The eradication of poverty is a major campaign plank for all political parties at election time. While Sri Lanka gained Middle Income Country (MIC) status sometime back, a considerable segment of the population is still mired in poverty. This was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, during which many lost their jobs and livelihoods, pushing them into poverty.
To their credit, all Governments have started various programs through the decades to eliminate or at least reduce poverty especially in the rural hinterland. Among them are Janasaviya, Samurdhi and Aswesuma. But their implementation at ground level left a lot to be desired and even well-to-do persons in the villages who had political connections received the benefits at the expense of the poor.
Another shortcoming of most of these programs was that they tried to financially empower individual families without holistically thinking about the entire community. In short, there was no community involvement in the programs. Hence, even though some families received benefits, it did not trickle down to the wider community.
This is where the National People’s Power (NPP) Government’s new Praja Shakthi (Strength of the community) economic uplift program differs from its predecessors. Launching the program on Friday, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that no matter the extent of economic growth reflected in statistics, if the advantages of this growth do not extend to the rural communities, then such growth holds no significance. The launch of the program also coincided with the World Rural Development Day, which falls today (July 6).
As President Dissanayake said, while it is important to achieve national economic growth, it is equally essential to expand the economy in a way that creates opportunities for rural communities and makes them active participants in the economic process. It is only then that poverty as a whole could be eradicated over a period of time.
The Prajashakthi national program has been launched as a key initiative of the current Government, aiming to empower communities and ensure the fair distribution of economic benefits across society.
Moreover, poverty eradication and economic empowerment must not be seen from the narrow angle of giving handouts or jobs. It is vital to improve rural agriculture, healthcare, education, transport and infrastructure under an integrated program.
Agricultural modernisation will help bring higher yields, thereby, increasing the income of rural farmers. If these areas have good transport links and roads to the nearest cities, the farmers could take their produce on time to the major wholesale centres. If hospitals and medical centres are available within easy reach, the rural population will have less health issues.
Education is, perhaps, the biggest factor in empowering rural communities. Unfortunately, there is a wide gap between city schools and rural schools, which was encapsulated by the popular slogan Colambata Kiri Apita Kekiri (Milk for Colombo and cucumber for us). This is why all parents in rural areas push their sons and daughters to the extreme at the Grade 5 Scholarship examination, so that they can get a ‘popular school’ in Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Kurunegala, Jaffna or another big city.
The mad scramble for Grades One and Six in so-called popular schools will end if all schools around the country are equal in terms of education levels and other facilities. Education is still the best ticket out of poverty – an educated son or daughter can extricate the whole family from an economic abyss. He or she can help the entire village as well.
It is also vital to broaden educational opportunities available to those who cannot enter the Advanced Level stream or the State universities. As Prime Minister and Education Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya told a recent function, there is a notion in society that vocational schools are a last resort for those who fail to receive any other educational opportunities. This perception should be banished and vocational institutions should become a first choice for talented students from the villages.
But all this cannot be done using only locally available resources due to the lingering effects of the 2022 economic crisis. Therefore, we will have to follow the somewhat painful steps recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and also seek for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI for the country.
Although some expressed fears that the Government’s socialist outlook could impede both these factors, such apprehensions have been misplaced and many global institutions are assisting the Government in its rural development program.
Poverty is also a state of mind. There are many who think that they do not have the capacity or the capability to rise up in the world. Praja Shakthi could be an ideal movement and an inspiration for such persons to realise their true potential. With the right kind of financial assistance and advice, anyone can start a small-scale enterprise which can be expanded as business grows. We need “out-of-the-box” solutions to tackle poverty and seek broader economic emancipation for the entire population. As we ease the debt burden gradually, self-reliance must come to the fore, along with better economic and trade integration with the rest of the world.
