Sri Lanka, though well known as an island paradise, has still not used its tourist potential to the full. Successive governments have only given it step-motherly treatment. While garment exports, foreign employment and tea are our largest foreign exchange earners and receive various incentives, tourism has been conveniently "dumped" on the private sector with little or no real assistance from the Government.
According to the World Tourism Organization, in the year 2000, there will be 700 million people visiting other places/countries - with East Asia and the Pacific region registering the highest growth.
What about South Asia? - India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives in particular. Reports on Indonesia say the last three years have seen a 30 percent growth each year. And the number of tourists is expected to reach 6.5 million in 1998. This is the government's target. The industry is said to have earned US$ 5.22 billion in 1995 and the gross output from all tourism-related transactions had exceeded the oil and gas, automotive, electronics or agricultural sectors. By contrast, in Sri Lanka tourist arrivals dropped by 25 percent in 1996 compared to 1995 (from 403,000 in 1995 to 302,000 in 1996).
The Government must make tourism a "pillar industry" like garments, foreign employment and tea. Tourism not only creates more jobs, it also promotes development of other industries, including hotel, telecommunications infrastructure, garments and the handicraft industry. The growth of tourism will in time help to reduce poverty, and the income gap and in turn narrow the trade deficit. The government's investment in tourism must expand and this should not be left entirely with the private sector - too often concerned only with making quick profits.
It is therefore imperative that promotional efforts abroad must be stepped up. We must open more tourist promotion offices overseas and as an incentive offer visa-free entry to tourists from selected countries. A more concentrated effort should be made by our missions abroad to publicize our tourist attractions. Locally the establishment of more educational/vocational training centres in the country-an area of very real joint co-operation between the government and the private sector. A code of conduct for the hospitality trade is also another area for early action by the Tourist Board, The Hotel, and Travel Agents' Associations.
Admittedly the Tourist Board is aware of these problems and has its own plans to overcome this. This article is not a criticism, it is meant mainly to push them to a faster pace and a higher gear. In this area of operations, time is of the essence. Unless we move fast, we will be left behind by our competitors.
What about the "Tourist Authority" consisting of both public and private sectors. This could both encourage, plan and regulate the tourist trade which is at present cutting each other's throats in an effort to survive. With new hotels coming up all over the country, it may be wise to take stock before we run into an excess capacity situation.
Minister A.H.M. Fowzie appears to have taken to his new task as a duck takes to water. Within so short a period of time, after taking over the portfolio of Transport,he has,like a specialist doctor, with acumen and detective insight, diagnosed the underlying causes of what ails the public transport system, and is well on the way to pulling out the sick patient from the jaws of certain death. The long suffering commuters will applaud his efforts and offer poojas or prayers for his success in this, apparently , insuperable task.
The Extension of Duplication Road should not be done at the expense of the people's fundamental rights and other health hazards. It will be too late to lament after spending foreign aid on an outdated and ill-planned project.
It was a pity that many persons were displaced when their houses were knocked down for road widening, and de-housed people were not given proper compensation or alternative and suitable accommodation.
The great prophet of communism, Karl Marx, once said, that 'Religion is the opium of the Masses', but today our 'Think Tank ', that is if it is thinking at all, could adapt that profound statement to read "Cricket is the opium, not only, of the masses but of the ruling classes too.".
With a civil war raging, in the North-East, resulting in an expenditure of over Rs. 50 billion per annum and claiming the lives of Sri Lankan youths everyday, one cannot imagine why a nation would indulge in a time consuming game, introduced, into this country, by 'Colonial Masters' whose influence and culture we are unable to shake off, even 50 years after we gained independence.
Today we are worse off economically, than when our former masters left us, for the simple reason that we work only for 150 days per year and that too for six hours per day, if to this is added the man hours lost due to the predilection of the working population for cricket, then probably it could be said that we work only for about 100 days per year.
At this rate could we even dream of achieving N.I.C. status, by the year AD 2500
It is time that our politicians, both Government and Opposition, put their thinking caps on, and devised ways and means of reducing the number of statutory holidays, and encourage sports that are not time consuming, such as Rugger, Soccer etc.
A political package alone will not generate an atmosphere of peace. Peace is the end product of national contentment, which can arise only if the vast majority of the un-employed youth are gainfully employed, and this goal could be reached only through increased national productivity, and not through cricket, a game invented for "Gentlemen of Leisure", whose sustenance was derived from the sweat and toil of the masses.
The award of National Honours to Cricketers, and not to innovative workers, whose contributions, in their places of work, helps to increase productivity, is certainly not conducive to increasing national productivity.
Hence, the 'worker friendly' PA Government should get its priorities right, before it is too late. A little bit of introspection, devoid of arrogance, may be helpful to decide, whether it is cricket or productivity that would enable Sri Lanka to gain N.I.C. status and National contentment in the first quarter of the 21st Century.
