{"id":108396,"date":"2020-11-06T16:02:07","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T23:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=108396"},"modified":"2020-11-06T16:02:07","modified_gmt":"2020-11-06T23:02:07","slug":"a-humble-request-to-our-president-and-prime-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/11\/06\/a-humble-request-to-our-president-and-prime-minister\/","title":{"rendered":"A Humble request to our President and Prime Minister"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Garvin Karunaratne Former GA Matara<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

May I hope that the incoming Budget includes funding for a major\nnew Programme of Poverty Alleviation, cum creating Production and also\nobviating imports. Such a development programme implemented all over our\nMotherland will bring about  definite\nresults in terms of creating employment, production- both agriculture, animal\nhusbandry and small industry, involving thousands  and also reducing imports. This   will bring great credit and be a major\ncontribution to the economy of our country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can speak through sheer experience having handled, been an\nactive partner in many development programmes for over five decades and also\nhaving started new development programmes from scratch.  One can find many who have participated in\ndevelopment programmes, but it is very rare to find someone who has started a\nnew development programme from scratch especially a programme that was a\nsuccess. Let me detail that achievement in order to enable readers to\nunderstand that my suggestions do not come from the blue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My commencing a development programme from scratch happened when I\nserved as the Commonwealth Fund Consultant to the Ministry of Labour and\nManpower in Bangladesh in 1981 to 1983. \nand was ordered to design and implement a Youth Self Employment\nProgramme and train the staff to continue the programme after my consultancy\nwas over.  It was done in the teeth of\nopposition from the Treasury of Bangladesh, who said it will be a waste of funds.\nThe Treasury had to eat its words and its later \nFive Year Plan devoted eight full pages to document my programme.. This\nProgramme is today the premier employment creation programme the world has\nknown and so far has guided over three million youths to become self employed.\nEven today, in the fourth decade of its implementation it is yet being run by\nthe officers trained by me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the beginning of 1978, when our President Jayawardena caved\nin to the International Monetary Fund, and decided to follow its advice in\nreturn for loans Sri Lanka has not had a single development programme that\nbrought employment and incomes to the people and also created production. We\nhave Samurdhi to talk of . Samurdhi is only a welfare grant type of programme.\nIts savings aspect and training aspect have never developed. In terms of\nproduction Samurdhi is a nonsensical programme. I have seen with my own eyes\nthe receipients marching weekly and at times getting involved with some measly\nclearing a drain or  a public place.  Samurdhi has to someday get altered to become\na production oriented programme, contributing to our Motherland.  We have to teach people to fish, not give\nthem fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May I suggest a new Training Cum Production Programme<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Method  is\nto identify areas in the economy, and establish small industries where local\nresources can be utilized to make items either for local consumption or for\nexport. Sad to say we gave up National Planning in 1978 at the  behest of the IMF. National Planning has to\ncome to the forefront to identify areas where there is scope for producing what\nwe need and training to enable the people to get involved. There have to be\nprogrammes involving the people to develop their abilities and capacities to\nbecome entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To commence with I would suggest the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making Paper<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

 Making Fruit Preparations-\nJuice, Jam, Sauce <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making Items from Wood <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making items from Metal <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some details of each of the above are submitted:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making Paper<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Making Paper is a simple operation and thanks to President\nGotabhaya and his team that resurrected the mass of metal at Valachenai to make\npaper. His success proves that we can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just import a few small scale paper making machines from India or\nChina. This can be done in weeks. Set them up in Padaviya, Tissa,\nMahavillachchiya and Polonnaruwa and we can kiss good bye to all imports of\npaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setting up the machines can be easily done in three months at the\nspeed at which I worked as the GA at Matara, to establish the Mechanized\nBoatyard that turned out 30 seaworthy boats a year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also we can use the waste paper. Today we collect and send off the\nwaste paper to India and buy back paper after they convert it. Mind you once in\n1971 the Divisional Secretary at Kotmale established a Paper Making Industry\nwith waste paper. President Jayawardena of the UNP kicked it,  and out went Paper Making and today the\nPaper  Economists of the UNP cry loud\nfinding fault. It is the UNP that ruined all the industries our country had\ndeveloped from 1948 to 1977- the Powerlooms, handlooms, Textile Industries,\npaper and everything we had done including the Crayon Factory at Morawaka\nestablished by me which had islandwide sales from 1971 to 1977 were all\nabolished by President Jayawardana and since then we became a non producing and\nimport consuming country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have suggested making paper from Illuk at Tantirimale. That was\nrecently when I happened to get lost in the Illuk jungles at Mahawillachchiya\nand remembered that originally the paper machines at Valachenai was intended to\nuse Illuk. Making Paper out of Illuk is a fait accompli within months if only\nwe want it done. It will take only three months to set up a small paper making\nmachine.  Though I speak from sheer\nexperience  the mandarins with doctorates\nthat adorn our higher climes will think otherwise.  Ask them to find people from the 1971-1977\nera who are alive who will tell that the Boatyard with all sorts of wood work\nmachinery was done within two to three months and my Coop Crayon Factory was\ndone- three months of experiments in the Rahula College Science Lab to find the\nmethod and two to three weeks working day and night- a 24 hour operation to set\nit up.  We did work fast and can do it\nagain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there is a problem of expertise in making paper out of waste\npaper, I can phone  some officers  in Bangladesh and obtain the\nservices of a few youths who., under the guidance of my officers now do paper\nmaking from waste paper and make a living out of it. They will come as\nConsultants!   I wrote that we need\nto have our heads examined bcause the drop out youths in my programme have\nbeaten us hollow in making paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making Food Preparations<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Look at the shelves of any Supermarket and one will find fruit\njuice, jam, tomatoe sauce, even vinegar \nfrom as far as the United States of America, Australia, Cyprus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

