Letters to the Editor

Tap the expatriate gold mine for disaster relief
It is a great national pity that Sri Lanka has not even thought of tapping the expatriates to assist voluntarily in times of national need. The operations under way are ad hoc and not organised or focused. I urge the government to look into this avenue immediately. For here is a neglected gold mine.

Here in Australia alone there are many enquiries made by Sri Lankans as to how they could send money for relief funds. There is nobody to guide them; nor has our High Commission any plan of action.

If every Sri Lankan expatriate here contributes $10 each, a staggering $ 2 million could be collected. There are some willing to give much more, provided they have a credible account to send the money too. I suggest that every Sri Lankan embassy should be immediately requested to open a separate account with credit card receipt facility to respond to raise funds for the disaster relief.

Furthermore, there are persons and organisations which would in normal times like to help specialised institutions like the Lady Ridgeway Children's Hospital, Cancer Hospital etc. The Royal Melbourne Children's Hospital every year sets aside a day and collects as much as 7 million dollars through interactive media programmes. This gives some inkling of the potential of voluntary contributions that are available. Our Sri Lankan hospitals are apparently not aware of such channels. Sri Lankan hospitals and charities should maintain special bank accounts to receive such donations and they should place advertisements calling for donations. They should also form special boards of management to handle the disbursement of voluntary funds and publish audited reports, for credibility is crucial in tapping overseas funds.

Our government could go a step further and grant tax and other incentives (a point system for the grant of dual citizenship) for such contributions. Western countries have long realised the potential of voluntary fund-raising and they have organised schemes in a professional way to tap them. Sri Lanka is sleeping over this possibility.

The story behind GFATM project activities
I read the article ‘Tangled web’ in The Sunday Times on the GFATM project activities with great interest as we, the Independent Medical Practitioners' Association, are also involved in it as a partner though not in the importing and distribution of mosquito nets.

Our task was to improve the abilities of the general practitioners who are in the private sector by upgrading their knowledge on diagnosis, management and control of malaria and tuberculosis in the country.

We got involved in this project at a time when for some reason, one of our sister associations which was to carry out the activity backed out. Since we, as an association, have been having activities directed towards continued education of our members, we thought it was a good chance to further the knowledge of our members and the medical practitioners in the respective project areas.

We had to make certain changes in the budget as our members felt that payments budgeted for consultants, who were the same people who formulated the project were too heavy. This as you know, is the usual practice in countries like ours wherein proposals for donor-funded projects benefit more the person who formulates or manages the project and less the organization concerned or the people of the country for whose benefit the project is designed.

The GFATM project is a partnership among many parties - the government, NGOs, academics, faith-based organizations and also people suffering from the three diseases of AIDS, TB and malaria. The Global Fund is a relatively young organization which has given grants worth 2 billion US dollars to more than 128 countries to fight these dreaded diseases. Funding for each round is for five years where at the end of the first two years you are assessed on your performance and if satisfactory, given the green light to carry on for the next three years.

We reliably understand that on the strength of the performance of our and other organizations involved in the first two years, the project will be extended and funding granted for the next three years. But what is interesting is that the so-called experts who formulated the project, keeping their personal interest above the country's interest, having failed in their endeavour are now trying to change the partners and get those who will dance to their tune so that they could still earn something even at the end of the day.

In performance-based funding how can the entire lot of organizations which proved their worth and made the project qualify for the next phase, be replaced with other organizations which were never in the project to prove their performance?

I will be thankful, if The Sunday Times writes another article on the other happenings of this project as this is a classic example of how people with vested interests play out the funds intended for the deserving people of this country.

Dr. S.L.G. Jayasuriya
President
Independent Medical Practitioners' Association of Sri Lanka (IMPA)

Security slip at Khan show
Considering the importance of Shahrukh Khan, the local organizers of the mega show held on December 11 should have requested the police to provide adequate security and protection in addition to the security provided by a private organization.

The police too on their own should have got more involved in providing security, especially in the face of protests by certain groups. The two events - Soma Thera's commemoration and the Khan show being held in venues close to each other was asking for trouble. If the concert venue had been shifted to the Sugathadasa Stadium or another venue, this would not have happened.

Nobody’s curse
The most obnoxious display in the wake of the national disaster is the claim by a group that their pleadings, nut cracking and curses have been answered! So the gods have punished - a sort of poetic justice for justice flawed! But miserably, the gods have shot their arrows askance!

In comparison one is reminded of the devastating quake of 1906 which hit the then notoriously naughty and sinful US frontier city of San Francisco causing havoc and misery. Then as now, some religious fundamentalist groups applauded the disaster, others even celebrating with joyous parades. But one keen and sickened observer noting a notorious distillery spared posed this poetic question.

If, as some say, God spanked the town
for being over-frisky
Why did he burn churches down
And save Hotaling's whiskey?

Interest rates: Premier chamber should explain its position
In the past all trade chambers campaigned tirelessly for low interest rates for the benefit of the business community. Their role is to fight for the cause of their members and not for any personal glory. Therefore, it is shocking that the National Chamber of Commerce is backing the increase in interest rates -- a move no businessman would welcome.

The National Chamber of Commerce should issue a statement, indicating up to what rate it wants the government to increase the interest rates. It should also explain to the business community why it did not protest when the previous regime reduced interest rates. It would be unfortunate if recognized chambers become spokespersons for political parties. Over to you, the chamber spokesman.

Of tidings and tidal waves
The rise and fall of the Indian Ocean
Of nuclear tests and global warming,
Reading between the gas-lines
Of UN orations and ovations,
History's fifth largest tidal-wave
Of 12/26 dawns…
As South East Asia mourns…

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