Clear Policy Needed For N.E. Development
- Mahinda Chinthana Insufficient
I.D.P.s in Jaffna (Source: UKtamilnews.com)
The lack of a clear Government policy for the development of the North-East (N.E.) is a disincentive for investments in that area, a banker said.
Prem Kumar Thampi, Country Head, I.C.I.C.I. Bank, speaking at a seminar in Colombo on Tuesday as an example said that though the Government’s Mahinda Chinthana policy document speaks of making Jaffna the best city in South Asia, however it does not spell out how this would be achieved.
The seminar was on North-East development.
The target set forth in the Chinthana to achieve this goal is 2012. Similarly, the target set forth to extend the northern railway line to KKS is next year. It also talks of building 50,000 houses.
“Considering the Government’s yawning budget deficit of 9-10% and high public debt (over 80% of g.d.p.), those do not give the State space to play a lead role in infrastructure development,” said Thampi.
The way forward is for the private sector to take over, but for that to happen, there needs to be a clear policy spelt out, he said.
Thampi citing another example said that while the per capita consumption of electricity in Jaffna was Rs. 1,000 a month, in Colombo it was 10 times that figure, at Rs. 10,000; showing the potential for power sector development in the peninsula.
He said that Sri Lanka has been growing at 5% in the past few years, with per capita income also doubling to U.S.$ 2,100 during this short period. There are plans to further double per capita income to U.S.$ 4,000 in the next four years.
For this to happen Sri Lanka has to grow at 10-12%, but this doubling should not take place at the expense of high inflation, with inflation having had hit 28% in recent times, he said.
Youth Unemployment
Dr. Muttukrishan Sarvananthan, Principal Researcher Point Pedro Institute of Development, in his speech said that there is a need to look at the sources and quality of this growth.
He added that Sri Lanka’s growth story is fuelled by public sector expansion and pay rise which are unsustainable.
Sarvananthan said that though per capita income in a short period has doubled, so also has public debt, which, within the same short period, has doubled from Rs. 2,000 billion to Rs. 4,000 billion.
Referring to the N.E., he warned that youth unemployment, i.e. those between the ages of 15-29 years, was high as 20%.
Sarvananthan said that the lines of tea kiosks straddling the A 9 highway from Omanthai to Muhamalai and manned by army personnel do not help the local economy to grow. “It’s a waste of public resources to run food and beverages.”
He further said that the air force operating civilian flights do not help to boost the private aviation sector either. It’s better if the air force has a surfeit of planes to sell them off and allow to the private sector to take control of domestic flights to and from the peninsula rather than pushing them out, said Sarvananthan.
A three star hotel is being built by the state run Bank of Ceylon and Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka in Nallur which have no expertise in hotels, whereas the better thing to have had done was to have had called for expressions of interest from local business and the diaspora.
Government is everywhere in the North. They want people to think they are looking after them.
Commercial vehicles plying to Jaffna having to obtain permits encourages corruption.
Sarvananthan who is from Jaffna said that though the A9 is fully open for traffic and people have returned to their places of origin in Wanni and Jaffna, there is hardly any incentive to help the people in the N.E. to stand on their own feet.
Sarvananthan said that neither do remittances nor assistance from n.g.o.s help build a work culture in the North and East either.
He said that the government is expected to have had ploughed in Rs. 200 billion to the N.E. by the year end. But those are all borrowed money, said Sarvananthan. Whether tangible benefits are seen by such investments is another matter.
The N.E. has been out of government budgets for so many years. But with the war end, and with those areas once more reintegrating with the rest of the country, vast resources would be needed to be allocated for the development of those places.
Former civil servant Bradman Weerakoon in his speech said that while a political solution is imperative for the N.E., one cannot wait till such a solution is found for development works to get started. Development work must go on, he said.
Alienating the locals and bringing in foreign labour (most of the Chinese funded development works are being executed with Chinese labour) is not the way to go, said Weerakoon.
Another burning issue that cropped-up at this seminar were large tracts of arable and private land in the Peninsula being locked up as high security zones, with hardly a trace of boundary demarcations of such private properties being visible.
Foget about NE development. Has the government any plan for development of any other province? How poor the country and the government, unable to present a budget for 2010, Whatever money we get will be spent on recurrent ependiture or on projects already started. No new projects to be started in 2010 to meet the increasing needs of the country. It is unfortunate we voters do not consider at election time. Time and tide will not wait for any man. The future generration will pay for it.
