Sri Lanka's hidden Pearl
One more Tower – One more Land Mark!
At picturesque Arugam Bay. Micardis plus generic substitute
Between #61 Fishing Net and #62 Palmgrove Holiday Inn a new, large project is being constructed at present. Where can i buy levothroid
Just South of our “City Centre”, landside, USAID and their sub contractors are well under way to build a new Water Tower and supply system.
This project seems swift and professional in its approach – we’ll keep you posted of its progress.
* USAID-funded road and drainage system opened in Ampara, Sri Lanka
Thursday, February 28, 2008, 16:02 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Feb 28, Ampara: The United States has funded an 8-kilometer road and drainage system, which was opened today in Pottuvil, Ampara.
The US Embassy in Colombo said its United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) funded the project to construct a low maintenance, durable road system and drainage structure throughout the Pottuvil Division.
In the past, the roads flooded and became almost impassable, the Embassy said, adding that the finished roads have had a major impact on Pottuvil by reducing dust in the town and increasing localsA?A?A? access to essential services, including schools, health clinics and places of worship. The project also created jobs and experience in the area.
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For the opening ceremony, USAID and UNOPS welcomed representatives from local government and the community.
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source:
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_08/February28160259JR.html
SRI LANKA: Half a million people could be affected by conflict in 2008
COLOMBO, 25 February 2008 (IRIN) – The UN and NGOs working in the conflict-ridden north and east are warning of a mounting humanitarian toll in 2008 due to the escalation in hostilities between Sri Lankan government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Agencies should be prepared to assist “up to 500,000 conflict-affected individuals comprising IDPs, returnees and economically affected persons”, according to the Common Humanitarian Action Plan (CHAP) 2008, prepared by the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) country team for Sri Lanka and released on 22 February.
“The CHAP is based on the assumption that as the government acts on its stated intention to disarm the LTTE, the conflict in Sri Lanka will continue and intensify,” the report stated. “Even if it were to slow down or end during the year, there would remain very significant humanitarian needs to be met in the areas of conflict.”
The report warned that displacement levels could be similar to 2007 when 308,000 persons were forced from their homes. More than 140,000 have now been resettled in eastern Sri Lanka, but as of mid-February, 225,000 people remained displaced in eight north and eastern districts.
The main areas of assistance identified in the CHAP are protection, shelter, food, water and environmental sanitation (WASH), food aid, nutrition, health, education, food security (including agriculture and fisheries), economic recovery and infrastructure, and logistics. The CHAP report states that of the US$175.4 million required for 2008, $29.2 million has been committed by donors.
“The humanitarian community is operating under extremely difficult circumstances, which have affected its ability to reach as many people as need support,” the report stated. In some areas of the north access is near impossible.
Since December 2007, when the Tamil Tigers informed UN and other agencies working in the northern Mullaitivu District under their control that they could not guarantee their safety, agencies have downsized, with limited numbers of staff returning only during daylight hours, Mullaitivu government agent, Imalda Sukumar, told IRIN.
“No one [UN or other relief agency staff] stays here in Mullaitivu . everybody leaves by late afternoon,” Sukumar said, adding, “Obviously there are delays in programme implementation and assistance.”
Humanitarian agencies are finding it increasingly difficult to transport assistance into Tiger-held areas beyond Vavuniya, the last government-held town before Tiger-controlled areas 220km north of the capital, Colombo. All goods and vehicles undergo stringent government checks at Madavachchiya town, 30km south of Vavuniya.
Barriers
To facilitate its own food distribution activities in the north and to assist other agencies with transport and storage of their own relief goods, the World Food Programme (WFP) has been providing a fleet of trucks for transport and established logistical hubs and storage facilities just south of the line marking Tamil Tiger-controlled areas.
Mohamed Saleheen, WFP country head in Sri Lanka, told IRIN it was critical given the escalating food needs in the north to pre-position food supplies in Vavuniya to avoid pipeline breaks. He also cautioned that as demand increased, WFP would need additional funding to purchase food and maintain storage and logistical capacity.
CARE International is one such agency that depends on the WFP storage facilities and trucks to move supplies to LTTE-held areas. “It is vital now that the WFP operations continue,” Nick Osborne, CARE country head, told IRIN. “There are so many issues related to the transportation of goods and it’s easier to do that through one agency.”
However, he warned about increasing barriers to distribution. “There are all kinds of restrictions and checking on goods being transported to areas under the Tigers,” he told IRIN.
