Challenging choices

Monday, 10 January 2011 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Over 500,000 people have been displaced by floods while Sri Lanka prepares for the world cup and an election. This undoubtedly gives rise to the question of priority. How much money can be spent by the government and other stakeholders and on what, needs to be decided quickly if the country is to minimise the negatives of having to deal with several expenditures at the same time.

The east has been hit by severe floods with the connected disarray of relief distribution and the bureaucracy dealing with the long term consequences of rebuilding damaged infrastructure and houses that the government will have to be responsible for. Foremost on the minds of most people is the World Cup and the chance for Sri Lanka to gain significant mileage not only by entering cricketing history but also using the event as a chance for the country to gain positive publicity and revenue.

Renovations and construction of new stadiums are in full swing and massive amounts of money are being spent in developing infrastructure to boost Sri Lanka into one of the host countries of the World Cup. It is a high benchmark and the country has to spend a large amount of money to achieve it. The emphasis of using event based tourism to achieve the higher than ever targets set by the government for the “Visit Sri Lanka” year cannot be lost in this melee. While the expense can be justified in the eyes of many, the government must remember that these investments must bring sustained returns to the people and the larger economy. Many massive sporting events such as the Olympic Games have consistently failed to bring in the money that they promised and Sri Lanka must not fall into the trap of spending too much and regretting later.

Then comes the third point of dealing with Local Government Elections, which according to initial estimates will cost a whopping Rs. 1.8 billion. This is, without counting the endless publicity, meetings, posters and advertising costs that will be incurred as well as the blatant abuse of state property that accompany most elections. Can this money be better used? If the elections are postponed or held in installments as is being proposed, can the government minimise the wastage of public monies? Do the people even care about Local Government Elections? And does it have an important role to play in national politics? The questions are many.

So with many challenges to deal with the government has to determine how it can focus on the important points. 2011 has been tagged as a year that should be focused on economic development. But the many methods and modes of reaching this end must be considered as well. Since natural disasters are part and parcel of life the government would also do well to formulate a comprehensive disaster management strategy.

Perhaps out of these three main focus points the most dispensable are the local government elections. Politics is an expensive and rather unsavoury business in Sri Lanka. Yet at the end of the day the people and their benefit must be at the forefront of whatever decision the government makes.