If they desire to divert the funds being contributed to the LTTE they will have to take the necessary steps which may include:
1. Dismantle and eradicate the so called HSZ – high security zones immediately.
2. Allow all the people to gainfully occupy their own homes. They live in tents while the military occupies their homes as un-invited guests without even paying any rents.
3. Stop discriminating, treat all in the same manner.
4. Cease the construction, colonisation and expansion of military camps and forcing buddhism down the throats and the un-authorised construction of these so called temples on the hapless people.
5. Hand back the two or three hotels back to the owners to enable the tourists who come and come in their droves a place to lie their weary limbs.
6. Allow free travel to the foreign passport holders, do away with the concept of clearence certificates. .
7. Maintain the checkpoints, treat one and allow equally, never discriminate by caste, creed or religion.
8. Cease suspecting the tamils of being LTTE or tigers, make them to be proud Sri Lankan’s..
9. Immediately on an un-qualified basis, hand back to the owners all their properties including gold and jewellery.
I am positive if these preceptsare followed the development of not only the east and the north the whole country will have the opportunity of becoming the next mecca. a j.
No one cares what Tamils think. If Tamils find it had living in Sri Lanka, they are welcome to pack their bags and go back to Tamil Nadu.
IF LIKE JAPAN BUDDHIST MONKS CAN MARRY AND ACCUMULATE WEALTH MANY PROBLEMS IN SRI LANKA CAN BE SOLVED WITHIN A DAY…..MR.JAPANE….THIS LAND IS BELONG TO TAMILS ..NOT TO TE GENERATION OF DEPORTED CRIMINAL VIJAYA….UNDERSTAND?
Be careful with your idiotic comments you brainless insane creature. This thinking sadly reflects the opinion of the Sinhalese. But you can’t keep going with the persecution of the Tamils, soon there is going to be a change whether the Sinhalese and their abetters like or not. First tribunal to process the war criminals, bring justice to the slaughtered Tamils and then think about development. without justice there is no development possible.
Does anyone really give two hoots about your tamil threats? LOL!
JEEZ…..30 YEARS THEY HAVE MADE ALL YOU SHIVER FORGET THIS….
Why not Srilanka talk to India- Best Friend now- to send all Tamils to Tamilnadu, then India will teach the HISTORY to you thick heads because we Sinhalese are the illegal immigrants according to Mahavamsa and Ramayana – both promoted by Srilanka now.
Ramayana never said a word about Sinhalese but said lot about Tamils and Muslims adopted Tamil because Tamils were the rulers not Sinhalese
Japane Roshan and others must read the history of Sri Lanka (as it was in those days) to know that Tamils and one type of Bali speaking were the original people living in the island before Buddha was born. Sinhalease is a new language created by Sangamithra. So, Tamils cannot be asked to go anywhere but Sinhalease can opt to speak Bali and go to India. It is better because Buddha was born in India.
I love how Tamils manufacture history … it must be in their primitive genes. Ramayana is another cock and bull story and it never mentions tamils.
Yes, why not talk to Best Friend India and beg them to take back Vijyays’ followers back to Bengal because they have become a far worse lot over the last 2000 years and have been busy killing the Naga and Raksha peoples and ruining the country. Adding another 17 million to 1.2 billion on the mainland is just a mere drop more. At least Lanka can then become peaceful and pristine once again!
You should go back to India tooo. For the Tamils it would be a short journey, but for you it might be a long way. Make sure that you have enough rice and dried fish for your journey.
Mind you, the people who where living in Lanka weren’t Sinhalese when the banised Vijayan landed in lanka.
MAHAVAMSA IS A CON BOOK ONLY MODAYAS BELIEVE THIS..THIS BOK HAS NOT AN OUNCE OF SCEINETIFIC…OR..HISTORICAL EVIDENCE…IMAGINE A LION FATHERD A CHILD ..WHAT A JOKE…….
I thought it was a monkey, may be a monkey wearing lian mask!.
NO AMOUNT OF DEVELOPMENTS WILL SOLVE THE TAMIL PROBLEMS..IT IS ABOUT THEIR RIGHTS….NOW THE SOLUTION HAS STARTED BY ERECTING BUDDHA STATUE AMONG 100% HINDUS…AND SINHALA COLONISATION IN TAMIL LANDS AND HOUSES…..ANOTHER TIME BOMB….TICKING
Srilanka – ruled by SInhala racists and war criminals- only developing the Military camps, tourist hotels for Sinhalese and foreigners, raping kids and women, abductions, killings of innocent students and elderly, so called Buddhist temples, Sinhalese owned businesses, Sinhala only notice boards, etc while destrying and undermining everything the Tamils owned and aspire.
