Daily News Editorial

Re-starting an embattled economy

The country’s most populous and urbanised region and the centre of economic and political decision-making, the Western Province, begins a cautious resumption of normal economic activity today after over a month’s shut-down as the nation battled the COVID-19 pandemic. Urbanites will be eager to resume livelihoods but they step out today into a pandemic girded world.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said in a special statement yesterday that the country had no option but to strike a careful balance between resuming economic activity on the one hand while managing the pandemic on the other.

The Health, Police and military authorities have all issued special announcements in time for today’s economic ‘opening up’ to guide the population as it moves out of homes and on to roads and into work places.

Even as the core manufacturing and services operations of the economy resume full operations today, in the other eight provinces, the curfew was reduced to a night-time restriction in mid-April to enable agriculture and provincial industries to operate at optimum level. This was critical in order to keep the economy ticking over and, most importantly, to keep the nation fed and various domestic services functioning.

That the pandemic still holds the country in its grip is obvious: the number of ‘positive’ cases continues to rise, if remarkably slowly. The total of infected persons increased to 856 at yesterday evening. But this number is reassuring when compared with the thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths currently experienced in similar developing countries with populations and economies of comparable scale as ours. And most bigger and richer countries are struggling under far worse pandemic conditions.

The nature of this deadly and swift contagion is such that whether severely affected or mildly affected, all economic activity and population movements had to be severely curbed in all countries to slow down the spread of the infection.

The nation now begins to take its first cautious concrete steps because the economic shut-down cannot be sustained even if the pandemic remains a scourge besetting the country.

Thus, we step out today under a very tight discipline to protect ourselves and our loved ones and our national community as a whole against the deadly virus that lurks unseen. Months of gradual learning of the lethal effect of the contagion, including the speed at which it spreads and its deceptive intrusion into human lives without any warning, has helped all of us realise the importance of complying with the health and hygiene measures that have been put in place.

Indeed, as these columns pointed out earlier, the South Asian region, crowded and impoverished as it is, is noteworthy for the population’s relatively high level of compliance with the health restrictions. As we see on our TV screens, the public in many of the rich countries that have been far worse hit, yet insist on leisure activities and try to attend to businesses normally while most people do not wear face masks and rarely maintain social distancing. This is certainly not the case in our own country and in most of the SAARC region.

But it is critical that we continue with this disciplined compliance with the health rules. Resuming livelihoods does not mean that our life goes back to the normalcy that existed before the pandemic.

That cannot be so, because we now live in a pandemic-affected world and that pandemic will be with us for many months to come – if not years.

The authorities have, in any case, made sure that our resumption of economic activity will not be in the ‘normal’ mode. The principal objective is to reduce congestion and thereby reduce the risk of contagion spread.

In the first place, there will be only limited public transport in this first phase. So people will travel to their workplaces with difficulty and this will reduce the number of people moving around.

Also, our workplaces are not expected to bring in their entire staff cadre but only the most essential staff.

Meanwhile, most shops will remain shut and all leisure places, such as restaurants and entertainment spots will be closed.

Finally, those who are not authorised to travel to work must stay home. They are allowed to leave only for the limited purposes of procuring food, medicine and other domestic essentials. Even in this case, their movement outside may be done in accordance to their NIC numbers, thereby further limiting public movements.

Detailed guidelines have been announced and well circulated in the news media. The citizenry is expected to access the media and familiarise themselves with this new pandemic social world that we must now live in as we fight and survive this awful, unseen, enemy.

We can only wish ourselves “Good Health” as we step out or, wish others to “Be Safe” as we ourselves stay home in accordance with the rules.

The Island Editorial

Another danger

Coronavirus is doubtlessly a dangerous germ, though some eccentric world leaders are convinced otherwise, and efforts being made, here, to curb its spread, must be redoubled if there emerge signs of the prevailing national health emergency getting on top of us.

The best defence against any crisis is to prepare for the worst-case scenario. When lockdowns are eased, and the stir-crazy Sri Lankans begin to move about freely, the second wave of infections is likely to hit the country. South Korea has had to close liquor bars, nightclubs, etc., on account of a new cluster of coronavirus infections. Germany is struggling to tackle Covid-19 outbreaks at slaughterhouses.

We don’t seem to have an exit strategy, as such, but the country has to be reopened to avert a socio-economic crisis, the signs of which are already visible. It must be ensured that the public abides by the health guidelines, and noncompliance must not be tolerated on any grounds. What we are facing is an unprecedented situation, and it is advisable to cross the river by feeling the stones, as the Chinese say.