On 12 February, the Sri Lankan Army introduced new procedures for allowing vehicles into Vavuniya from Vanni (Tiger-held areas), according to the IASC. “This new directive permits only seven light vehicles and seven trucks per day,” it stated.
The Sri Lankan military said the delay was due to a lack of technical staff to man the checkpoints. “It is because of lack of personnel and we are working to get more people to the checkpoints and soon the restriction can be eased,” a military spokesman, Brig Udaya Nanayakkara, told IRIN.
However, the situation is unlikely to improve significantly soon, as the CHAP report warned. “Since the CHAP was drafted at the end of 2007, the best-case scenario, which included cessation of violence, implementation of the CFA [ceasefire agreement] and no new internal displacements, can no longer be viewed as a realistic option, at least during the first part of 2008,” it stated. “Indeed, the first month of 2008 witnessed an escalation of fighting along the FDL [forward defence line], several devastating Claymore attacks and growing insecurity inside and out of the conflict areas.”
ap/bj/mw[END]
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Despite speculation that the killing of the Christian pastor in Ampara could be the work of an organisation which resented conversions to Christianity, within 16 hours police were able to reveal that it was a contract killing ordered by a husband whose wife had been converted.
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| Rev. Edirisinghe. | His daughter in the arms of a relative |
The pastorA?a??a??s motor cycle fallen after the shooting |
Rev. Neil Samson Edirisinghe was the pastor of the new church started in Ampara recently. He lived with his wife Shiromi and their one and a half year old child. According to police, the pastor was returning home last Monday on his motor cycle at around 8.30 p.m. when he became the target of a gunman. He was shot in the back by the assailant who also injured his wife while their child was in shock after witnessing the shooting.
The Ampara child rehabilitation centre president Chamila Kodagoda who had heard the sound of gunfire had informed the Ampara police about the incident. When police arrived on the scene, Mrs. Edirisinghe who was badly injured had requested them to hand over her child to the YMCA before she was admitted to the Ampara hospital, where the pastor was also taken and pronounced dead.
Chief Inspector Asoka Weerakkody ordered an investigation by a special police team. According to police, two security men attached to an NGO had reported that two armed men dressed in uniform similar to that worn by home guards, were seen passing close to the pastorA?a??a??s house.
Based on this piece of information police had been on the look out for the two suspects. In the wee hours of the next morning Inspector Weerakkody had received information that two men dressed in home guard uniform had walked into the police canteen a few hours earlier.
Further information helped the police investigation team arrest two civil security men posted to a bunker. At first the duo denied they knew anything about the incident but further grilling by police revealed that the two men were responsible for the attack. It was a contract killing for Rs. 100,000 given by a rich businessman in Ampara. The suspects were taken to custody after admitting that they obtained an advance of Rs. 20,000 for undertaking the task.
The firearm used in the killing was also seized and the suspects remanded. DIG Eastern Range Rienzie Perera, SSP A.Wijesuriya and ASPs Arunapala and Ravichandra led the investigation team.
source:
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/080224/News/news007.html
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Saving Elephants by Helping People, Sri Lanka
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The Lahugala National Park at 1,500 hectares is one of Sri LankaA?a??a??s smallest national parks and is situated in the Ampara District and is supposed to have an elephant population of 300. The Ampara and Monaragala Districts of Sri Lanka cover 7,133 and 2,984 square kilometers respectively and are known as the Eastern Region and have 9 Protected Areas. Though a large number of Shipping nitrofurantoin elephants are supposed to be in this region there is sparse data on the actual number of elephants or the intensity of HEC.
The Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society (SLWCS) with supporting partners is establishing a solar-powered electric fence to protect four villages situated along the southern boundary of the Lahugala National Park, which is at the center of the proposed study area.
This project will use participatory research methods to assess socio economic information of villagers and use direct and non-direct field research methods to estimate elephant populations and their range and behavior over temporal and spatial scales in the Eastern Region.
The anticipated outputs are:
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source:
http://projectelephant.net/As_Saving20071a.php
| Australia grants Rs 5 million for rural development in Sri Lanka |  |
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The Acting Australian High Commissioner, Dr Matthew Hyndes presented funds worth Rs 5 million to six local organisations under the Australian GovernmentA?a??a??s Direct Aid program (DAP) in a ceremony on 19 February. Speaking at the occasion Dr Hyndes emphasised that A?a??A?The High Commission takes great pride in the Direct Aid Program which allows us the opportunity to work with organisations such as the six organisations gathered today, each of which is working in their communities, in different parts of the country to assist disadvantaged peopleA?a??A?DAP projects have benefited female headed households, children, the disabled, the elderly and the rural poor, among others.