“Mahinda Chinthana policy document speaks of making Jaffna the best city in South Asia, ” is to placate the international community which has been calling for reconciliation and reconstruction. You can wait for another 60 years and come back the North and East will be as under-developed as it has ever been.
To get a police report Jaffna man goes to Colombo and if it is in a private van the driver pays bribe at least in 10 places to the army check points to escape harassment by them. Why cannot there be branches of main departments in the north? Why should Tamils go all the way to Colombo taking all sorts of risks in order to do official businesses and leave the country to fly abroad?
The economic development in Jaffna is doing fine now. The businesses are starting most by the southern people – quite rightly because they paid for the eradication of LTTE, not Tamils. Therefore southern people have reap the benefit of the edn of war.
Tamils in north have all the wealth mainly from abroad. That need to be shared by southern people too. Only way to do that is starting businesses by southern people and restricting the northern Tamils to do that.
After a while, this can be relaxed but currently this is the way it should be.
Any new industries and businesses should have southern work force, not Jaffna Tamils. They just have to wait or can leave the country.
Kalag: the circus clown, you are right the tamils get lots of monies from abroad, you and your mates are perfectly justified in taking them.
You lot learnt the trade in 1983 became masters at it, now you are occupying the lands, the gold and the jewellery and whatever you can lay your filthy paws on.
The tamils control the economy, they buy the properties in the south with the hard earned money while the sinhalese get the properties for nothing,
You want the tamils to leave the country, when they do you cry to the world send them back send them back there are no troubles, we are buddhists we are peace-loving people.
They say in english you just cannot eat the cake and keep it at the same time. In plain sinhala they also state : asai bayai :. a j.
AJ, please undestand onething: Tamils start and control the businesses in the south (or entire Sri Lanka for argument sake). Who do they sell to? Yes, Singhalese. That means Singhalese pay taxes (Tamils are not paying for the last 30 years-northerners) and pay towards the wealth of Tamil businesses. Do the Tamils give anything back? No. The govts, on their part – corrupted or incompetence, do not do anything about this. They just sit and watch. May be they get “contributions” from Tamils.
Again, Singhalese are the losers. Imagine if we have a whole region of north which is opened for this type of activities. Singhalese will go down the drain. After all, they fought the war for the Tamils (please don’t tell me all the Tamils loved LTTE, particularly the business Tamils).
So, LTTE start the war (all Tamils), Singhalese fight LTTE, then give everything back to Tamils so that they can enjoy. Is that you guys want? Is there anywhere you guys read that Singhalese are bunch of idiots?
Yes, the whole world knows that the sinhalese are the most truthful people, they are like babies they only speak nothing but the truth and they have no malice in their hearts.
Now in Jaffna, they are living in the open, no showers, no abolutions all in the greed to make more and more money by servicing the needs of the plenty of money. available tamils..
To make a dollar they will resort to any level, Anyway as citizens they have this right, I wish them well. a j.
“Singhalese are bunch of idiots” r u one of them Kalag .
YES KIDNAPPING BUSINESS WITH THE SINHALA SECURITY FORCES IS DOING WELL…APPUHAMY S AND ARIYAWATHI S SONS IN ARMY NEVER EVEN DREAM ABOUT LAKHS OF RUPEES…IN JAFFNA KINAPPERS ARE ASKING MILLIONS….WHAT A BEAUTIFUL LIBERATION BY GOVT…..
Hey you Kalag, day dreamer! Tamils work hard to earn the money for their living. You Sinhala beggers rob their wealth and kill the Tamils for your petty living. When you Sinhala parasites are going to stop this?
Yes, Tamils work hard to do the credit card fraud in western countries.
Tamils are the parasites. They jump on to any wealthy country and suck the blood/wealth. Where in the world or in history that Tamils went to a poor country and made it rich?
It has been always: they went to a rich country and made it worse.
IT IS THE TAMILS WHO DEVELOPED THE ECONOMY AND INDUSTRY IN SRI LANKA….WHERE IS YOUR CYLINCO FINANCE MONEY MODAYAS..EVER HEARD A TAMI OWNED COMPANY DID THIS….??IT IS BECAUSE OF TAMILS YOU EXPORT TEA TODAY….LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT THE DIGNITY OF SINHALALEASE GO TO MIDDLE EAST AND ASK A POOR BANGALDESHIES..EVEN THEY LAUGHT ABOUT YOUR GIRLS FOR WHAT THEY DO THERE….BY THE BANGALDSH HAS BANNED HOUSE MAID EXPORTS TO ARAB COUNTRIES…
Kalag, you stone head, Sinhala government and its thugs were behind all these credit card frauds which were well organized by the Sri Lanka embassy. They simply put the blame on Tamils because many Tamils work in establishments which are owned by Tamils as well. Tamils always contribute to the prosperity of a country in which they choose to live. Have you heard about La Chapell in Paris or Zurich in Swiss? The business in this areas are exploding because of Tamils. We never heard anything of Sinhala prosperity in Europe or anywhere, Sinhalese are the suckers of wealth and health not even in Sri Lanka but world wide. They are the great beggers of this century.
