Rural development and
crime-containment
President Mahinda
Rajapaksa is on record that it would be his endeavour to take
development to the farthest reaches of Sri Lanka and this is
highly encouraging news for those having the best interests of
this country at heart. This is as it should be because in the
absence of equitably generated and distributed wealth there
would be no development worth speaking of.
Needless to say, the entirety of state development schemes,
including Divi Neguma, aims at equity or the equal empowerment
of the people and we cannot help but observe that these ventures
need to be persisted with very energetically if they are to bear
fruit. However, when going ahead with development, it is
extremely important that the state addresses the realities ‘on
the ground’ and it is only those who are closely associated with
rural life or are ‘insiders’ to the village scene, so to speak,
who would be best positioned to speak authoritatively on rural
advancement.
Besides, the development schemes which have thus far got off
the ground need to be closely monitored for the purpose of
ascertaining whether the outcomes expected of them are being
yielded. That is, monitoring of development programmes is as
important as launching them. Hopefully, fool-proof monitoring
mechanisms are already in place to ensure that the considerable
funds expended on development are indeed well spent.
There was this observation by Ven. Aturaliye Ratana Thera, MP
recently which points to some of the complex issues in rural
development. He was quoted as saying that the mere delivery of
lectures or the conduct of awareness-raising programmes on
illicit liquour and connected ills would be of little or no
avail. What is needed is rural development in the truest sense
of the word. The material advancement of rural areas and the
provinces in general would, among other things, help also in the
steady upkeep of village temples and this will result in the
temple discharging its responsibilities increasingly
effectively.
Analyzed closely, it could be found that empowering persons
and families is indeed one of the most effective ways of
providing them with an incentive to enhance the quality of their
lives. Substantial earnings are one of the most important
factors in upward social mobility and the latter is instrumental
in weaning persons away from social ills, such as, illicit
liquor consumption and gambling.
It is quite some time since the observation was made by
economists that improving the life prospects of people is one of
the surest means of giving them hope and in inducing in them
behaviour that is accountable, socially-beneficial and
exemplary.
Accordingly, it is development, understood as personal and
group empowerment, that matters and these insights, we hope,
would further energize the state in its efforts at ushering
progressive economic prosperity in Sri Lanka. But this does not
mean that rural infrastructure development should be given
second place in our development effort. These activities must
continue apace but we need to place the correct construct on
development and structure our programmes accordingly.
It also needs to be borne in mind that the fostering of law
and order is a must for further overall material advancement.
Unfortunately, it has come to be perceived that some
legislators are instrumental in the crumbling of the law and
order situation in some areas. The law of the land cannot be
sustained if some law-makers are themselves perceived as being
entangled with lawless elements. This scandalous state of
affairs must be halted forthwith if development in the truest
sense is to be realized.
We also need to minimize and see an end to regional
inequalities in development. It is reported that our rural areas
are emerging as centres of dynamic growth and this development
should be welcomed. But it should be ensured that growth does
not centre on any specific provinces only. The Northern and
Eastern Provinces too must be constant stakeholders in
development. |