In this funding round, Dr Hyndes presented funds to Child Vision in Puttalam for the purchase and installation of physiotherapy equipment for a disabled childrenA?a??a??s clinic, The Voluntary Organisation for Vulnerable Community Development to support livelihood projects for 50 tsunami and conflict families in Trincomalee, WomenA?a??a??s Development Centre for a cattle management project for women headed households in Lahugala, Sith Sevana Mentally Handicapped ChildrenA?a??a??s Development Society for three classrooms for mentally handicapped children in Thanamalwila, WomenA?a??a??s Development Foundation for a cattle management project in a poor farming community in Anuradhapura and Samata Sarana for a livelihood project for 100 families in Mutwal.
http://www.srilanka.embassy.gov.au/clmb/DAP%2dpressr%2d080219.html
source:
http://www.tamilsydney.com/content/view/1151/37/
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 Photo: Christine Jayasinghe/IRIN  |
| War-displaced Rammalappu Dhanapala in his shrine in Panama, eastern Sri Lanka. His Padu community was evicted from the Kumana forest by government authorities who feared the area had been infiltrated by Tamil Tiger separatist rebels |
PANAMA, 17 February 2008 (IRIN) – Every Friday people crowd into Rammalappu DhanapalaA?a??a??s yard, eager to hear the fortune tellerA?a??a??s prophecies and seek his advice on how to avert imminent disasters. A?a??A?I have supernatural powers given to me by my grandparents and my parents,A?a??A? he said, showing vials of potions that he dispenses to cure various ailments.
Carrying on a long family tradition, Dhanapala who lives in Panama village in Ampara District in eastern Sri Lanka, now offers his counsel in a newly-constructed shrine room filled with the scent of incense. Its brick walls are decorated with colourful pictures of the many gods he invokes.
What is unique about the fortune-tellerA?a??a??s operation is that a local community-based organisation, the Movement of Young Social Workers (MOYS), spent Rs. 60,000 (about US$530) – in funding given it by international non-governmental organisation ActionAid – to build him a bigger shrine room that would accommodate more clients. Since then, his clientele has doubled, bringing him Rs. 5,000-6,000 (about $50-$60) on a busy day.
MOYSA?a??a??s support for Dhanapala is only a small part of its support to the Padu community, traditionally considered as occupying one of the lower rungs of the caste hierarchy of the Sinhalese.
Uprooted
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Interactive Sri Lanka map |
The community was forcibly uprooted from the nearby Kumana forest 18 years ago by the police, when the government feared that rebels of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had infiltrated the area.
Brought to Panama under duress and left to fend for themselves, the once self-sufficient members of the Padu community found it difficult to adjust to a new way of life, particularly given their low caste. Thirteen families now live in Panama while others have made their home in nearby villages. Besides being displaced victims of the war, they also suffered human and material losses from the December 2004 tsunami.
The Padu community traces its history back to the islandA?a??a??s central Kandyan kingdom when their ancestors served high-caste aristocrats who rebelled against the British colonial rulers in the 19th century. When the noblemen fled a crackdown, they took their domestics with them to eastern Sri Lanka. The servants ended up living as a tightly knit, self-sufficient clan in the Kumana forest.
Supporting traditional livelihoods
In DhanapalaA?a??a??s case, said Nirosion Perera, chairman of MOYS, A?a??A?He has an unusual occupation and one of our aims is to encourage and support the traditional livelihoods of the Padu community. He is also quite successful at what he does, so we felt he deserved help to improve his standing in Panama.A?a??A?
MOYS is supporting others in the Padu community to improve their economic status so that the ensuing recognition will assist in their long-term integration with the largely upper caste Sinhala Buddhists who live in Panama.
Honey
DhanapalaA?a??a??s brother, R. Sugathapala, scours the forest to bring honey made by wild bees. The honey is highly prized in the village and beyond for being wholesome and nutritious and his A?a??E?KumanaA?a??a?? brand has now made a name for itself.
A?a??A?This is the first time we have got any help from any organisation,A?a??A? said Sugathapala, who used to barter the honey in exchange for goods his family needed. MOYS is helping Sugathapala acquire skills, including how to manage his business, as well as funding costs to start a small poultry farm that his wife will manage to give the family an additional income source.
