Amal (3) have been raised. Malcolm is confident that with the availability of consumer items at subsidized prices, people will no longer be compelled to turn to the black market.

Contribution to economy

This program will pave the way to building a strong economy with people’s participation. The self-employment sector has made a major contribution to the economy with less investment. It received a number of benefits under the last budget in accordance with Mahinda Chintana. The position of persons engaged in self-employment is being strengthened by special bank loan schemes. It is also planned to establish Self-Employment Secretariat.

The sale of nutritious food items at affordable prices will lead to building a healthy and economically stable society.

The program has already brought much relief to 500 self-employed families, benefiting nearly 3,500 persons. The children will have a bright future. Sri Lanka needs more programs like this in order to win the economic war. The self-employed persons who have benefited from this program are courageous people. They have self-confidence. The 500 Dimo Batta vehicles have given new value to their buying power.

The Self-Employed Entrepreneurs Federation is extremely grateful to the assistance that People’s Bank Chairman W Karunajeewa and Dimo Chairman A R Pandithage have given to this program, encouraged by Economic Development Ministry Secretary Dr P B Jayasundera under Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s direction and President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s guidance.

The Company feels proud that Dimo Batta has been chosen for the Divi Neguma program. According to Dimo Chairman Pandithage, Dimo Batta is already helping over 15,000 self-employed persons to make a living. They have given this vehicle without any collateral.

It is another service the People’s Bank has provided. The instalment to be paid for the first month is Rs 14,971. Thereafter it is Rs 22,135 for each of the balance 54 months.

All payments will be complete in five years. Accordingly payment per day is between Rs 500 to Rs 750.

As Minister Basil Rajapaksa says, when development projects are implemented the poor must reap their benefits. When such programs are initiated plans have to be worked on how such projects should reach the poor. Basil Rajapaksa’s voice is like the roar of the sea. It has depth and clarity.

Dusk is fast approaching and in a few moments the moon will rise over Galle Face. New hopes will rise in the hearts of those self-employed as dawn breaks tomorrow.

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