Financial Times

A taste of the bitter-sweet pill

By Random Access Memory (RAM)

Please hear out this real life story of Punya (not her real name). A graduate in Sociology from the Sri Jayawardenapura University, she was 'unemployed' for several years after graduation. A few months ago, she found productive work as a trainee supervisor in a home for destitute children, where she was paid a salary equivalent to that of a trainee graduate teacher and provided free board and lodging at the home. She was just getting into the grove of putting into practise her knowledge of sociology in the real world of work. It was made clear to her that within the sphere of work she was doing, she could aspire to be the manager of the institution in a few years time, if she proved herself to be capable.

Then came the election and the usual campaign promises that come with it. She read in the newspaper, that a promise had been made of providing 60,000 'jobs' in the public sector within a period of six months - 30,000 of them will be given within three months of that party coming into power, it said. Another party claimed that they would ensure that 300,000 opportunities for employment are created within a few years, including a crash programme for providing jobs on the fast track, immediately after their getting a mandate from the people to deliver the goods. The next morning, Punya tells her senior supervisor that she hopes to get one of the 'pathweemas' that are to be 'created' in the public sector, for her father is a strong supporter of one of the political parties that made the promise. After all she says, such jobs are more secure and may even be pensionable.

New hope is created in Punya's mind. Overnight, Punya has joined the ranks of the many thousands 'unemployed' in Sri Lanka. In her mind, she has resolved to give up the opportunity she now has with her, in place of what she perceives may be created in the public sector through the sheer benevolence of those to be elected. In the context of the overall problem, we have just created yet another 'unemployed graduate'.

In a country, where a seed thrown to the ground grows to be a fruit-bearing tree, and lots of opportunities present themselves for engaging oneself productively, we ironically carry with us the phenomena of 'unemployment' and 'under employment'. In the current context, after seeking peace, solving the so-called problem of 'unemployment' has become the most important issue of focus of all politicians. After all, Sri Lanka is one of the few countries in the world, where the youth revolted twice within a short span of 30 years, on account of their not having access to opportunities, be it employment or part of the action in governance.

As has been the case in the recent history of our nation, our 'leaders' take on the role of being both creators of the problem and seekers of its solution. In both, we have been very successful in shooting ourselves in the foot over and over again. Most of the time, we live the lie and live it relatively well.

In our situation, where promises remain promises and accountability is nobody's business, it is important for those who are capable of calling for rationality and good sense, to speak out. It is time that we made sure that our policy makers understood that it is not their job to place people in 'jobs'. For there is a direct correlation between productive work and what people can do in a country, with that country's socio-economic performance and enhancement of all round productivity. Their job therefore, must be to ensure that the right policies are in place and strategies implemented, to create the necessary and sufficient conditions for the economy to develop and for productivity to increase.

Until and unless this is realised and accepted, we shall continue to create more and more 'unemployed' and 'under-employed' in this 'land of plenty' of ours.

We shall also continue to live the lie we have created for ourselves that will sooner than later, lead us to our own peril.

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