Strategies for Sri Lanka to recover post-Ditwah disaster

The possible strategies to overcome as well as to succeed the Post Ditwah Cyclone disaster are as follows:

- By Prof. A. Saj U. Mendis, PhD

i) May request the approximately 3 million Sri Lankan migrant/expatriate community to contribute to the recovery of the aforesaid disaster. In this context, if 2 million expatriate communities of Sri Lanka pledged $100 per month for 12 months to a highly transparent, accountable and explicable Fund, as the Government has already established, would translate to 2 million x $100 x 12 months = $2.4 billion. It may further be added that the Government has earned the confidence, credibility and credence from the populace that the pledged funds for the said cause would be expended, as stated, without any misappropriation or corruption.

ii) On the same note, if Sri Lanka could secure approximately 500,000 new highskilled and professional employment abroad, it would increase the foreign remittances from $8 billion in 2025 to $14 billion. This is stated on the calibration of a single high skilled/ professional remittance of $1,000 per month, which would translate to $6 billion annually.

iii) May consider raising tax revenue, which is now around 15.4% of GDP to about 19% on a gradual basis. Of course, the Government should pay meticulous cognisance to the "Laffer Curve", otherwise economic growth and output would diminish significantly.

iv) Government and corporate sector (hospitality) should aggressively promote tourism as Sri Lanka is well positioned and well poised to attract 6 million tourists in 2026. If a tourist spends a conservative amount of $1,200 during the stay in Sri Lanka, it would translate to $7.2 billion not to mention creation of significant employment opportunities and commercial development. Of course, in order to attract and woo tourists of this scale and magnitude, it may be most pertinent to relax visa restrictions, similar to Singapore or Maldives in the region, and address the touristic infrastructure in all realms.