Bold steps required for bold promises

As we count down the last days of 2016 and the Government marks its second year anniversary in office, Sri Lanka can look forward to another pivotal year in its post-war resurgence. Among the many areas of the economy that require urgent attention, the Government stated that it will firmly focus its sights on taking affirmative steps to eradicating poverty within this year.

With some analysts claiming that the country’s economy stands at the edge of a precipice and with the droughts delivering yet another sickening blow to its agricultural production, the Government’s promise to implement a series of programs to eradicate poverty by 2030 may be off to an unfortunate start.

President Maithripala Sirisena is set to kick off a three-year campaign on sustainable development with the unveiling of his National 2030 Vision next week. He has also declared 2017 the year of alleviating poverty while Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has also highlighted the need to compete in the global markets as well as bring in investments in order to create jobs to achieve these goals.

The campaign will take on board the 17 goals set out in Agenda 2030, adopted during the United Nations General Assembly 2015.

Included in the plans are programs to involve the youth in sustainable development dialogue and community-based entrepreneur development programs alongside the Samurdhi program. Furthermore, the President instructed all ministries and government institutions to implement projects relevant to poverty alleviation from the first week of January. However, these somewhat vague strategies must be coupled with something more tangible and far reaching in order to facilitate meaningful change.

Sri Lanka has taken great strides in the past decade towards poverty alleviation, with the World Bank too commending its efforts to reduce its poverty to below 7% of the population. Although pockets of severe poverty remain and income inequality increases, according to World Bank analysis, the country’s move away from the less productive agriculture sector towards other areas such as the service sector is the catalyst for the fall in poverty.

However, the agricultural sector still employs around 70% of Sri Lanka’s workforce and it is essential that certain weaknesses be addressed in order to create a more productive and consistent output flow. The Government shrinking its fertiliser subsidy and the sector’s limp effort at post-flood recovery means that it may slip further into disarray. Sri Lanka’s current agriculture policy needs to be directed towards transforming traditional subsistence agriculture to one which maximises productivity. Improved processing, marketing and down streaming activities to increase value addition to agricultural products could provide much needed employment opportunities in rural areas as well as lower agrarian poverty.

Furthermore, Sri Lanka needs to boost shared prosperity and reduce the gulf between the ultra-rich and the middle to lower income families. Sri Lanka’s continued status as having one of the world’s lowest tax-to-GDP rates remains a concern with the shortfall often being felt by those who depend on social services including education and healthcare.

With the Government receiving a mixed reception over its recent festive expenditure and concerns arising on whether more public funds will be spent on commemorating its electoral victory – something that it has vehemently denied – the fact remains that the business end of its term is upon us. It is now crucial that the promises and rhetoric that dominated these issues in the past decade must be set aside and replaced with sustainable plans and actions.