Paying the price of disaster

Over the last week Sri Lankans have displayed an impressive amount of empathy and charitable in response to devastating floods and landslides. While this can sometimes be a double-edged sword – with some relief camps being overstocked with supplies and news of entire shipments of cooked food being spoiled upon delivery – the point is that average Sri Lankans have shown that they are ready to give what is necessary to stem the cost of disaster.

However, with news just breaking of the economic cost of the disaster and the sheer amount of money that the State will require to relocate, rehabilitate and rebuild entire communities, the country is faced with a long-term logistical nightmare that will overshadow the immediate chaos of emergency relief. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake has estimated that this cost could be between a whopping $ 1.5 and $ 2 billion – nearly 3% of the country’s entire GDP.

Goodwill from average citizens, corporate, NGOs and other civil society and grassroots organisations will only go so far in meeting this demand. Additionally, without a central coordinating authority to oversee appropriate channelling of funds to the sectors that need them the most, non-State actors are limited in the overarching impact they can have on helping the island rise above disaster. This is where the State can, and must, step in for the benefit of all.

Reeling from its own lack of cash, the Government has a dual duty to encourage donations both locally and from the international community, and then channel them to the right quarters in the fastest time possible. But more importantly it will have to sort out its own house and finances to put them to use in the recovery effort without endangering the overall growth of the national economy. With fresh loans taken and new taxes imposed, the average Sri Lankan is left in a precarious position and the Government must find the most equitable way forward.

During the last major natural disaster, the Indian Ocean or Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004, the recovery stage (i.e. the stage we are moving into now) was riddled with inefficiency and corruption. The now-infamous ‘Helping Hambantota’ case aside, there were uncountable incidents of wastage, mismanagement and corruption under the regime of the time. The second wave of aid that flowed to Sri Lanka was yet another missed opportunity to foster equitable development with the neediest often being overlooked.

Hopefully the new Government’s affinity for diplomacy will translate to generous donations from some of Sri Lanka’s renewed friendships with countries like the US and India. With the country already reeling over a foreign trade deficit, it is ideal if foreign funds could be used to make up most of the State’s expenses when it comes to disaster recovery.

While the rank and file of the tri-forces and Sri Lankan civil society have emerged as true heroes in the emergency relief phase of recovery, people are starting to notice the lack of meaningful involvement by the island’s political class. With the average Joe having done his part, it’s time for elected officials to do what they were voted in for.