MOYS also helps other members of the community by providing funding and technical expertise for livelihood projects such as growing seasonal crops of chillies, aubergines and millet, and for the `chenaA?a??a?? (post-slash and burn) cultivation.
But MOYS does not just assist the community in developing livelihoods and increasing incomes. A relationship has grown up between the agency and the community that enables it to advise residents on issues affecting their lives, including how to save sufficient money for emergencies and ways to ensure their kids get an education. A?a??A?We want to look into their health, improve their living standards, ensure their children go to school and assist their psycho-social development through giving them economic support,A?a??A? said Perera.
Perera pointed out that members of the community knew little of some aspects of modern life such as banking extra income for future investment, and banding together to promote their interests as a group. MOYS has helped them set up a rural bank and is organising them into a group so as to better defend its interests.
Few in school
Few children attend school because they cannot afford to buy books and other necessities, but also because of the social ostracism they face from their peers. A?a??A?People here donA?a??a??t want to have anything to do with the people from Kumana because of the problem of their caste,A?a??A? said Perera. A?a??A?By giving them a voice within the larger community, we want to help them gain acceptance.A?a??A?
While some of those who have been displaced by Sri LankaA?a??a??s protracted conflict may not want to return to their former homes, the Padu community longs to head back, not only to their open air abodes, but also to a simpler lifestyle.
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Theme(s): Buy himplasia dosage (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Governance
source:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=76768
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is a recognized international humanitarian
agency with the specific purpose of community development and disaster relief.
We are currently recruiting for the following positions based in Pottuville, Ampara with the
AMPARA COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT PROJECT.
Capacity and Youth Leadership Coordinator
Field Officer- Technical
Health Education Field Assistants
Interested candidates please their Bio Data/CV with the following documents:
Submit your applications to:
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Applications must be received by February 15, 2008
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CAPACITY AND YOUTH LEADERSHIP COORDINATOR
GOALS OF POSITION:
1.A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A? TO ASSESS CAPACITY BUILDING NEEDS OF CBOs AND DEVELOP AND FACILITATE APPROPRIATE TRAINING MODULES
2.A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A? TO WORK WITH YOUTH GROUPS IN DEVELOPING PROPOSALS FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECTS
3.A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A? TO MONITOR IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECTS BY YOUTH GROUPS
4.A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A? TO DEVELOP WAYS TO INCREASE USE OF MULTI PURPOSE CENTERS
SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS:
1.A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A? DOCUMENTED EXPERIENCE AS A FACILITATOR OF CAPACITY BUILDING MODULES
2.A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A? DOCUMENTED EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH YOUTH IN A LEADERSHIP ROLE
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1.A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A? Buy wellbutrin 300 mg A?A?TO ASSIST IN IMPLEMENTATION OF INFRASTRUCTURE, HOME IMPROVEMENT AND WATER SOURCING ACTIVITIES
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SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS:
1.A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A? Cheap xalatan generic DOCUMENTED TECHNICAL WORK EXPERIENCE IN AREAS SUCH AS: WATER SOURCING, HOME CONSTRUCTION (MASONRY, CEMENT WORK, LATRINE, KITCHEN CONSTRUCTION) OR INFRASTRUCTURE (ROADS, DRAINAGE, PUBLIC BUILDINGS)
HEALTH EDUCATION FIELD ASSISTANTS
GOALS OF POSITION:
1.A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A? A?A?TO ASSIST IN THE FACILITATION OF HEALTH, HYGIENE AND SANITATION MODULES
2.A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A? HEALTH EDUCATION FIELD ASSISTANTS WILL THEN CONDUCT HOME VISITS TO FOLLOW UP ON LEARNINGS FROM EDUCATION MODULES
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Andrew Lucas
Project Director
Ampara Community Empowerment Project
ADRA Sri Lanka
cell: 077 3207498
CDMA: 063 4921684
The well published ‘Environmental Impact Study’ by USAID Buy motrin platinum muscle and body totally ignored the fact that Hundreds of Thousands of these damaging bags would be introduced into the water as sand bags by defense contractors CH2MHILL.
The cheap bags were used in construction of the new bridge, as shown above.
Hessian or coconut (degradable) bags were suggested by our Arugam.info representative at the time, but the request was totally ignored.
Following recent floods, many bags were dislodged and some have been found washed up on the beaches as far away as Crocodile rock.
Fishing people fear that the unraveled bag strands could be mistaken to glass type worms and swallowed by fish or prawns. This would cause a further environmental disaster.
