Economic independence needed for true freedom

Monday, 4 February 2019 00:11 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Prof. Hettige defines truest measure of independence

By Nuwan Senarathna

To ensure the independence of every citizen, they must have economic independence in every segment of society, University of Colombo Emeritus Professor of Sociology Prof. Siri Hettige said recently.

Prof. Siri Hettige - Pic by Ruwan Walpola

Addressing a public forum on Sri Lanka’s independence last Tuesday and how it can be improved at the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR) organised by the Democratic Social Alliance, he said an individual could not be independent with an unstable economic background and such an individual would constantly struggle to economically stabilise himself.

“If people are hampered by debt and live in an unstable economic situation, we cannot call that particular person an independent individual,” he said.

He pointed out Sri Lankan citizens had to face challenges such as traffic congestion and an inadequate healthcare service, which raised questions about the independence of the citizens of Sri Lanka. Prof. Hettige noted that due to ever-increasing economic challenges, uncertainty had arisen over the happiness and self-fulfilment of the citizens of the country.

“If people are to enjoy economic independence, their economic challenges should have been resolved, but we don’t have such an economy in the country. We can observe that the Sri Lankan economy is distorted. The agriculture sector faces many challenges and sometimes farmers even tend to commit suicide due to the challenges they face.”

Prof. Hettige pointed out Sri Lanka had recently experienced internal migration from rural areas to urban and this trend should be taken into consideration when making policy adjustments to attain economic goals. He noted the driving force of the internal migration was economic independence and job opportunities in the urban sector of the economy.

Prof. Hettige argued that Sri Lankans had been facing economic challenges due to the lack of industrial diversification and export-oriented industries.

“When we consider the industrial sector, we do not produce most of the essential household goods. Therefore, we have to rely on imported industrial goods,” he added.

He said Sri Lanka had to break free from relying on the apparel sector as the only industrial product that has been successfully produced throughout the country’s history.

“We need to have a balance between the main three segments of the economy. We mostly rely on remittances to resolve issues pertaining to the trade deficit, but that has to be changed if we want to move forward,” he added.

Prof. Hettige raised concern over the lack of the research and development in Sri Lanka. He pointed out that investing in research and development would open more opportunities for Sri Lanka to develop its economy.

“Sri Lanka allocates a very small proportion of GDP for research and innovation. Therefore we have to increase the allocation to encourage research and development for new industries,” he said.

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