Peace is key to economic boom
Address by Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe at the Leopard Capital Investor Forum in Colombo on November 20
Minister Samarasinghe
From the perspective of a Minister charged with the subjects of Disaster Management and Human Rights, I have viewed the damage and destruction of both human and physical resources of the country in the last phase of the war as posing a challenge that confronts us in the post-conflict phase.
We must, as a people, seize many opportunities that will come our way and not to make the same mistakes as in the past when we failed to exploit opportunities for the betterment of the people.
Visiting the conflict affected regions, in particular, which are undergoing a transformation due to the present reconstruction programs; I believe the time has dawned to reap the benefits of peace that the military victories have brought about. Given lasting peace and stability, this country has the potential to progress fast and even catch up with the front-runners in the region.
Victories to peace
Converting the end of armed hostilities achieved through military victories over terrorism into sustainable peace is the principal challenge that we face today, the achievement of which is vital for Sri Lanka’s progress and prosperity.
This would become possible if we as people realize that, in a collective sense, the country has suffered from the conflict and that we must move forward together as one Sri Lankan people with no further polarization based on labelling some as victors or others as vanquished. Imagine for a moment what might have been, had we devoted all that energy and resources that we were compelled to spend on fighting terrorism for development. In terms of living standards, we were at the top of the table in 1948, at the time we gained independence, second only to Japan among Asian countries.
We have fallen behind the front runners and others who were trailing behind us have caught up with us or have overtaken us. However, despite the conflict, we have made some progress in the past few decades and reached the status of a middle-income country, showing the resilience and indomitable spirit of the Sri Lankan people.
Peace, stability, law and order are pre-requisites for economic advancement in any age or country. Economic advancement, in the sense of higher income and improving standards of living, would make the military victories over terrorism and the reestablishment of peace after a protracted conflict, more meaningful to the civilian populations in all parts of the country, be it North or South, East or West.
There is no gainsaying that throughout the history of humankind, peace has always held the key to prosperity in any country. Economic advancement and prosperity will tend to reinforce the peace achieved through military operations after much sacrifice in terms of human and physical resources.
The global experience and the 2,500 - year history of Sri Lanka provides numerous examples to support this assertion. At this critical moment in the country’s history we can and will rise to the occasion. In doing so, we must be guided by the pragmatic policies of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Government and achieve economic advancement with equity thereby ensuring and sustaining peace.
In this task of building sustainable peace in Sri Lanka, we would like to engage the resources, know-how and technology of the investment community to support and strengthen our efforts. We are confident that Sri Lanka can achieve economic advancement much faster and with greater efficiency.
It would also help Sri Lanka to address the issue of the savings / investment gap that has been a feature of our development efforts throughout the conflict period. The challenge facing the Government is to ensure that peace dividend flows to all the regions in the country so that the population will feel a perceptible improvement in their incomes and living standards.
That would help lay to rest the disillusionment and frustrations that drove a section of our population to think in terms of dividing this country by force of arms. I welcome the initiative of Leopard Sri Lanka for its timely intervention aimed at generating the necessary investment resources to help finance post - conflict economic development.
Infrastructure development
Now that the war is over, the focus is on economic development. It is clear that the Government will play a pivotal role in infrastructure development. It is engaged in an ambitious program of road building including motorways, the development of several harbours, chief among which are the Hambantota Port and the Colombo South harbour and several power projects including a coal power plant to address the growing demand for power and energy. Some of these projects are nearing completion. It may be possible to commission the early stages of these projects in the very near future. In this effort of post-conflict economic advancement, the Government believes the private sector has an important role to play and that a significant share of the resources should be drawn from it.
The Government has pursued and will continue to pursue a business-friendly policy framework.
Looking ahead I will try to describe some of the salient activities concerning the efforts the Government has initiated in the post-conflict period to lay the foundations and to prepare the ground for a massive reconstruction effort in the North and East. The efforts at resettlement of civilian population and infrastructure development will serve as an impetus for subsequent public and private initiatives requiring investment to address problems of poverty, low standards of living and the lack of employment.
Oluvil port under construction - a step towards North and East economic resurgence. Picture by Indrajith Perera
The Government was able to liberate the East two years ago. At the conclusion of the hostilities there, we faced similar problems that we now face in the North concerning, de-mining of the areas of return, the opening of roads for vehicular transport and civilian resettlement.
In the East, our work proceeded smoothly winning the approbation of the international community and we were able to complete the work well ahead of schedule.
We have brought to bear on our work in the North the wealth of experience that we gathered in the course of doing the same work in the East. We are confident that we would complete this work in the next six months and return these areas to civilian administration in the same way as we did in the East.
This will pave the way for elected officials to represent the interests of the people of the North effectively. The Government is anxious to achieve this as soon as practically feasible. Contrary to some pessimistic voices, I believe a sound civil administration, sensitive to the needs of the population, will contribute immensely to peace building and exert a positive influence on economic advancement in the region.
The Mullaitivu District though affected by the war has managed to restore normality in most areas of civilian life. While we have commenced resettlement in the area, a couple of weeks ago we managed to open two of the main schools in the district. This is a small example of what I mentioned above.
De-mining
I would like to place before you some statistics that would throw light on the scale of the problem. In the East, we had nearly 200,000 IDPs at the conclusion of hostilities awaiting resettlement compared to over 280,000 IDP in the North.