It is certain that Thousands of bags will never be recovered!
They will pollute the area for many years to come.
Also, one wonders, if such environmental damaging practices would have been allowed to take place in the USA.
Dislodged bags hastily covered up, as shown above.
Photos Copy right: www.sri-lanka-board.de
After the December 2004 tsunami struck, devastating the countries of South and Southeast Asia, the Sri Lankan government moved quickly to announce the launch of a grand plan not just to rehabilitate the affected areas but to rebuild the whole country. They have since gathered commitments of over $3 billion from the international financial institutions and foreign governments to carry this out.
Within days of the disaster, the government had announced that people should not rebuild their houses on the coast. Within weeks, an exclusion zone of up to 200 metres inland from the coast had been announced, displacing fisherfolk and other coastal communities from their land and effectively severing them from their livelihoods. Shortly afterwards, exceptions were announced for tourist businesses, and the government has been talking about the need to promote tourism. In the meantime, non-governmental agencies have been carrying out almost all of the work in cleaning up the destroyed areas, building temporary shelters, regenerating livelihoods and so on.
The Sri Lanka Tourist Board website says, A?a??A?In a cruel twist of fate, nature has presented Sri Lanka with a unique opportunity, and out of this great tragedy will come a world class tourism destination.A?a??A? However, this A?a??A?unique opportunityA?a??A? seems to be reserved solely for developers and those who can afford a A?a??A?world-class tourist destination,A?a??A? but for the majority of tsunami survivors, the opportunity for rebuilding their lives with dignity and sustainability will be lost. For them, the A?a??A?cruel twist of fateA?a??A? was not in the tsunami, but lies in the governmentA?a??a??s tourist- and business-oriented rebuilding plan.
Plans are now being developed to transform 15 coastal towns all around the island into tourist resorts as part of the post- tsunami rebuilding process. The 15 towns under discussion, Wadduwa, Beruwala, Bentota, Hikkaduwa, Galle, Unawatuna, Koggala, Matara, Hambantota, Tangalla, Yala, Arugam Bay, Passikuddah, Nilaweli and Kalpitiya, have been singled out for redevelopment according to different themes.
The first plan to emerge was that for the redevelopment of Arugam Bay, a small town nestled on the edge of a 300 hectare lagoon on the east coast of Sri Lanka, which just happens to be one of the best surfing spots in the world with beautiful beaches. There are indications that this will serve as a model for all the other areas.
The Arugam Bay Resource Development Plan covers a stretch of land 17km by 5km between Komari and Panama, including Pottuvil Town. It envisages the total reorientation of the area away from the current fishing and agricultural communities, supplemented by seasonal guesthouses, into a large development of hotels (A?a??A?low cost budget windsurfer to 5-star touristA?a??A?), a commercial centre (A?a??A?shoppersA?a??a?? paradiseA?a??A?), a yachting marina, floating plane pier and helipad. According to the plan, while only 9 out of 25,000 hectares are currently being used for tourism, this figure is set to increase exponentially through the redevelopment.
Consultants contracted to work on the redevelopment admit that they, A?a??A?have drawn heavily upon past plans (esp. the Tourism Master Plan)A?a??A?which was widely recognised as being A?a??E? grandioseA?a??a?? and A?a??E?inappropriateA?a??a??,A?a??A? referring to a report of the Asian Development Bank. The disconnect between the planned development and the interests of the people is illustrated in the following quote, A?a??E?the location of the helicopter pad near the new pedestrianised road will bring a new vibrant life in to Arugam Bay town centreA?a??a??.
In the name of A?a??A? redevelopment,A?a??A? the Sri Lanka Tourist Board is ready to acquire not only all the land within the buffer zone declared by the Taskforce for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN) of 200 metres from the high tide line, but also a stretch up to a kilometre wide running along 3 kilometres of the coast beyond the buffer zone, as well as a belt of land over 600 metres wide in places around the edge of the lagoon. In addition, an area of sea next to the lagoon entrance will be appropriated for the yachting marina and a strip across the middle of the lagoon for the floating plane landing pier.
This proprietary sentiment was reflected in statements made by the Sri Lanka Tourist Board Chairman at a meeting organised by Sewalanka Foundation between the community and the Sri Lanka Tourist Board. Saying, A?a??A?The land belongs to the government. Maybe your forefathers lived in that area, but the 860 acres belongs to the government. It will be developed as a tourist zone. We will put up buildings and develop the area and we will ask you to come and work thereA?a??A? After I became the Chairman I captured 5,000 acres of land for the Tourist Board. My target is 15,000 acres,A?a??A? the Chairman left no room for doubt about the true nature of the plans for reconstruction.
