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Positive change in prospects for North, says top UNDP official
The narrative on development prospects for Sri Lanka’s North has changed for the positive “quite significantly”, said a top official who visited the country this week to evaluate the direction of UNDP activities following the January Presidential election.
UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP’s Asia-Pacific Regional Director Haoliang Xu offered to help the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) develop its functions and governance capacity in order to speed up development. He also discussed the formulation of a five-year provincial development plan for war-shattered areas.
Haoliang Xu
A large number of donor agencies and organisations already worked in the North, Mr. Haoliang observed: “I can see the investments that donors and the Government put in over the last few years bearing fruit.”
It was important to combine these activities so that each agency could work to a medium-term plan through which results and impact could be measured. The progress in the North, he said, has been steady.
Asked how any donor agency could formulate plans when the Government was so unstable, Mr. Haoliang said, “Let’s hope this is temporary.” “You had an election January that voted in a new President,” he reflected. “The expectation is that there will soon be a parliamentary election that will result in a stable Government.”
“Of course, without a stable government, it’s difficult for medium-term or longer-term planning so people do pin a lot of hopes on the elections,” he added. “But it’s a domestic process and outsiders cannot influence it. This should be left to Sri Lankans to sort out. From the international community’s side, we are here to facilitate a vision of development that is sustainable, inclusive and resilient.”
During his six-day visit, Mr. Haoling met a range of officials in several parts of the country. “The reason I’m here, frankly, is to look at what has changed,” he said. “With the election, there is a lot of enthusiasm internationally to support Sri Lanka. For us, as I said very clearly, our commitment to support Sri Lanka’s development does not change.”
“Our commitment is the same, regardless of who is in government,”he continued. “But, of course, every new government provides opportunities to reassess priorities, needs, and how you can collaborate. I’m here to understand the perspectives after elections. And I am also very much aware that you have another election coming up. So it is very important to stay engaged, to understand emerging needs and priorities, so we can provide a more coherent, relevant support.”
Mr. Haoliang found that there were more discussions now on structural reform. “Not only governance, economic, as well,” he reported. “For example, about the kind of economic structure you want to have; what’s the driver, the engine of growth in the future? Is it small and medium enterprises, larger enterprises, a form of State enterprise or is it foreign direct investment-driven growth?”
These topics came up in discussions with Government officials, he said. Structural issues included civil service reform and reform of the pension fund. “The development needs of a country don’t shift very quickly just because a government changes,” he said. “We do look for openings and I think not much will be decided now but we wanted to use every opportunity to engage with the Government, to have this productive dialogue.”
Mr. Haoliang said he was “generally confident and optimistic” about Sri Lanka’s future. The country has proven it has done well in social development, despite conflict. “Your human development index improved 32 percent between 1980 and 2013, the highest in South Asia,” he explained. “You improved our rank to 73 out of 180-plus countries in the world. And you are a middle income country.”
“Despite setbacks because of conflict, you have achieved a lot so that shows the capacity Sri Lanka has,” he said. “If different communities and groups work together to overcome the challenges, the future, in my view, is tremendous.”