Perhaps the replacement of the old dead and dying cells with healthy young cells, in the 'think tank' may be a step in the right direction, as then the 'think tank' would be able to think positively and, give sound advice to the Cabinet of Ministers.
The Commissioner of Motor Traffic, since of late requires two photos certified by the Grama Sevaka Niladhari for the issue of a duplicate Driving Licence, Certificate of Registration of a Vehicle and Revenue Licence. Of course, a photo is necessary for the Driving Licence, to be pasted on the Driving Licence.
But, we, the applicants, are dismayed as to why he requires photos for the issue of a duplicate Certificate of Registration or Revenue Licence.
On the contrary, the Controller of Immigration and Emigration is satisfied with an attestation by a Justice of Peace, Commissioner of Oaths, Government Doctor or any responsible person on the reverse of the photograph for the issue of a Sri Lanka Passport, which is to be internationally recognised. But the C.M.T. insists that the photos are to be certified by the Grama Sevaka Niladhari.
I am at my present address for the past 10 years and I had neither any occasion to meet the G.S. Niladhari nor he had anything to do with me. As such, if I approach him for my photos to be certified (to locate a G.S. Niladhari in his office only those who have experience, will be able to testify), he will definitely tell me to bring somebody known to me as well as him.
I wish to bring to light the many sad incidents involving Sri Lankan workers in the Middle East, specially domestic aides who are badly treated by their sponsors.
Many of them have pawned all their belongings or mortgaged their land to find a job in the Middle East so that they can help their families. Unfortunately, not all of them find good homes and many end up badly injured or worse - dead.
Recently a Sri Lankan housemaid, was featured in the local newspapers after jumping down from her flat in Dubai to escape her employer who was chasing after her with a knife. The maid is now warded in hospital and needs treatment to walk again.
Some of our housemaids even face death in prisons for allegedly killing a member of their sponsor's family. While it may be true that some may be guilty, isn't it the task of the Sri Lankan Embassy to ensure that all Sri Lankan workers get adequate legal assistance from them at all times like at the Philippines Embassy? This is unfortunately not happening most of the time and housemaids themselves complain that the Sri Lankan Govt. does not help them much.
In fact about a few months ago, around 50 Sri Lankan ladies were stranded after the closure of a factory and St. Joseph's Catholic church in Abu Dhabi spent for their food and tickets to go back home. The cost of the tickets amounted to US $ 5000. In this instance too the Sri Lankan govt. did not take any measures to repatriate them.
The Philippines Embassy on the other hand, goes out of its way to help their countrymen and women with orders sometimes coming from the highest in the land to help the Middle East workers who after all provide their country with much needed foreign exchange.
There are over 100,000 Sri Lankan workers working in the UAE alone and we badly need a stronger Embassy presence, specially to protect the rights of our workers. There is to be a conference of envoys based in the Middle East in Colombo later this month to discuss these labour issues and we hope that something good comes out of it for all of us.
The efforts of Noel Crusz to create public opinion against the hierarchy of the Catholic church and portray the excommunicated priest Fr. Tissa Balasuriya as an innocent victim, to say the least, is most irritating to us ordinary Catholics. His latest effort was the article which appeared on page 4 of The Sunday Times of July 13.
Theologians and canonists can say various things about the excommunication of Fr. Balasuriya, but what matters to the ordinary Catholics, are the contents of his heretical book. All the heresies contained in this book, have been exposed very clearly and cleverly in the booklet "Mary and Human Liberation - The Other Side". What has Mr. Crusz to say about those heresies?
It is not my intention to detail all those heresies in this short letter. But let me point out to Mr. Crusz and all the defenders of Fr. Balasuriya that anyone who doubts or questions the divinity of Jesus Christ our saviour, ceases to be a Christian.
In "Mary and Human LIberation", Fr. Balasuriya questions "If Jesus was God, so divine..." and then goes on to say "The traditional theology had defined Jesus as one person having two natures: the divine and the human. This is the teaching of the council of Chalcedon 451. Who is able to know these things with any degree of acceptable certitude?" (Refer pages 104/105). As Fr. Balasuriya has questioned the Divinity of Christ he has got himself excommunicated. There is no need for Mr. Crusz to say that the excommunication is invalid!
In Mr. Crusz' article he quotes Fr. Balasuriya as saying "My mother the church has let me down. My concern is for a church of truth and justice and love". Why is he lamenting now? How can he be a member of the church whilst questioning the Divinity of Christ?
The Catholic church has always overcome problems because Christ is with the Church. "I will be with you until the end of time" said Christ. Therefore neither Fr. Balasuriya nor his defenders can destroy the true church founded by Christ.
More letters to the editor * Please explain * Trust the people, and they will trust you * Regulate school bus service * Stop taxing us!
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