The Government moved an important stage closer to preparing their overall Tokyo aid package yesterday with receipt of a needs assessment of the North and the East from the multi-lateral community.
The much talked of 'Tokyo Conference' to take place in June will be an opportunity for the Sri Lankan Government to place on the table an assessment of national priorities for the whole country over the next four to six years. The assessment which was commissioned by the Sub Committee on Immediate Humanitarian and Rehabilitation Needs (SIHRN) was undertaken by the United Nations along with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The Government’s own Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, better known as ‘Regaining Sri Lanka’ is a detailed strategy for the way in which the government will deal with national priorities across the whole country. But the Government wished to commission a separate paper to look at the needs in the North and the East where the war had resulted in much destruction of houses, schools, hospitals and infrastructure such as roads. This separate needs assessment has been delivered both to the Government and to the LTTE. The next stage will be for the Government to study the document and to build in the relevant recommendations into a final ‘Regaining Sri Lanka’ document which will then form the framework for submission to the Tokyo Conference.
The task of the Government has been complicated by a number of urgent needs in the North and the East in order to drive the Peace process forward. The final submission to the Tokyo Donors Conference will need to balance short term needs with the overall development needs for the whole country. It will also seek to provide a balance between the needs of the North and the East in rebuilding these areas after the war and the South where lack of development and investment in infrastructure has created severe poverty.
Whilst ‘Regaining Sri Lanka’ has been talked about in many circles the Tokyo Donors Conference will bring all of the elements together. The twenty year war has left the country with an economy in crisis leading to few jobs and a low level of productivity. The Government, when it came into office fifteen months ago, decided that Peace was essential and could only be achieved through development. The Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has himself taken a close and personal interest in identifying areas in which the poorest people are given a chance to improve their lives.
The Regaining Sri Lanka document as it is developed so far looks at four key areas:
1. To create 2 million new jobs over the next few years
2. To overcome the crippling debt which the Government inherited and return the country to a sound economic footing
3. To find the resources to rebuild our country whether in the war torn North and East or the poverty stricken south
4. To increase income levels through higher productivity and increased investment
In a further important development, The World Bank Board recently approved support for the ‘Regaining Sri Lanka’ programme and announced $800 million aid, whilst in a document just handed to the Government a report to the International Monetary Fund Board also gives ‘Regaining Sri Lanka’ a ringing endorsement
Violations Committed
by the GOSL - 351