. The Marketing Department did set up a Canning Factory in\n1954\/1955 and by 1957 we made Sri Lanka self sufficient. We offered floor\nprices i.e. prices at which we will buy all the produce offered. We then bought\nall the Tomatoes, Pineapple, Red Pumpkin and Ash Pumpkin and at the Canning\nFactory we turned them  out to Tomatoes\nSauce, Pine Slices and Juice, Golden Melon Jam and Silver Melon Jam. By 1957,\nin three years\u2019 time we were self sufficient. The UNP Government of President\nJayawardena privatized  the Canning\nFactory and now the production has dropped and we import every item today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Install one or two small fruit processing machines in Colombo,\nKandy and Tissa and we can be self sufficient within two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is something we did earlier. Then eight percent of our\npineapple products were exported.  I have\nbeen in charge of the Canning Factory when Oswald Tillekeratne, the Assistant\nCommissioner in charge of the factory was overseas building up exports.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wood Working and Metal Working Machines<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Two years ago I could not find a locally made ladder at Nawala. I\nwent to everyshop. Even the ladders imported from Thailand and Singapore were\nnot that great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we cannot make a basic item like a ladder we can give up metal\nwork. But Jinasenas will stand out and say no because they have now developed\nand make water pumps that can stand to any world specification.  The story goes that once, the Government had\nsaid they will import water pumps and Jinasena is reported to have said that if\nthat does happen he will close his factory and eight hundred workers will be\nsent home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The success of Jinasena tells anyone that our production can\nsucceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once I was the Deputy Director of Small Industry in charge of\nallocating foreign exchange to small industrialists. They had to submit\napplications to import the machinery they required or the raw materials they\nwanted.  They had to get an allocation of\nforex from me and then open a letter of credit with a bank and order the stuff.\nI gauged that most manufacturers would be ordering their production after they\ncome to know the order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must have two manufacturing Units, one with wood working lathes\nand another with metal lathes and when an order is received we set the lathes\nworking and get the product turned out. I am aware that the Hardware\nCorporation has such a unit, but never gets to systematic production not\nbecause they cannot but because there is no system. Dealers who import have\nonly to place the order and these lathe workers can get it done. That is a\nsimple operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All what I have suggested earlier is what we have done and there\nis no doubt we can do it again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next Stage<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

 I have\nhad the occasion to trail behind lorries full of flowers in Southern France.\nThey cannot be easily overtaken like the straw laden lorries that plied from\nPolonnaruwa to Valachenai long ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is sad that we do not know what to do with the mass of flowers\nat Ruwanweliseya, the Sri MahaBodhi and the Temple of the Tooth at Kandy. It is\na simple operation to set up a distillery and I have seen many in France\ndistilling lavender to oil. . <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once touring Wales I came across a mini distillery. Had I known of\nit in 1971, I would have got it down and set it up at Matara. That was when I\nwas in charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Paper on setting up a Perfume Factory proves that it is\nfeasible<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally if asked to set up my Coop Crayon again I do not know\nwhether I will succeed. I will have to find the equal of Vetus Fernando, my\nchemistry qualified Planning Officer and the patriotic Science Teachers at\nRahula and get down to experiments to find how. In 1971 it took three full\nmonths experiments from six to mid night. Once that was done I will have to\nfind a Sumanapala Dahanayake to undertake production- then it was as the\npresident of the Morawak Korale Coop Union. Suffice it to say that crayons were\nsold islandwide and Harry Guneratne the Import Controller and Minister\nIllangaratne cancelled all imports of crayons. Sumanapala is not with us today.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lesson in all this is that we can do it again and I pray that\nthe new Budget will make provision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am certain that the targets I have set can be done. I am aware\nthat many of the economists who will be consulted on this matter will doubt. If\nthat happens I will request the authorities to find whether those pundits did\never get to a situation of working, setting up an industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally I wish to add that if no one will undertake to keep to\nthese targets I will undertake to bell the cat. If called upon it will be a\npleasure to get back into my working boots and Land Rover once again to be of\nservice to my Motherland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Garvin Karunaratne, Ph d Michigan State University
Former GA Matara
Author of\u00a0 How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka & Alternative Programmes of Success, Godages\u00a0
Howthe IMF Sabotaged Third World Development, Kindle\/Godages\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10\/11\/2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Garvin Karunaratne Former GA Matara May I hope that the incoming Budget includes funding for a major new Programme of Poverty Alleviation, cum creating Production and also obviating imports. Such a development programme implemented all over our Motherland will bring about  definite results in terms of creating employment, production- both agriculture, animal husbandry and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-by-garvin-karunaratne"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108396\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}