The Covid-19 pandemic has so far snuffed out nine lives, in this country, during the last two months or so. The credit for the low Covid-19 fatality rate should go to the health authorities, the armed forces, the police, the political authority, and the citizens, who have acted responsibly. (However, there is no guarantee that there won’t be steep increases in infections and the fatality rate.) Paradoxical as it may sound, the coronavirus contagion saves about eight lives a day; only a few road deaths have been reported since lockdowns and curfews were imposed. People, killed in road accidents, average eight a day; about 450 lives would have been lost in road mishaps, but for Covid-19 and the attendant restrictions on vehicular and pedestrian movements, during the last several weeks. The situation is bound to change when lockdowns are eased and roads get busy.

It is only natural that the coronavirus pandemic has jolted the world into adopting extraordinary measures to save lives, but shouldn’t such an all-out global effort be made to minimise the number of road deaths as well? After all, the Sustainable Development Goals –– 2030 Agenda was launched to halve the total number of deaths and injuries in road traffic crashes, in the world, by 2020. This goal remains far from achieved.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) informs us that about 1.35 million people die, each year, in road traffic accidents, which cost most countries about 3% of their gross domestic product; between 20 and 50 million more people suffer non-fatal injuries, with many incurring a disability as a result of their injuries; about 93% of the world's fatalities on the roads occur in low- and middle-income countries, even though they have approximately 60% of the world's vehicles, and road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults, aged 5-29 years. This situation is also a global emergency.

According to the National Council for Road Safety, in Sri Lanka, the number of fatal accidents increased from 2,924, in 2017, to 2,949 in 2018. The types of vehicles involved in fatal accidents, in 2018, were as follows: motorcycles (1,277), three-wheelers (365), trucks (344), dual purpose vehicles (318), private buses (237), cars (210), SLTB buses (62) and bicycles (42).

The causes of road accidents have been identified. They are driving under the influence of alcohol and other psychoactive substances, nonuse of motorcycle helmets, seat-belts, and child restraints, distracted driving, unsafe road infrastructure, unsafe vehicles, inadequate post-crash care, speeding and inadequate law enforcement of traffic laws. It is time a truly global effort was made to prevent so many lives being lost on roads. Most of these mishaps are preventable.

One can only hope that there won’t be a massive increase in fatal road accidents, here, within the next few weeks.

Daily Mirror Editorial

Country to relax lockdown rules today

Today, May 11, after almost a month of near total lockdown was imposed to stop the spread of the destructive coronavirus, Sri Lanka will be taking its first limping steps towards getting the country back to a semblance of normalcy. 

By some extraordinary coincidence, a number of countries worldwide have also decided to lift some of the restrictions today. For instance US President Donald Trump, now the epicentre of the coronavirus, with over 1,644,817 cases and 77,557 deaths has called on states within the US to lift the more stringent sanctions imposed on the population. Likewise, Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of our past colonial ruler - the UK - whose coronavirus death rate comes only second to the US, is also expected to relax limits also today. 

Yesterday (May 10, 2020), while the worldwide of persons contracting the coronavirus stood at approximately 4.11 million cases and the number of coronavirus deaths stood at a little over 280,000, our country has been largely spared by the ravages of the virus, with a mere 847 contracting the dreaded disease with nine deaths. Numbers have been kept to such relatively low figures, thanks to the quick, far-thinking and firm action of the government. Many a shiver has passed down the spines of concerned citizens, merely imagining the mayhem that may have resulted had the past executive leader and his governing partners been in power when the pandemic struck. 

Be that as it may, for all of us - irrespective of whether we be young or old - the lifting of restrictions on movement comes as a big relief, especially to those who are dependent on a daily wage. This category of persons, have been left with no means of sustenance - with the restriction on movement killing their avenues of employment. Again, the pay cuts imposed by the mercantile sector added to the misery of many of our countrymen. Big industrialists, especially those in the hospitality sector too took a big hit. For them it was a double blow, coming just as the hospitality sector was beginning to pick up after last year’s deadly Easter Sunday massacre. For the farming community, the relaxing of the curfew would open up markets again. 

Students though, are still left in limbo and there will be much catching up to do once the education sector is opened up. Of course it will be everyone’s fervent hope that students - specifically the university types - will concentrate on the pursuit of broadening their intellectual capacities, rather than blocking the streets of Colombo, and disturbing economic development, to fulfil particular political party goals. Prior to the Coronavirus outbreak, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) forecast the economy would grow at 4.5 - 5%, however, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Asian Development Bank on April 3, down-graded Sri Lanka’s anticipated economic growth to 2.2% in 2020. If the pandemic is contained by mid-2020, economic recovery could begin towards the latter part of the year, according to the ADB. 

