Reversing the brain drain and transforming Sri Lanka

Following are excerpts of the speech delivered by Architect/Planer Deshabandu Surath Wickramasinghe, Chairman, Chamber of Construction Industry, Sri Lanka at the induction ceremony of Ar/Plnr Lalith Thilinapriya Kiringoda as the 31st President of the Organization of the Professional Associations, (OPA) Sri Lanka on 3 January at Waters Edge, Battaramulla

In Sri Lanka, the OPA with 43 different disciplines represents an interpolation of knowledge and information in many areas essential for development and therefore, this group is in a better position to make the maximum contribution to the society in which we live in.

Here, the number of professionals in proportion to society is somewhat less than in the advanced countries. At the same time, the exodus of qualified professionals looking for better prospects overseas for them and their families are significant. With a boom in the offing in Sri Lanka, we are also exporting skilled persons.

At the same time the corporate sector is facing a major setback due to the difficulties in obtaining the services of professionals in different disciplines and skilled persons. If this trend continues, very soon we will have to import both professionals and skilled personnel to meet our requirements. The question is, how do we reverse this trend?  In order to overcome part of this problem, it is our responsibility to guide and advice the Government on matters regarding intellect and training where we have specialised knowledge.

Therefore, I wish to propose to the President of the OPA that he continues with the Career Guidance programme prepared by the OPA previously by updating where necessary and using the latest technology to transmit the programmes nationwide through a multilingual career guidance website.

This will provide an opportunity for the youth to learn about the variety of professional opportunities available. Furthermore, exhibitions and seminars at district level could promote more interaction between the professionals and the youth, and even senior citizens, towards increasing the number of professionals and our skilled work force.

I am confident that the Government will support this programme for good governance and State policy to effectively harness the skills and talents of the youth which are a national asset.

On the bright and more positive side, the transformation of different cities in Sri Lanka is happening effectively. For example, the several infrastructure projects undertaken by the Ministry of Defence, to improve the environment in the City of Colombo and Sri Jayawardenapura by providing the public many areas for leisure and recreation is commended by all.

Even in Nuwara Eliya, particularly Lake Gregory which has been neglected for several years has been dredged and the lake looks beautiful; the public arrive in busloads during the holiday season from different parts of Sri Lanka and are enjoying the variety of facilities provided for recreation and leisure for different age groups. The lake could now be a venue for international sports, specially rowing due to its linear nature.

However, the Race Course at Nuwara Eliya which is also an iconic venue is in a very poor condition and if it is also regenerated and integrated effectively with other sports including horse racing, Nuwara Eliya could be brought back to its former glory.

The construction industry is on the threshold of a boom based on the Economic Growth Forecast by the Central Bank in its Annual Report for 2011 that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) amounted to US$ 1.07 billion. In 2012, the projected FDI will be US$ 1.75 billion.

However, to the best of my knowledge, I know that these figures could be further increased beyond these targets, if the gross capital formation with visionary Government policies and planning are streamlined.

To achieve this objective the private sector should be motivated and given confidence by clearing the prevailing ‘bottlenecks’. I am confident that the OPA as well as the Chamber of Construction Industry, Sri Lanka, will be pleased to assist the Ministry of Defence to overcome these impediments by introducing new mechanisms to fast track development.

The ideal scenario would be a continuous dialogue between the Ministry of Defence and the Ministries of Finance and Economic Development and the private sector on national strategy to get a balanced viewpoint.