Daily News Editorial

Reviving rural economy, safety net for urban poor

There were no additional cases of COVID-19 infections detected by yesterday evening but, the medical authorities remain alert as ever in expectation of more detections to come, even as the deadly contagion slows down in the country. The number of positive cases recorded stood at 238 and fatalities at 7.

Although it is far too early yet to make any holistic estimate of the country’s overall performance in managing this worst ever pandemic to hit the world in a century (since the Spanish Influenza), already Sri Lanka is being regarded as a ‘success story’. The WHO, which is the apex global body governing humanity’s health, has already complimented the President on his Government’s management of the crisis. One private sector professional business agency has rated Sri Lanka as 9th best in managing the pandemic so far, behind Norway, South Korea, China and other richer states.

With much of rural sector only marginally affected by the pandemic, the Government’s focus on economic revival is first looking at agricultural production both for domestic food supply and for exports.

While the Government is taking steps to ensure that the country’s agriculture sector functions normally with the start of a new rice crop season (Yala), the agro-exports auctions are also busy amid the constraints and tensions of operating in a pandemic.

The nation’s farming community, amounting to about eight million of the population, may also be under lockdown, but the farmers themselves have been allowed to pursue their productive activities even though they must follow the health safety guidelines. Some rural hamlets, especially those near the pandemic’s urban and semi-urban hotspots, have also been subjected to isolation programmes due to contact with positive cases or actual detections.

But it is the hotspots of the Western Province and the major urbanised districts of Kandy and Jaffna that still remain under rigid and continuous curfews. Such is the concentration of COVID-19 cases in these regions that, in the Western Province alone, over 14,000 people are currently in government-run special quarantine facilities undergoing their mandatory quarantine period for contact with positive cases.

Nevertheless, while much of the urban and industrial sectors of the economy are functioning at a lower pace, the rural sector has been able to proceed with a considerable degree of normalcy. This is also to the credit of the thousands of agriculture administrator cadres who have risked their health to be at the forefront of the management of agricultural production.

Today, the millions of urbanites are yet benefitting from deliveries of most food necessities without too much inconvenience, thanks to this efficiency in the management of the agricultural (and fisheries) sector. True, there are many bottlenecks – like clogged delivery order systems, delivery delays and shortages of goodies for foodies – but no one is threatened by starvation.

Most vulnerable are the urban poor in their overcrowded inner city neighbourhoods are often the least served by supply services, even those services organised by public agencies. The Government needs to ensure a better efficiency in the services being provided to the urban poor.

The challenge remains of ensuring good prices for farmers on the one hand, and timely deliveries and good prices for consumers on the other.

With nearly 800,000 hectares under rice production alone, the Government has relied on the Paddy Marketing Board, a venerable institution of Sri Lanka’s post-colonial renaissance, to ensure a fair price for the farmers. However, not all farmers access the PMB, nor can the Board cater to every single farmer at every harvest.

The middle-man who buys whole sale – sometimes on credit – from the farmer and then sells to the rice mills and urban distributors, plays a vital role in keeping the rural economy ticking over. The Government continues to be challenged to manage these mid-point sectors in the domestic rice economy carefully to ensure that neither the farmers nor the consumers are fleeced by means of market manoeuvres.

Meanwhile, the Government must also look ahead to the revival of the urban and industrial economy in the post-pandemic era. With the severe slowdown of these sectors due to the pandemic restrictions, they are the most affected. And the more these sectors are affected negatively, the greater their social impact in terms of reduced employment and reduced incomes, which, in turn, means reduced consumption.

This is a vicious cycle that can only be addressed by active State intervention in terms of massive credit outlays and moratoria on existing credit. The Central Bank has done well in initiating such programmes (despite the country’s reduced reserves) and the nation now expects the private sector, especially the banking sector to step up and perform their role in reviving the national economy.

The Island Editorial

Trump in a china shop

The Trump administration has halted US funding to World Health Organisation (WHO), which, it claims, has not got tough with China in trying to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Time was when we had ‘Bush’ in a china shop. President Donald Trump is behaving in a similar manner; he never misses an opportunity to take on China, apparently as part of his strategy to make America great again. He is emulating Bush Jr. in dealing with all nations and institutions that refuse to join the US in bashing China. Bush audaciously declared, upon launching his war on terror, “You are either with us or against us.” In 2018, Trump got his ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, to condemn the UNHRC; she minced no words when she called it ‘a cesspool of political bias’ before the US pulled out of it. She also declared that the UN human rights council was ‘a protector of human rights abuses’.