Like our economic growth, relaxation of restrictions on the freedom of movement and accompanying freedom, is going to depend on the COVID-19 pandemic being contained. A lot therefore is going to depend on whether the country can restrict the rise in numbers of people who may be affected/fall victim to the dreaded virus in the aftermath of the lifting of existing restrictions. A surge in numbers, within a short space of time or the rise in the number of deaths may force health authorities to call on the governing powers to clamp down curfew once more. 

In the end, it will be up to the citizens of this country to use the new-found freedom wisely and help authorities by following advice regarding social distancing. We will necessarily have to put up with travel difficulties especially for those who have to depend on public transport. The authorities too, have a responsibility to ensure that these facilities are available to the public; else, we will once again, be faced with a situation where ordinary citizens will be packed into buses and trains and made unwilling facilitators in the resurgence of the virus. 

In reality, we are in a Catch-22 situation – social distancing is necessary to prevent the resurgence of the coronavirus. But citizens ‘Perera’, ‘Sundaram’, Mohamed and ‘Pereira’ need to be at their work stations in time, else their employers would penalise them… Perhaps we need to be thinking of staggered or flexible working hours to ease the strain on the public transport system, which in turn will help overcome the problems posed by social distancing.

Sunday Observer Editorial

Towards a localised economy

The post-Covid-19 world will be very different from the one we used to know at the beginning of this year, when the coronavirus was just emerging in China. Today, the virus has spread to every corner of the world, infecting 3.7 million people and killing 270,000. Here in Sri Lanka, more than 800 infections have been reported, while nine have died. These are indeed very favourable figures compared to the rest of the world, but we cannot afford to rest on our laurels as we battle the virus. We managed to achieve these figures thanks to the pro-active measures taken by the Government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The islandwide curfew no doubt helped to stem the tide – as social distancing is the most effective way to keep this disease at bay. If infected people can be quickly identified and isolated, that prevents the spread of the disease to his or her prospective contacts. In fact, contact tracing by the Intelligence authorities has been the other main reason why Sri Lanka has experienced a relatively lesser number of infections. These measures must be continued in the foreseeable future in order to ensure the safety of the wider society.

But now it is time to look beyond the curfew. In line with most other countries that are gradually relaxing their lockdowns, Sri Lanka too will be gradually loosening up some of the restrictions in effect. The curfew has been imposed only at night in 21 districts for quite some time and now it is the turn of the three districts in the Western Province (Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutura) as well as the Puttalam District to gradually open up. Still, the curfew is likely to be imposed at night and also at any other time if the situation worsens by any chance.

But this does not mean that we can do as we please. The public in these four districts (and indeed everywhere else) have to strictly follow the health guidelines issued by the authorities, at home, in the offices, in stores and supermarkets, Government offices, banks and also in public transport. From washing hands and keeping the distance, we have to adhere to these measures at least until scientists find a viable vaccine, which could be at least 18 months away. In any case, there is no guarantee that we will get immediate access to a vaccine as soon as it is manufactured.

In the meantime, attention has been drawn to revamping our import-driven economic model. This was in the works even before the coronavirus struck, but these plans have now been expedited. There is no question that we can no longer afford to depend on so many imports. From import substitution to boosting local agricultural and industrial production, the time has come to think of a totally new indigenous economic model that also gives pride of place to exports, tourism, foreign investment, and local agriculture and manufacture. In fact, this was the conclusion of a recent economic task force meeting chaired by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

In this exercise, it is necessary that we change our attitudes and mindsets. We have been conditioned to believe that foreign products are inherently superior to local ones, despite a somewhat successful “Ganna Apey De” (Buy Local Products) campaign by several local industries in recent times. Given a choice at the supermarket, many people still buy the equivalent foreign product sometimes even at a higher cost. Now that the Government has anyway stopped the import of many non-essential items, at least on a temporary basis, this is a golden opportunity for all of us to “buy local” and support local producers and manufacturers.

Another crucial point raised at this discussion was the outflow of foreign exchange for overseas education of Sri Lankan students. This can be evinced from the simple fact that a large number of Sri Lankan students stranded abroad are yearning to come here. Some foreign university courses require in excess of US$ 50,000 (Around Rs.10 million) per year in tuition and other fees - one can imagine the forex outflow even if just 1,000 students go for studies overseas every year. Even the language proficiency and placement tests that students can do from Sri Lanka costs around US$ 150. It is time that we seriously pursue opening up the higher education sector so that more students can engage in higher studies here, which has the added advantage of actually getting foreign, especially South Asian, students to study in these institutions. That will help us earn foreign exchange, as opposed to sending it abroad.