Jaffna is not only the North, North Tamil areas starting from Vavuniya to Point Pedro.
Srilanka started the LTTE by discriminating Minorities since 1948 and occasional massacres and mass graves of Tamils, also rapes of Tamil women and kids in the south since 1948 to 1976 until LTTE was created to counter the SINHELLA TERRORISM by each and every Srilankan racist governments.
THAT IS LTTE IS THE SYMPTOM of the CAUSE SINHELLA TERRORISM ADOPTED BY BOTH UNP and SLFP Terrorist governments since 1948.
Also ETHNIC CLEANSING of Tamils and Muslims by UNP and SLFP Terrorist governments from Kalloya to Vavuniya. That is JUST 18 SINHALESE in EELAM in 1837 become 1 MILLION in EELAM now due to UNP and SLFP Terrorists ethnic cleansing of minorities.
Therefore, Srilanka have no legal or moral authority to rule Tamils or exploit Tamils wealth at all. LET the TAMILS RULE themselves.
may be set ISGA or PTOM something look after the development, add assigne Gotta as the boss. ?
If Tamils want extra rupees they are welcome to pluck tea leaves and clean the kitchen in Singhalese homes.
Tamila and sinhalese work as domestics because of their poverty do not make fun of them you sicko. In the middle east the earnings brought in has overtaken those of the primary products like coconut, rubber and tea.
Those who pluck the tea leaves, help to bring in the much needed foreign exchange to enable scums likes you to shoot off all your openings.
It is better if you can change your line of thinking otherwise you are better dead than alive. a j.
WHO IS CLEANING ARAB TOILETS IN MIDDLE EAST… FOR JUST USD 100? EXTRA INCOME BY SELLING THEMSELVES IN FRONT OF CHURCHES IN BAHRAIN..KUWAIT ETC.,STILL WITHOUT SHAME YOU SEND YOUR YOUNG SINHALA GIRLS TO THIS SERVICE INDUSTRY..SHAME ON YOU…
Jeez the begger, since when own Sinhalase homes? The homes are either stolen from the Tamils or built from their robbed money. Without tea you Sihala people have live only on jackfruit and manioc.
The whole country is owned by Singhalese. Since when Tamils had any country? Even your last Jaffna King was a Singhalese – Sapumal Kumara.
ANOTHER MAHAWAMSA JOKE……FROM THE GENERATION OF DEPORTED CRIMINAL CALLED VIJAYA………ACCORDING MAHAVAMSA COMIC BOOK
You can’t even trace back your artificially created race even to the apes. You beggers always thinking of owning something that do not belong to you, Tamils did not own but governed and ruled the Southeast, you can not even imagine with your rat brain, they traded with the Greeks and Chinese. For your education,
i do not know whether you are capable to learn,
but the last King of Jaffna was the great Sangiliyan, who was respected by the Sinhalese. Your great Parakramabahu was simply a Tamil king.
Don’t twist the history if you do not have much knowledge about the history of Ceylon. The history of Ceylon is the history of tamils, not the Sinhalese, who never existed nowhere in the world, they are a mixed or half cast people of many races. They have no origin, no traces of ancient races. It is a pitty but it is the truth. You Sinhalese should learn to accept the truth than spreading myth and falsehood.
To get back to the subject of this article, rather than the sick comments whcih reflect sick minds and do no credit to the authors, there is much to be said about the basis of development. It is back to basics- should it be very ‘top down’ as now or ‘bottom up’? In a devastated economy both are obviously needed. Infrastructure like roads, railways, power supplies are in the public domain but why should hotels and tea shops be run by governmnt or the military? Freeing HSZs back to the rightful owners will boost agriculture, home industry and boost local employment. Besides where is the role of the elected in public affairs? Else why have elections at all? It makes an absolute mockery of democracy?
