Post-war North-East fast returning to self-sufficiency
Assistance to rejuvenate business:
North - East slowly but surely recovering
 Many
lives have been lost, tens of thousands of
 people
disabled while millions suffered due to the bloody LTTE war which was
crushed by a humanitarian operation by the government last May.
The damage to the economy, especially to the
industries and the enterprises will run in to several billions.
The conflict also held back development plans by the
government for the north east while high revenue generating institutions
such as Kankasanthurai Cement Factory and Paranthan chemical factory had
to be shut down incurring tremendous hardships to the economy.
Jaffna, in the pre conflict period was self-sufficient
in every way with the industrial sector booming and residents
maintaining a high per capita income. It was estimated that there were
750 industries in Jaffna prior to the conflict and sadly this number has
now been reduced to about 35.
The government, soon after the liberation of the East,
started to get its development mechanism in place and intensified it
when the North too was liberated with several focused programs being
launched investing several billions.
With this focus approach North-East is now slowly but
surely recovering and heading towards conquering the lost glory of the
past and heading towards being a self-sufficient once again.
For a rapid economic recovery reviving industrial
sector is of paramount importance as it would increase production and
cash flow to the area. Understanding this factor National Chamber of
Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) along with a section of the business
community visited Jaffna recently to distribute machinery and equipment
required by the small business community to expand their businesses.
The purpose of the assistance to the business
community in Jaffna is to rejuvenate their business and uplift the socio
economic conditions in the peninsula. The NCCSL business promotion fund
sponsored by the Royal Netherlands Government spent Rs. 6.5 million to
purchase machinery for the 35 entrepreneurs.
The supplied machinery was manufactured by Sri Lankan
companies so that the country will not lose foreign exchange while
giving a boost to another local industry.
The Chamber in addition to providing machinery and
financial assistance, will also make necessary arrangements to find
markets for their products with its corporate members in Colombo.
Chamber also took some large scale buyers to Jaffna to enable the
identified small businesses to interact market opportunities.
 Out
of the 35 entrepreneurs 15 are engaged in footwear manufacturing and the
others on carpentry, food processing, construction, paper products and
light engineering.
Minister of Industrial Development Kumara Welgama, who
was the chief guest at this distribution ceremony, said that this will
assist the entrepreneurs to sustain their business activities and
provide employment opportunities to the youth in the area.
He further said that arrangements are also being made
to re-open Kankesanthurai cement factory and Paranthan chemical factory,
both of which had been functioning well prior to the ethnic conflict in
the Peninsula.
President, Chamber of Commerce, C. Lal de Alwis, said
that they also want to identify the small business entrepreneurs in
Jaffna and give them a helping hand to start their own businesses.
Senior Deputy President of the National Chamber of
Commerce, Asoka Hettigoda, indicated that the NCCSL has so far assisted
all industrial sectors in the SME category which consists of leather
products, light engineering, coir, soft toys, oil distillation,
carpentry and food processing.
Hettigoda also mentioned that the recipients have been
assisted in their marketing activities by sponsoring them to attend
local and international trade exhibitions, most recently the Kunming
International Trade Exhibition in China.
Meanwhile, economist Rohantha Athukorala commended the
efforts of the government in the reconstruction and development of the
North in the last three months where the focus has been on key
infrastructure development such as roads, electricity and water systems.
He said that now is the time for the private sector to
move towards the next generation technology like the BPO sector in areas
like Jaffna so that Sri Lanka can leap frog the economy like what South
Korea did, to cross the 10,000 dollar mark in the near future.
"Another area to focus was the software industry which
can easily be a 6 billion dollar industry for Sri Lanka," he said.
He said that the next challenge is to involve the
community in the development process in the areas of Mulaitivu,
Killinochchi and Mannar.
He said that the Private-Public-People (PPP model)
that needs to be driven in making an economic change to the market
dynamics seen in western markets.
The case in point explained by Athukorala was the
apparel industry of Sri Lanka. He said that even with the key markets of
EU and US declining, the Sri Lankan private sector went through internal
reforms by way of restructuring the business and looking out at new
partnerships that had helped the overall industry deliver a sales
revenue of 2 billion dollars as at end of August 2009 which was just
about similar to last year's performance. This performance is
commendable and the public sector must follow suit as a best practice,
emphasised Athukorala.
With the opening of the A9 road now any Sri Lankan can
travel to Jaffna from Colombo or vice versa without the security
clearance certificate that was required earlier and this would help the
business community to expand their business. "Though the air link to
Jaffna is there sometimes it is expensive and it also restricts cargo.
The opening of the highway would be a boon to Jaffna traders to moves
their goods more freely," he said.
Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) also announced that
the much awaited Jaffna-Colombo bus service resumed making Jaffna
accessible to the general public too.
The fish production in the north had increased in a
tremendous manner after the restrictions on fishing in northern seas
were lifted in early June. The excess catch is being now transported to
Colombo and soon people would be able to see 'Jaffna Fish Stalls' in
Colombo. Almost every item sold in other towns are now available in the
Jaffna City at the same prices. Civilians in the outskirts of Jaffna do
not face obstacles in reaching the City to purchase their requirements
as expanded transport facilities are available. Even goods are
transported by road. As a result, the Jaffna businessmen said the market
has expanded.
The civilians, who were in the habit of purchasing
their requirements at exorbitant prices due to terrorism, have heaped
praise on the Government for the new environment that prevails in the
area. The needs of the civilians are being frequently inquired into
under the supervision of Senior Presidential Advisor and Parliamentarian
Basil Rajapaksa who is also the chief of the "Uthuru Wasanthaya" Task
Force, and on the instructions of the President.
Life has fast returned to normal in the North with
civilians eager to start life afresh after three decades of a fear
psychosis.
Courtesy - Sunday observer |