There are plans for new housing for the estimated 5,000 displaced families in 5 separate inland locations, in all cases behind areas zoned off for tourism. These resettlements are located well over 1km from both the sea and the lagoon, which are rendered practically inaccessible by the new tourist infrastructure. The plan proposes to allocate houses in the resettlement districts by drawing lots, and there is blatant coercion to move from the government, saying through the Tourist Board that A?a??A?these houses will be given to people who support our program.A?a??A? Further threats from the Tourist Board hint at state oppression of non- compliants, threatening communities that A?a??A?if you built any illegal structures in Arugam Bay, the army and the police will have to come and remove them.A?a??A?
The document also says that the over 70 existing guesthouses and numerous other small enterprises that will have to be relocated would, if they were already registered businesses, be given the option of leasing land within the zones for a period of up to 30 years, while unregistered businesses would have no such rights. None of the businesses will receive compensation.
The initial investment in the planned development is estimated at $80 million. Of that, $50 million is earmarked for a bridge over Arugam Lagoon, which according to the plan A?a??A?will stand as an inspirational symbol that shows progress towards the achievement of prosperity for Arugam BayA?a??A? as A?a??A?the gateway to a tourist paradise.A?a??A?
Another $5 million is allocated for a new road around Arugam Lagoon, and $20 million is proposed for the construction of the new inland townships of 2,500 houses each. The remaining $5 million is slated for water supply and sanitation systems in the new townships and the tourist zone. The cost of the other proposed infrastructure, such as the floating plane pier and helipad, is not yet included in the overall plan, although it is stated in the document that such amenities will have to be funded either by investment by the government or from NGOs.
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What else could $80 million do?
The government has decided to stop the weekly food grant of 200 rupees in cash and 175 rupees in rations for the 881,000 people affected by the disaster. $80 million would be sufficient to extend this relief for all for another 6 months.
The government has only started to build 1,659 permanent houses to replace the 41,393 that were completely destroyed, a mere fraction of the housing desperately needed by tsunami victims. $80 million would be enough for 32,000 families to build houses.
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The plan was apparently initiated independently by the Rebuild Sri Lanka Trust, which was set up in the aftermath of the tsunami by 4 individuals and started working in the Arugam Bay area as a A?a??A?non- political private sector initiative.A?a??A? The Trustees include the managing director of Maxim Ltd., a garment manufacturing company; a senior partner in a Colombo law firm, specialising in foreign investment, infrastructure development advisory services and real estate; the Managing Director of Expolanka Freight Ltd, a transport services company; and a retired doctor.
The Rebuild Sri Lanka Trust had within a month of the tsunami contracted a series of consultants to work on the plan. These are Dutch engineering consultants Arcadis; ECOPLAN-Z Limited from New Zealand; and EML Consultants from Sri Lanka. All of these consultants are involved in or are directly linked to work on large Asian Development Bank or World Bank infrastructure projects. The local company, EML Consultants, according to their website, normally works in facilitating US investment in water and environmental services, in carbon trading and in the promotion of plantation agriculture and floriculture.
The plan was finalised in late April of this year, and states that at the time of writing the President had already given approval, and was A?a??A?keen to see the action projects proposed in the report are implemented without delay.A?a??A? In fact, USAID had already published a presolicitation notice for a contract to construct the bridge, road, water supply scheme and wastewater system in Arugam Bay by 8th April 2005, and hosted a pre-bid conference for potential contractors in Colombo on 10th May 2005.
The first the residents of Arugam Bay heard of the plan was at a meeting organised by the Sri Lanka Tourist Board and Sewalanka Foundation in Colombo on 17th May 2005, nearly a month after the plan had been approved and finalized by the government, and more than a month after the USAID presoliciation notice was issued.
An assessment of the plan carried out by Arcadis said A?a??A?the most important shortcoming is that it has largely been produced in isolation in Colombo, with little or no stakeholder involvement. It is evident that the team spent only two days in Pottuvil – Arugam Bay, and apart from the GA officer in Ampara and the DS in Pottuvil, they met only with INGO staff.A?a??A?
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Business Interests at the Top
The plan falls under the remit of the Taskforce for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN), an extra-governmental body functioning under the authority of the President. TAFREN is headed by 10 business leaders, at least 5 of whom own or manage companies that operate beach hotels.