WAR CRIMINALS RUN SRILANKA resumed mass killings of Tamils as the War Criminal Gotabaya went to Jafna last week to resume CHECK POINTS to allow the WHITE VAN AND MOTORBIKE DEATH SQUADS to Kill all Tamils questioning the NAZI Srilanka and work for democracy
Uprooted Vanni civilian shot dead, first killing in Jaffna after May 2009
[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 May 2010, 17:51 GMT]
A 26-year-old male, Sivalingam Sabesan, an uprooted civilian who settled in Jaffna after leaving the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) operated internment camp in Vavuniyaa, has been gunned down on Jaffna – Point Pedro Road Sunday around 7:30 p.m. by armed men riding a motorbike. The killing has taken place in SLA-guarded road near Ceylinco insurance company and Vadamaraadchi telecommunication building. This is the first killing by gunmen reported in Jaffna after the Eelam War – 4 ended in May 2009 in Vanni. The targeted killing of Vanni IDP comes in the wake of a recent visit by Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to Jaffna. Tension prevails in the area.
The victim had fled Jaffna following harassment by the Sri Lanka Army after 2004 elections in which he campaigned actively for the Tamil National Alliance. He displaced to Vanni and later ended up in the internment camp for civilians in Cheddiku’lam.
Mr. Sabesan had resettled in Thumpa’lai village, a northern most village in the peninsula.
He was planning to open a hardware shop at Nelliyadi while he was gunned down, according to Nelliyadi Police.
SHOW ONE SINHALA BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENT BUILT ON HARD WORK….ALL BY HOOK OR CROOK…..WHERE IS HPT GROUP..WHERE IS CNTRAL FIANANCE..WHERE IS MUCH TALKED UPALI GROUP ALL HIS OVERSEAS PROPERTIES ARE NOW IN THE HAND ON TAMILS…..
Yes. The Tamil parasites sucked the blood of these companies. That is what happening to whole of Sri Lanka. Soon Canada and other countries will learn this.
LAZY..UNGRATEFUL PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD ARE SINHALEASE..LOOK WHAT THEYDID TO FONSEKA?..WHEN THEY HEARD PREMADAS WAS KILLED THEY HAVE FIRED CRACKERS……ON THE FUNERAL DAY OF J R JAYAWARDENA SRI LANKA RADIO AND TV PLAYED BAILA SONGS….THIS THE WAY THESE UNCIVILIZED SINHALEASE RESPECTED THEIR OWN LEADERS…..
SL Military Intelligence men issue death threats to Thenmaraadchi journalists
[TamilNet, Monday, 03 May 2010, 10:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka Military Intelligence wing men in Jaffna Monday issued death threats to the journalists who covered the case of alleged death threats to Chaavakachcheari Magistrate K. Pirabakaran by EPDP operatives when it was taken for inquiry Monday in Chaavakachcheari court and published news of it in the local dailies, sources in Chaavakachcheari said. The intelligence men had first gone to the offices of the dailies that had published the news and procured the addresses of the said journalists in Thenmaraadchi before going to their houses, the sources added.
Jaffna Deputy Mayor Thurairajah Ilango alias Regan and Allexander Soosaimuthu alias Charles, Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) organizer for Thenmaraadchi were the two men who were mentioned in the complaint made by the Paa’ndiayn Thaazhvu residents to Chaavakachcheari court.
As the threatened journalists fear for their lives various public organizations in Jaffna peninsula have appealed to North Ceylon Journalists Association to take prompt action against the threats issued to the journalists.
Meanwhile, Chaavakachcheari magistrate K. Pirabakaran Monday had ordered suspect EPDP coordinator of Thenmaraadchi, Allexander Soosaimuthu alias Charles arrested for suspected involvement in the abduction and killing of student Kapilnath and for allegedly threatening Chaavakachcheari magistrate K. Pirabakaran, to be placed in remand prison, when he was produced in Chaavakachcheari court.
Mahinda JAILED Low Caste Berger Sarath Fonseka for his white skin exposion.
Dilshan,
Don’t waste your time on Mervyn Silva or Sarath Fonseka or Mahinda…problem is how do we minimize the corruptions and get the normal life back to those people living between the army camps in north and east. Look at the photo in the article those kids does’t need a Gun man to baby sit them.
JAYAWEWA DEVEOENT HAS STARTED AS MODAYAS EXPECTED..YESTERDAY..BREAD PRICE WAS UP..TODAY GAS PRICE IS UP..TOMORROW BABY MILK POWDER WILL GO UP…DAY AFTER TOMORROW SINHALA MOTHERS WILL THROW THEIR BABIES BECAUSE OF POVERTY INTO THE RIVER..BUT MODAYAS WILL DANCE FOR FREE LIQUOR…JAYAWEWA