Economy of Jaffna and Business

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2/19/2009 Tourism • Domestic tourism to Jaffna increased during the ceasefire period • Jaffna boasts historically important sites as well as sites of religious worship that attract thousands of people to the peninsula – Naagadeepa Vihare, Nallur Kovil, ancient temples on the islands etc • However, tourism authorities note the total lack of infrastructure to support the industry –everything needs to be built from scratch • Industry actors also note some lack of interest by central govt. in developing the tourism sector Minerals • The Vadamarachchi East area of the peninsula said to be endowed with large deposits of silica sand, which can be used in the manufacturing of glass products • Distinction between silica and pure silica –only pure silica (free of iron stains) can be used for manufacturing glass • Deposits of normal construction sand • Has not been systematically ti tapped, but will be a very useful resource when Eastern and Northern revival takes off • Limestone deposits at Kankasanthurai (KKS) • Some of it already being tapped by the cement factory there • No recent data with GSMB regarding deposits and utilisation in Jaffna • Jaffna can benefit from proximity to Pulmodai mineral sand deposit and Seruwavila iron copper deposit Power and Telecoms in Jaffna • No. of electricity connections ‐ 81,536 • 108,507 in NP • No. of land phone connections* ‐ 9,743 *(Sri Lanka Telecom, Suntel, and Lanka Bell) • 20,059 in NP Source: CEB and TRC • Mobile phones – Jaffna shows one of the highest usage rates, possibly due to lack of fixed line coverage • Jaffna mobile users spend as much as 12% of income on telecommunications • High spending on making/receiving international calls • Removing a major constraint to business, Jaffna has just received highspeed internet coverage from Mobitel Selected health indicators • Infant mortality rate ‐ 22.3% • Maternal mortality ratio –62% • Low birth weight ‐ 30.5% • Underweight 0‐5 years ‐ 43.1% • Home births ‐ 4.4% • Safe sanitation ‐ 79.0% Source: WHO 2002 • Shortage of doctors in the district, those passing out from the Jaffna medical faculty shift elsewhere to work • Some reports of as much as 200 vacancies for doctors, not filled • Some govt. doctors spending more time practising in private hospitals and clinics after work than in govt. hospitals and clinics • Patients are charged high consultation fees (as a proportion of their income) at these private clinics (around Rs. 300‐350) Education status • Literacy rate, Net Initial Intake rate in Grade 1 not available as in depth household survey not conducted • Survival rate from Grade 1 to 9 in NP (2007) = 78.3% • Male = 73.5%, Female = 83.3% • Second lowest, after Eastern Province • National average is 87.09% • Even lagging provinces of Uva and Sabaragamuwa are higher, h at 86.8% 8% and 87.6% respectively Source: ‘Student flow analysis’ based on Min. of Educ. School Census 2006 & 2007 Performance at Secondary School Examinations (2004) • G.C.E O/L pass rate – 40% (up from 34% in 1998) • G.C.E A/L pass rate – 58% (down from 67% in 1998) Source: Dept. Of Examinations Education status –GCE A/L • 51.6% of students enrolled for GCE A/Ls in 2008, having sat GCE O/Ls in 2007 • Recent A/L examinations ‐ breakdown by subject stream: • Science – 20.2% • Commerce – 12.1% • Arts – 67.7% • Due to appear for A/Ls in 2009 – breakdown by subject • Science – 18.8% • Commerce – 14.8% • Arts – 66.4% Source: Calculations by M. Sivagnanam, Former Director Primary Education, Ministry of Education, based on School Census 2007 & 2008 6
2/19/2009 Results from a field survey – PPID/ILO • Survey carried out by PPID; included all districts in the North; target group was children and youth (aged 15‐19 yrs) • 57% of the respondents were female and 43% male • 85% of respondents in Jaffna wanted to pursue further or higher education – within this, a higher proportion of females (49%) than males (36%) • 28% preferred to follow arts and humanities, 25% preferred commerce, 21% preferred biological sciences, 15% preferred physical sciences, 7% preferred to follow teaching education, and 5% social sciences • A further 7% wanted to follow vocational studies • Around 7.4% wished to work immediately after formal schooling • Preference of sector and category of employment • 36% sought the professional/technical category of employment, 19% administrative, 15% managerial in the public sector • 4% of children sought managerial, 3% sought administrative and 2% sought professional/technical positions in the private sector • So significant preference away from working in primary sector (agric., fisheries, farming etc) –only around 6% in total Desired skills training ‐ results from a field survey (cont...) • Computer studies topped the preference of all respondents all the five districts of the North, followed by accounting studies • 50% of the children and 53% of their parents stated a preference for computer studies training • 24% of the children and 22% of their parents stated a preference for accounting studies training • Females showed a stronger preference than males, in both categories • Preferences for training in electrical/electronic/telecommunication (4%), clerical/typing/secretarial (4%), and hairdressing/beauty culture (3%) were also noted • On the supply side, of the firms interviewed, 37% stated that lack of English language skill is the main problem among the employees, 23% lack IT awareness, and 19% lack Sinhala language skills Source: Sarvananthan, M. (2005), ‘Identification of Economic Opportunities for Children Affected by War in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka’ What next? Reconstruction and revival • ‘Uthuru Wasanthaya’ – Northern revival plan by GoSL • Rs. 3 billion for rebuilding 80,000 houses and to restore livelihoods • Rs. 500 million for resettlement programmes • The World Bank • North‐East Irrigated Agriculture Project (NEIAP) • North East Emergency Rehabilitation Project (NEERP) • Education Sector Development Project (ESDP) – includes N‐E among other provinces • Community Livelihoods in Conflict Affected Areas Project • Latest Country‐Assistance Strategy (2009‐2012) notes in the section on post‐conflict development: • Integrated rural infrastructure and livelihood project • Addressing needs in public service delivery –rebuilding schools and clinics • Support for housing, rehabilitation of inter‐village roads and community infrastructure, improving the business environment • Support for reducing youth unemployment, introducing trauma counselling at village level • Enhancing inter‐ethnic awareness – learning a ‘link’ language plus learning each others languages etc • Asian Development Bank • North East Community Restoration and Development Project (NECORD) • Conflict Affected Area Rehabilitation Project (CAARP) Concluding remarks • Large untapped, unmarketed potential in the key agricultural crops of the area (paddy, red onion, chilli, potato, tobacco) and livestock produce – creating better market linkages, better utilisation of agricultural/farming capacity and skills, better access to micro‐funding/SME loan guarantees etc • However, aspirations of the youth appear to lie in the services industry, not the agriculture cum fisheries sector • Having traditionally enjoyed high levels of education achievement and intellectual capital, are knowledge‐based businesses the way forward for Jaffna? • Immediate need for matching the keen interest among the youth population in higher education services, skills and vocational training, with the provision of such services • Potent to train a workforce suitable to tap the BPO industry, other knowledgeeconomy industries • Meanwhile, building up essential infrastructure and create a business friendly environment – electricity, telecoms, financial services, roads and transport • Innovative measures to attract investment and business interest from the displaced Jaffna Diaspora – converting the accumulated financial and human capital among the Diaspora into assets in the development process –as the case in India – converting the ‘brain drain’ into a ‘brain gain’ • Anecdotal evidence suggests that as much as 75% of the Tamils who fled Sri Lanka to Western countries are from the Northern Province, particularly from the Jaffna peninsula • Formal and informal foreign remittances received by Jaffna labour might be creating a disincentive to supplying more labour hours – needs more investigation • Urgent need to gather data and statistics on the region – providing necessary funding and administrative measures to conduct surveys following resettlement 7
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Economy of Jaffna and Business

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