Trump has said his government will stop funding the WHO pending a review to assess its role anent the Covid-19 pandemic. He has accused it of having severely mismanaged and covered up the spread of the coronavirus. He has also flayed the WHO for what he calls its partiality to China. This is not the first time the US has taken such hostile action against a UN agency. It may be recalled that, in 2011, the White House stopped funding UNESCO when the latter accepted the Palestinian Authority as a full member in spite of pressure from the US, Israel and some European states.

Ironically, Trump, who has blamed the WHO for failing in its basic duty, stands accused of having mismanaged the Covid-19 crisis, at home. He first sought to make light of the crisis, and said the virus would fade soon. He let the grass grow under his feet while infections increased, in the US, and the situation got out of hand. He then ordered lockdowns, but promised to open up the US before Easter. He has had to eat his words due to a sharp increase in the coronavirus mortality rate. The highest number of Covid-19 deaths (about 30,000) has been reported from the US, where there are more than 638,000 infections. Trump chose to call coronavirus the Chinese virus, but in a dramatic turn of events replete with irony, thanks to his slow response to the Covid-19 crisis, the pandemic has overwhelmed the US healthcare system, and New York has become the epicentre of the virus.

At this juncture, the WHO needs more funding. It appealed for USD 675 mn, last months, to help the world battle coronavirus, and later increased the required amount to USD 1billion. If the US carries out its threatened fund cut, the WHO will be deprived of at least USD 400 million, being America’s annual contribution, which accounts for about 15% of the total budget of the UN outfit. The US action may be considered ‘the most unkindest cut of all’.

Now that President Trump has decided to cut funding to the WHO by way of punitive action against its alleged failure in its basic duty in handling the coronavirus crisis, the question is why similar action should not be taken against the White House, which has totally mismanaged the Covid-19 crisis.

Whether Trump will succeed in getting away with his failure to prevent the surge in deaths due to Covid-19, by making a scapegoat of the WHO or China remains to be seen.

Daily Mirror Editorial

When can we return to the streets?

The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has given enough indication that it might relax curfew procedures and reopen universities in early May. 

Given that we are just past the half-way mark in April and COVID-19 cases still being reported almost daily it seems a little too ambitious for the regime wanting to recommence academic activities and exploring the possibilities of resuming day-to-day economic activities. 

In a way the government’s thinking is to look at the possibility of relaxing curfew in keeping with how each province is coping with the pandemic. But to sport such a spunky attitude only suggests the regime is sure that those who can spread the virus are quarantined and those who are not quarantined now carry no threat of spreading the virus.

Now that break from work and being isolated at homes are making breadwinners of each household rather restless. This could be one reason why the regime decided to pay a single payment of Rs 5000 to farmers registered under the insurance scheme, kidney patients, disabled persons, senior citizens, low income families and many otherpersons falling under various categories. 

Several stories are being aired on whether we’ve seen the end of the worst period associated with the pandemic. But all radio channels and television stations continue to warn us to brace for the worst period of the virus. The Government too doesn’t want the people to put their guard down and continue to be strict with curfew guidelines and quarantine procedures.

All in all the security forces being roped in to face this health crisis has resulted in a mission being nearly accomplished. Sri Lanka is one of the least effected countries by the COVID-19 pandemic which has even crippled a superpower like America. 

The Government has overall done well in handling most matters connected with fighting the virus. However, there are complaints about relief measures not reaching some areas. Despite vegetables rotting in cultivated areas the little produce that reaches most provinces are sold at sky-high prices.

There are some in social media who have popped the question whether President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his team of security officials should be allowed to continue administrating the country. Such thoughts are harboured given the success of the present regime in handling a global challenge like COVID-19 and keeping the death total at as low as seven.

The regime is now not talking much about expected elections unlike in the past. It can take a cue from South Korea and go for elections if the need arises. But the President has said that elections would not be held till the pandemic is completely eliminated. 

Life will return to normalcy and our medical experts will see the back of this coronavirus which has haunted us since March this year. 

But before this pandemic vanishes it will have taught us many lessons. We’ve learned to survive with lot less, love and respect everyone else and most importantly maintain social distancing. If Sri Lanka learned an invaluable lesson it is to honour private space. It seems we’ll continue to maintain that space between individuals and put a stop to someone standing annoyingly close behind you that you even hear and feel that person’s sound of breath.

When this pandemic vanishes and people are allowed to return to the street we might see some individuals holding back and even eyeing others with suspicion. There definitely will be a psychological effect on all of us which would last for some time. 

And like with the war that ended in 2009 we can say the same thing regarding COVID-19; only the survivors will be the winners!