Rising per capita doesn’t mean development and poverty reduction have worked:UN official
View(s):By Quintus Perera
Though countries like Sri Lanka use per capita as a measurement of the country’s development and individual progress, this theory has been debunked by a UN official.
At a recent poverty alleviation symposium in Colombo, Prof. Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Director General, Economic and Social Development Department, UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), responding to a question said a country’s development and poverty could not reflected by its per capita status.
He was speaking on the topic ‘Rethinking Development’ and responding to a query posed by the moderator Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Dhaka at a symposium organized by the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA) on ‘Re-imagining Development: An Ideas Exchange’ and held in Colombo recently. Sri Lanka is aiming to increase per capita to US$4,000 in 2016 from a current $3,000, according to government officials.
This is one of many symposiums that bring together professionals, economists, policymakers, artists and thinkers to exchange ideas to ‘re-imaging development.
Prof. Sunderam said that development would reduce the poverty levels but the concern is the growing inequality and attempts should be made to eradicate this growing inequality. He gave examples like Brazil where there was growth and poverty reduction, but on the other hand there was heavy population increase in that country.
When the Soviet Union opened up, he said that there was severe economic regression and life expectancy of males in Russia reduced by six years – something that has not happened for over 4,000 years.
Prof (Ms) Savithri Goonasekara, Emeritus Prof of Law, Colombo University queried as to why there is no focus on the human rights based approach to development, which is people centred and addressing inequality. She said that maybe they should integrate the rights perspective into social protection to get a balanced social development.
Dr D.S. Santhirasegaram, Department of Economics, University of Jaffna suggesting that the war has not contributed to development, said that it was one instance where the war has to some extent fulfilled the employment problem of the rural Sri Lankan youth, but this provision of employment did not contribute to development.
Sunil Bastian, former Chairperson, CEPA in his presentation on ‘Re-imagine or Discard: Future of Development” indicated that Sri Lanka today is a product of war.
Some of the participants who preferred to be anonymous told the Business Times that the symposium should have obtained the views of the donors as well … after all the ultimate decision on development projects lies in the hands of the donors.
One of them also suggested that parliamentarians should also be included in these symposiums as they are the first persons who should know the meaning of development and through development they should impart social justice and ensure the rights of the poor.
Follow @timesonlinelk
comments powered by Disqus