The new normal and the new COVID-19 economy: What it means for Sri Lanka

One way to reduce panic levels, keep people from going insane and to show some sense of normalcy is to keep supermarkets and all pharmacies open for at least six to eight hours daily – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara  

The coronavirus pandemic or COVID-19 has in the first three months of 2020 dominated the headlines and turned the world as we know it upside down. 

In April 2020, over 90% of humanity was under lockdown. The global economy was largely shut down and life as we know it is also shut down. In a world that craves intimacy and personal physical contact and intimate relationships, social distancing is driving most of us nuts! 

When nations begin life again and “reopen” for business we will all have to change and adjust to a new way of living and working in the new normal. The advanced nations will painfully adjust to the new normal and bounce back but the poorer and vulnerable nations will suffer for a long time. 

In many cultures, especially in the poorer nations, working from home is a luxury only the elite and upper middle class can understand and adapt to. In these cultures, the people have been taught to go to an office. Working from home is socially stigmatised and not considered a “real job”! 

National arrogance has no place in this new world and in the new normal. No nation can go it alone. Global interdependence has never been more needed. No nation that depends on international or bilateral funding and aid can say to the donor “we don’t need your advice and expertise. Just give us your money”. This is idiotic! Those days are gone! 

Donors and funding agencies to vulnerable nations must also RETHINK their giving. The taxpayers in advanced nations who fund these donor agencies must demand this. No country has a monopoly on wisdom and expertise. The new normal demands that we be humble and learn from each other. 

Even Singapore has become what it is by hard work, an incredible work ethic, discipline, a trusted and super-efficient government, multiple races becoming one and by learning from the most successful nations in the world. Almost all advanced centres of research and learning in the West have had and still have a presence and partnerships in Singapore. Humility is key. 

In dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic with total transparency you don’t hear the South Korean President or New Zealand Prime Minister saying, “We are the best!” The poor and vulnerable in Sri Lanka are really suffering. Many have no cash at home.

There is an interesting leadership lesson in the transparent handling of the COVID-19 crisis. Other than the South Korean President and Singapore PM, are nations with women leaders handling it better? 

I believe it was the Greek Philosopher Socrates who said: “One thing I know. That I know nothing.”

In 2016, Brexit, the decision by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, the largest trading bloc in the world, dominated the headlines. In 2019, the Brexit-European Union “divorce” deal was done. The European Union was and is still in shambles. 

Along came Donald Trump to lead the most powerful nation and economy in the world, the USA and replace the global coalition master Barack Obama. The new President decided to largely withdraw from the world and all the global pacts and agreements that Barack Obama had led. ‘America First’ was Donald Trump’s mantra and Trumpism was born. American leadership was gone. China was and is still attempting to fill the void. A new world and a new normal were also born. 

Just as the world was adjusting to this new normal, COVID-19, the coronavirus pandemic, crept in from a simple meat market in the Wuhan Province of China. The new normal was again shattered. Could this pandemic have been prevented? Could its global spread have been controlled? Who knew what and when is still being debated in April 2020. 

What we do know is that this new COVID-19 new normal is here to stay. No nation is immune. Every nation and every one of its citizens has now to learn how to live, work and play in this new normal. With social distancing, when can we kiss and be intimate with our wives or partners again? The world waits for the new COVID-19 vaccine. Even after the vaccine becomes operational, will we go back to life and work as we knew it till 2019?

With global supply chains disrupted and the expected and unprecedented downturn in the global economy, the principal sources of revenue to Sri Lanka – tourism, apparel and tea exports, foreign remittances – are and will be severely damaged.

Sri Lanka is an agricultural nation. Over 75% of its citizens depend on farming and agriculture for their living. Yet this sector accounts for less than 10% of the GDP. This is the moment to reinvent and revive it to both feed the citizens and substantially increase the incomes of the vast majority of people who depend on it for a living. Food security, value addition and agripreneurship must now be a central focus in Sri Lanka. My global team is dedicated to this purpose.

At this moment there is another tremendous opportunity for Sri Lanka. On a normal day when speeding buses and three-wheelers cause havoc on the road and motorcycles are speeding on pavements, discipline becomes ‘Mission Impossible’! Now the roads are empty. But the supermarkets and accessible private pharmacies are shut. 

The one day that the curfew was lifted, understandably there were some behavioural problems! This happens when people are bottled up. On a normal day in Sri Lanka are there problems outside supermarkets and pharmacies? 

I have brought this to the attention of defence officials. I have told them that one way to reduce panic levels, keep people from going insane and to show some sense of normalcy is to keep supermarkets and all pharmacies open for at least six to eight hours daily. The discipline and social distance challenge can easily be controlled and monitored by men and women in uniform respectfully. All citizens must be respected equally. This is a great once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Sri Lanka. Don’t waste it!

Every economy has to reinvent itself today. Every human being has to reinvent himself or herself today.

(The writer is Adjunct Professor of Management and International Business, S. California; author: ‘Making Real Change Happen in Organizations and Nations’ and ‘One New Global Economy. One New World’. He can be reached via [email protected].)