Area needing de-mining was nearly 250 square kilometres in the East. The previous estimates for de-mining in the North which was around 400 square kilometres has been revised to over a thousand square kilometres. Roads needing clearing of obstructions, the construction of bridges and culverts and resurfacing was nearly 200kilometres in the East. The requirement in the North is estimated at 6,500 kilometres.
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Infrastructure vital for IDP resettlement
Address by Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe at the Leopard Capital Investor Forum in Colombo on November 20 Part I was published yesterday
Minister
Mahinda Samarasinghe
Housing units needing reconstruction/repair was nearly 19,000 in the East while in the North the number is estimated at over 230,000. Social overheads like schools, hospitals and dispensaries are other facilities that also need attention. You could see the scale of the problem that we face in regard to settlement of IDPs in the North.
The work completed to date consists of the return and release of over 135,000 IDPs in their own villages, demining of key locations such as the Mannar ‘rice bowl’ was deemed necessary as a matter of priority to enable resumption of livelihoods.
National economy
The opening of the A9 the main trunk route linking Colombo and Jaffna will lead to closer integration of the economy of this region with the national economy. The work on the restoration of the railway track between Vavuniya and Jaffna has also commenced and we expect to complete it within the shortest possible space of time. This will further strengthen the economic integration of this region into the national economy. However, I would hasten to add that there is still a great deal of work to be undertaken.
The Government will make every effort in the next few years to complete the process of economic integration of this region to ensure that goods and services flow freely into and out of this region. When all the development work is completed, the economies of the two regions can be expected to increase significantly in their contribution to boosting the overall growth figure for the entire economy. According to estimates of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the per capita income that is now around US $ 2,100 will increase to over US$ 4,000 in the next five years.
With such ambitious targets, why should anyone in their right senses hold back the process of resettlement? There have been many criticisms levelled at the Government that it is slow in resettling the affected IDPs in their own villages. Whilst I am fully aware of the undesirability of keeping IDPs in welfare centres unnecessarily for long periods, the Government is not convinced that it is a good policy to rush them into areas that have not been fully cleared and opened up for civilian settlements and had basic infrastructure in place to enable the resumption of livelihoods and normality. Every citizen of this country needs to have reasonable access to basic facilities wherever they live. Resettling and returning them without adequate preparation will be counterproductive.
Back to school: Brighter future for IDP children at Kadirgamar Relief Village. Picture by Chaminda Hittatiya
We must also provide these persons with social infrastructure like schools, hospitals, dispensaries, access to civil administration, security law and order as well as ensure conditions in which they could establish themselves in remunerative economic activity. From the perspective of restoration and development of livelihoods, it is important that markets for the produce of villages must be able to function and linkages that existed with regional and national markets must open up.
This is absolutely critical to making resettlement viable. We, as a Government, are addressing these issues. Chair of the Presidential Task Force for Resettlement, Development and Security in the Northern Province Basil Rajapaksa MP, is leading this effort with the support of my ministerial colleagues.
Integration strategy
We are conscious that without a concerted effort based on an integration strategy for provision of safety and security, durable resettlement and sustained development, a precipitate rush to resettle IDPs may engender disillusionment and frustration, which we must avoid at all costs.
There is great deal of investor interest in the East particularly in the tourist industry. With its scenic beaches, easy access to places of historical interest in the country and wildlife parks, the East offers the investor extensive opportunities for investment in the tourism sector.
The Trincomalee harbour which is considered one of the best in South Asia also beckons the investors in industry. Access to world markets through this port, the availability of land as well as an educated labour at competitive rates will combine to make the East an attractive location for wide variety of industries.
The North will not be far behind. The Government has plans to pursue similar development program in the North focusing on infrastructure development. We expect agriculture and fisheries, two of the traditional activities in the region to recover from its present downturn. The North has traditionally offered a well-educated labour force. There is, therefore, the likelihood that the North may come to rival other provinces in the development of a vibrant services industry.
Access to capital whether it be debt or equity is an integral requirement to nurture and resuscitate Northern entrepreneurship. Within two months the banking system has extended Rs 260 million in funding to 1,875 small and medium enterprises.
A further 6,000 loan applications are under review for disbursement. Around 50 percent of the loans are for agricultural purposes. We expect to disburse loans in excess US$ 25 million to support and rebuild Northern entrepreneurship over the next year. Over the past months many of the local banks have opened branches in the North including a foreign bank.
I would like to touch on reconciliation including political accommodation and integration. The LTTE eliminated democratic voices to such an extent that over the years nearly 50 senior Tamil politicians were assassinated. Institutions of democratic governance have fallen into decline and they need to be restored.
Military victory
One of the significant contributions made by the military victory is that moderate voices reflecting all shades of the socio-ethnic spectrum are now being heard. The President has himself taken on the mantle of leadership in addressing these issues and achieving homegrown resolutions to the outstanding issues.
Through his reconciliation initiative, a meeting of minds on crucial areas that proved elusive in the past and appeared to divide and polarize us into opposing camps is becoming possible. I am confident that if we achieve our manifold objectives, terrorism will never darken the shores of our Motherland ever again.
What is needed is the creation of a unifying and overarching Sri Lankan identity which acknowledges, celebrates and nurtures the wonderful diversity of our multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural society. It is this common identity that will guide Sri Lanka to a peaceful and prosperous future and with rapid economic development and improvement of living standards, the peace and prosperity achieved will be made sustainable.
Concluded
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