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The picture that is becoming clearer by the day shows that the direction being taken in the post-tsunami rebuilding is completely counter to the interests of those people who have suffered in the disaster. They are being driven off their land and out of their livelihoods in the name of a grand plan for the A?a??E?modernisationA?a??a?? of the country.
This process started long before tsunami, but it is now being pushed with the weight of the $3 billion the government has gathered in the name of the tsunami victims. If all of the 15 tourist townships require an investment of $80 million, the cost will be $1.2 billion, or a massive 40% of the total amount committed. If all of the 15 tourist township plans follow the model of Arugam Bay, the number of families pushed out to make way for hotels, yachting marinas, helipads and floating plane landing strips could be well over 75,000.
source:
http://www.50years.org/cms/ejn/story/274
published September, 2005 – but only found on the net now, January, 2008
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Viewpoint
By Fredrik Erixon Chief economist, Timbro |
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  Sound economic policies, not aid, have lifted millions of Asians out of poverty  Fredrik Erixon
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The aid sector is booming. In the last three years, foreign aid has risen by one third and today stands at US$78.6 bn. In 2010, government spending on aid is projected to be above US$125 bn a year.
What are we to expect from this new wave of aid spending? Will it, once and for all, lift people out of poverty or will it most likely achieve very little – perhaps even be counterproductive?
These are the core issues. Hardly anyone opposes the idea that first-world countries should assist developing countries, if that assistance helps countries to develop. The question is: does it?
I am afraid it does not.
Failure of the big push
The new ‘big push’ of development aid has been tried many times before but always with dismal results. The call for redoubling aid to eradicate poverty has been responded to many times over, but it has never delivered what it promised.
In spite of more than US$1 trillion in aid to Africa over the last 50 years, the big push in development has yet to occur.
Between 1970 and 1995 aid to Africa increased rapidly and aid dependency (measured as the aid-to-GDP ratio) stood at nearly 20% in the early 1990s. Measured differently, the mean value of aid as a share of government expenditures in African countries was well above 50% between 1975 and 1995.
As African aid rose, growth slowed. World Development Indicators Online
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During the same period, GDP per capita growth in Africa decreased and was for many years even measured in negative figures. The unfortunate fact is that most African countries are poorer today then they were at the time of their independence from colonial powers.
If the idea of aid had been true – in particular the alleged link between aid, investment, and growth – many of those countries would today have eradicated extreme poverty and have a GDP per capita similar to that of New Zealand, Spain or Portugal.
If nothing else, aid to Africa seems to have lowered rather than increased economic growth.
Corruption and bad decisions
Why has aid failed to deliver higher economic growth for developing countries?
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AID AND DEVELOPMENT
Who are the biggest donors and who are the biggest recipients?
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Partly because aid has not been spent in the way it was intended. Instead of gearing up investments, money was spent on current spending and public consumption – which, in turn, led to a rapidly growing public sector in the economy.
Needless to say, this strengthened other socialist tendencies in the economy and investment became, in many developing countries, mainly a government activity.
In addition, aid boosted fiscal budgets and led to a rapidly growing number of parastatals and state-owned enterprises. Largely supported by the donor community at the time, these soon became arenas of corruption and this corruption spread like wildfire to other parts of the society.
Mozambique and other African countries adopted Socialist policies
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The tragedy of aid, as been shown in numerous evaluations and by World Bank research, is that donors are part of the problem of corruption; aid often underpins corruption, and higher aid levels tend to erode the governance structure of poor countries.
In other words, donors have failed to follow the chief principle of the Hippocratic oath: do no harm!
However, the major reason for the low effect of aid has been policies detrimental to economic growth in the recipient countries.
Closed African doors
It is sound economic policies, not aid, that in the last decades have lifted millions – even billions – of Asians out of extreme poverty, and provided the resources to limit the extent of (or in some countries, eradicate) starvation, diseases, and other visible signs of poverty.
Inversely, it is bad economic policies that still keep millions of Africans in deadly poverty.
When several Asian countries started to open up for trade and foreign direct investment, the policies that created the ‘Asian Tigers’ and the ‘Asian Miracles’, many African countries headed for a model of economic autarky, closed the borders, and regulated the domestic economy to absurd degrees.
It is hardly surprising that this strategy of development has failed bitterly.
What is more, donors supported these policies. And many donors are still pouring money into countries with policies detrimental to growth.
