Govt. and opposition should work together to deal with pandemic
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Instead of finger-pointing and accusations between the government and the opposition over the manner in which the COVID-19 pandemic was being managed, the pandemic should have brought all political parties on one crisis platform to deal with the situation.
This point was addressed by a member of the Sunday Times Business Club (STBC) during a member’s engagement session recently via zoom aimed at considering views of members on how they managed the pandemic in their family and work-lives.
Ravinaash Perera said the negative part of the pandemic was that there was no unity amongst political leaders. “Here was an opportunity for all political parties to come together in a national crisis but this didn’t happen,” he said, adding that the opposition was criticising everything the government did.
On the government’s part, there was no recognition or appreciation of the valuable suggestions made by the opposition. “All or the main party leaders should be invited to serve in the committees appointed for special purposes dealing with the pandemic so that a final decision would be one of collective responsibility,” Mr. Perera said, adding that one of the positives of the pandemic was that it was a ‘long holiday’ to renew relationships at home.
Nishan K. Silva said the pandemic created its own set of innovative opportunities such as in new mobile apps, BPO/KPO and logistics.
For Sri Lanka it’s more a case of lack of competencies and or the inability to deploy the available competencies to capitalise on the global opportunities that have evolved from the pandemic.
He said that the pandemic has reduced operating costs by relocating permanent office spaces to cohabiting offices to operate on a need basis and has increased productivity due to time saved in travelling and preparation to depart to work.
Priyal Perera, another member, noted that the pandemic has impacted learning activities across the board in schools and beyond.
The problem with online teaching is that many do not have the proper coverage of mobile phone signals and also suitable equipment such as the computer/smartphone or a tab. “There is another problem; no interaction between students. Physical interaction helps the student in their personal issues as and when these students need it,” Mr. Perers said, adding that the teacher or the lecturer runs through the syllabus only and fulfills covering the course rather than being of any assistance to the students as in a classroom.
Dr. Samantha Ratnayake was of the view that while there have been corona viruses in the past, the main issue with COVID-19 is that the magnitude is unprecedented.
He cited two problems with the pandemic – one is stemming from existing problems prior to the pandemic where most of the companies have unresolved problems and these been delayed due to many reasons. The second category of problems is the ones emerging due to the COVID-19 lockdown and new demands of responses are required to address them.
Companies have enlisted automation and AI to cope with COVID-19 disruptions and may accelerate adoption in the years ahead, putting more robots in manufacturing plants and warehouses and adding self-service customer kiosks and service robots in customer interaction arenas wherever possible, he added.