Let’s Redesign Sri Lanka? – Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel
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Denzil Perera
As the Covid-19 story unfolds, as we try to live with the realized new reality and as the new normal is coming into our lives, as we try to find answers to questions such as who spread the virus first and who made the virus or if it came from another planet etc, there are so many other problems that are unanswered. However, the past couple of weeks made most of us think through the pandemic and its after-effects on the society as a whole and the economy. We are left with a few options which can change for the better. As a matter of fact, at the outset we panicked and denied the fact that this would hit us so hard. Later we realized it was hitting us which made us angry and anger faded away as we realized the realities, and we stopped panic buying and became more organized in terms of purchasing and stock piling. Now it’s observed that we have accepted the ‘New Normal’ and are becoming optimistic. We want to see a light at the end of the tunnel now. But this may apply only to a section of the society. There are sections in the same society which have not gone through the full cycle due to various demographic and psychographic reasons.
In this backdrop we as a country had a low-key house bound celebration of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year with auspicious times fallen at odd times and the irony was that White was the color recommended for Avurudu. Despite all odds Sri Lankans made sure that they would light the hearth to make traditional milk rice and some households to boil milk following the tradition and domestically engaged in religious activities – not for any other reason but to wish Sri Lanka a faster recovery and to wish good health and peace. Of course there was social unrest, and the number of people affected going up in SL passing 200 mark and more and more people getting confined to their domestic boundaries on self-quarantining. Flip side of the coin was that; the true meaning of Avurudu came out stronger than ever, cleansing the society from newly developed wrong habits of alcohol playing a bigger role in Avurudu celebration to spending on material aspect of Avurudu than engaging in inner peace and spirituality. Thanks to the pandemic this year Avurudu season showed a clear cut difference in the way it was celebrated spending time with family members, and wishing for good health to the whole world. This has already marked the year of transformation for Sri Lanka. The challenges faced with the lockdown has brought back the standards that were in place traditionally in celebrating Avurudu. Traditionally it was more about reflecting on the good and bad done throughout the year and re-assuring each other that those mistakes would not repeat in the New Year. It was more about relaxing for few days before starting work for the New Year but recent past Avurudu time is the most difficult and busiest time of the year which increases stress levels due to many reasons. It’s interesting to see how the Sinhala and Tamil New Year got revamped this year. The change was purely due to the cut down on over consumption. Everyone had a peaceful time with their families sharing whatever they had and was given the opportunity to get closer to one’s inner-self than showcasing to society. This is more of a re-learning of what was unlearned during the last four decades. What does it all mean?
The New Normal for Sri Lanka
Sri Lankans are known for winning challenges and it’s nothing new as it has been the case from ancient times. We are a nation that has never failed. For Sri Lanka to win this challenge, the immediate actions are already taken in terms of health and security related measures ensuring the citizens of Sri Lanka will be safe in the short run as well as in the medium and long run. What other challenges are ahead of us now? Synchronizing the new normal with the economic battle field is going to be a challenge for us. But there’s a proven system that has always been in place for us to follow and it’s a matter of adjusting our spending and consumption patterns to this new reality. Reduced and mindful consumption fulfilling the basics till difficult times are over will pave the way for us to be self-sufficient up to a greater extent. Of course there will be opportunities such as bringing down the industries which are leaving China to Hambanthota and establishing factories to facilitate production here in Sri Lanka which can create employment opportunities to the rural sector. Curtailed imports will save us from the increasing exchange rate against the rupee and it will allow us to secure imports for essentials and export oriented production. It will also give a boost to local manufactures and the local economy. There will not be a better time for us Sri Lankans to come out from a vicious cycle that we have been trapped in over the past few decades. We can retain our wealth within the country and can be self-sufficient with food if available resources are utilized with a national plan to meet the demand of the local consumer. However, there will always be a burden on the balance of payment with reduced remittances from foreign-employment and drop in orders from Europe and US in the clothing industry which is extremely export oriented and also the rubber industry of which majority is solid tires which again go to European and American markets. Drop in tourism will also be an issue but focusing on Chinese and other regions can resolve the problems in the medium and long run.
How do we redesign Sri Lanka to face the new normal?
Redesigning Sri Lanka goes beyond merely planning economic activities in terms of production, manufacturing and farming. Production is one side of the coin whereas the flip side of the coin is least focused and least discussed. In order for us to redesign Sri Lanka, the need of the hour would be to redefine local consumption, re-arranging local rural sector, revamping traditional businesses and SME sector. The big sectors will recover over a period of time and it will take its own time. But the traditional SME based economy and its players can play a huge role in reshaping the Sri Lankan economy. Despite the challenge of Social Distancing, there will be no other barriers that should be overcome if we are to reshape the lives of the rural sector. The experts in the respective sectors including SME sector, agriculture sector and services sector should come to one platform in bringing about this change. Needless to say that this kind of a movement should be supported by the government as this can clearly bring the society to an equilibrium.
On the other hand, it’s also important to continue activities of the established corporate sector for the continuity of the economy. Factories should be opened up with hygiene measures in place. Food & beverage sector, personal care sector, and even export oriented manufacturing sector should be commencing operations with the blessings of the PHIs, Police and the divisional administration. The economic engine has to run and the supporting sectors such as government authorities, security and health and hygiene should be at their service. Scholars and industry experts should come forward going beyond conducting webinars sharing information and news, instead bring about a comprehensive plan for Sri Lanka to move forward. This effort has to be apolitical one and there shouldn’t be any hidden political agendas in the process. And the most important aspect is to stimulate creativity in the youth of Sri Lanka and direct the energy of the youth towards a novel and meaningful effort which would contribute in the end to take Sri Lanka to a new reality which is facilitating the new normal. If not it’s inevitable that the youth of Sri Lanka would only be key board warriors fighting on Social media. We should be humble to be among the top 10 countries in the world in terms of measures taken to control the impact of Covid-19. We can be really happy if we put post-covid strategy in place for us to win the economic battle and I’m sure we will climb further up on the list if all the forces of our economy join hands together in achieving this goal.