Instead of focusing on the quality of aid and how to raise the output through a more productive use of aid, donor countries and others are solely occupied by increasing the quantity of aid.
Regrettably, caution is therefore warranted. Aid to countries that are not performing well tends to strengthen the factors of under-development, and increased aid to countries that have entered the economic reform route runs the risk of derailing the reform process.
Trade in the aid
Do Bono and Sir Bob know how the extra aid should be spent?
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The question then is not if rich countries can afford to give more aid to developing countries. It is obvious that they can.
The question is whether this aid can reduce poverty by promoting economic growth.
Sadly, the history of aid does not show that it can. Nor does it seem that world leaders, not to mention Bob Geldof and other campaigners, have any real idea how the aid given can be made more effective.
So, here is what donor countries should do.
Price of clarina anti acne kit Trade has proven to be instrumental to poor countries development. Aid has not.
Fredrik Erixon is the chief economist of Timbro, a Swedish think-tank, and author of Aid and Development: Will it Work this Time? (International Policy Network, 2005)
source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4209956.stm
photo copyright: www.sri-lanka-board.deA?A?
It is unclear, however, which Organization might be behind this impressive achievement.
Also, Arugam.info has not been informed how much has been spent on this innovative high tech. project.
Maybe we fail to spot the artistic side of his rare monument?
Is there a well known, international sculptor involved?
Emirates to end Lanka partnership
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Epivir-hbv price
By Sanjay Dasgupta
BBC News |
Together the two airlines are major carriers to Sri Lanka
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Emirates Airlines has announced that it will not renew its management contract with Sri Lanka’s national carrier after March this year. Emirates owns a 43% stake in Sri Lankan Airlines and runs it under an agreement with the Sri Lankan government.
The pull-out announcement follows a row over ticketing between the chief executive of Sri Lankan Airlines and the Sri Lankan government in December.
Relations between the two soured significantly following the incident.
Withdrawn
In December Peter Hill was appointed chief executive of Sri Lankan Airlines by Emirates to run to run Sri Lanka’s national carrier.
Soon after his appointment, he refused a request from the Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, for 35 tickets on a flight from London to Colombo.
The president needed to travel at short notice with 35 other passengers
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The president, who was in London for a private visit, was rushing home in order to be able to attend a crucial session of Parliament.
But Mr Hill refused the request as the flight was over-booked. Shortly afterwards, Mr Hill’s working visa and residence permit were withdrawn by the Sri Lankan authorities.
Talking to the BBC, Mr Hill said the incident “had some bearing” on Emirates’ decision not to renew its contract.
“Basically the flights had been full for several months and we weren’t able to accommodate that number of people – we were talking about 35 seats here.
“And so we asked them if there was a possibility that only the president and his close relatives could travel, and we probably would have been able to accommodate them with three or four seats.
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Personally I feel that after 10 years of putting the airline on the right road to success and profitability, it was a disappointing end Sri Lankan Airlines Chief Executive Peter Hill
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“But obviously we weren’t able or prepared to offload 35 previously booked customers, basically taking the whole of our premium cabin and 17 seats in economy, at that short notice.
“That’s not the way that commercial airlines run their businesses, and we’re a commercial airline.”
Mr Hill said soon afterwards his work permit and the residents permit were withdrawn.
The original contract between Emirates and Sri Lankan Airlines had been in operation for 10 years, and would have come up for renewal in April.
Price of brand name wellbutrin Mr Hill said Emirates had made a set of proposals for renewing the contract more than 18 months ago, but had heard nothing from the Sri Lankan authorities.
While Emirates and Sri Lankan Airlines insist their parting has been amicable, Mr Hill said that it would nevertheless send the wrong signal to international investors.
“Personally I feel that after 10 years of putting the airline on the right road to success and profitability, it was a disappointing end,” he said.
“But the message it sends out to the international community, I think, is not a good one.”
For its part Sri Lankan Airlines says it will have to put together a plan to continue running its operations from April, which it says it is capable of doing.
source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7175527.stm
None of arugam.info‘s letters to SLT on this subject have ever been answered by super ‘efficient’ Sri Lanka Tele-CON.
Since June, 2007 we dispute about 70,000Rs./!
(This is because we had to give up our broadband connection and Community Internet Centre in April, 2007. Since then we are reduced to ancient, slow and as we only found out now: Ultra expensive modem operations. A step back into last Century’s technology: Back to AbaY in 1999 to be precise)
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