As pointed out during this Task Force discussion, more pharmaceuticals can be manufactured locally. A recent article in our sister paper the Daily News, quoting local pharma industry sources said they are capable of manufacturing generic versions of at least 60 percent of the most commonly prescribed drugs locally. This will help save at least part of the US$ 450 million spent annually on pharmaceutical imports by Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the local industry should be able to export more medicines at least to the region.

Agriculture must be given priority in the national renewal drive. For far too long, we have been importing foods that can be grown locally, at enormous cost. The Government is spending Rs.2,700 million just for seeds for 14 crops for which self-sufficiency can be achieved.

Going forward, self-sufficiency should be our keyword, our mantra. An independent, localized economy should be the ultimate aim.

The Island Editorial

Casting the first stone

The Biblical exhortation "Let him without sin cast the first stone" (John:8.7) comes to mind at this time when many stones are being thrown at Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya. The hullabaloo is all about Deshpriya’s alleged contact with governmental bigwigs about his irrigation engineer son and three batch mates being found seats in a SriLankan Airlines flight bringing home Lankan students from London. The three young men, all on scholarships in the Netherlands, from London, wished to return on a SriLankan flight (there were two last week). Our regular columnist, Rajeewa Jayweera, who has over a long period demonstrated intimate knowledge of the affairs of AirLanka and its successor (for whom he had worked), has said in his column published today that the two flights had 89 and 99 empty seats respectively.

Given that the demand (for seats) was well below the available supply, one may well ask "What’s all this fuss about?" The Colombo Telegraph electronic news channel, under the heading "Deshapriya in hot water" has paid a lot of attention to this matter. Deshapriya, understandably, has rebutted the allegations made against him. The crux of the matter is whether the Elections Commission Chairman has compromised the independence this body is required to maintain, by contacting VIPs to ensure that his son and the son’s friends were on board a returning flight even if they were not full. As the well-known legal maxim goes, Justice must not only be done, but be seen to be done. This is equally true of the independence of the Elections Commission particularly at this time when a poll to elect a new parliament is due and nominations have already closed. There are many matters of contention about which the stakeholders, including politicians and activists, are on either side of the divide.

Colombo Telegraph unequivocally asserts that the train of events it has outlined at length makes the Elections Commission "beholden to the president and his government." Perhaps the commission’s other two members, Professor Ratnajeevan Hoole and Mr. Nalin Abeysekera may take exception to the whole commission being lumped into a matter involving only its chairman. Be that as it may, the web report says the president had personally approved the allocation of seats the three young engineers, including Deshapriya Jr. returning from the Netherlands via London. Did such a small matter as a seat allocation need presidential approval and, if so, did the names of all returning passengers go as high as the Head of State and Government for approval?

Jayaweera laments that a straw poll he had taken among his friends saw many seeing the incident as a minor matter with one responded telling him "Honestly, I would not make a big deal of it." Only one person had said it was wrong while one individual (whom the columnist obviously highly respects) provided him a most quotable quote. "He should resign because no one will now believe he can be impartial……even if he is." The quotation from the Bible with which we began this comment, about "casting the first stone" obviously means that only those who are faultless have the right to cast judgment on others. We do not know whether those throwing stones at Deshapriya, always a flamboyant character attracting much media attention, are faultless. Probably not as being human, we are all subject to human frailties. It can be credibly argued that even if Deshapriya had done everything he’s accused of doing, it is a mere technicality of little consequence. Which father, after all, will not take an interest in getting his boy home at this time of pandemic?

Long time ago, former Prime Minister, the late Mr. Dudley Senanayake, publicly related a story of a constituent who had come to him to get his son a job. "Does he have the necessary qualifications?" the premier had questioned. "It because he does not have them that I have come to you," was the reply. Whether the premier helped his constituent or not, we do not know; but it was a good yarn for the PM to spin on a platform. The Colombo Telegraph report says that Deshapriya, on his own admission, in a telephone conversation with its editor, had hand delivered emails from his son to the Presidential Secretariat, Prime Minister’s office and the Ministry of Foreign Relations. Once this had been done, he had received calls from President’s Advisor Lalith Weeratunga and Gamini Senerath, the Secretary to the Prime Minister to work out the needed logistics. The report, replete with further salacious details, further claims that Deshapriya had also said he had called Rear Admiral (Retd.) Jayanath Colombage, who handles foreign affairs at the president’s office, about his son’s matter.

We do not think a written appeal from an ordinary person would have received such VIP treatment, assuming all that is claimed by Colombo Telegraph is factual. Applying absolute values, which certainly do not prevail in this Island, whether Deshapriya’s intervention has incurred obligations to the high and mighty at this pre-election time, is the big question. Viewpoints will be many but none from anybody entitled to cast the first stone.