The Qatar project

The Government's success in securing a major engineering contract to construct 5,000 luxury villas in Qatar is an outstanding achievement.

According to our page 3 lead story yesterday this is the first time in history that a Sri Lankan Government had offered the expertise of its workmen for a major project to a foreign Government. The feat is doubly significant in that it is mostly the other way around ie. we depend on foreigners to handle our own projects.

The report which quotes Construction and Engineering Services Minister Rajitha Senaratne states that the project costing US$ 5,000 million would provide lucrative earnings for more than 10,000 Sri Lankans who will be employed in the project as engineers, architects, plumbers, masons and others related to the construction field. An MoU has already been signed by the two Governments in this regard.

Sri Lanka all these years has been overly dependant on foreign expertise for its development projects. Time was when we had foreigners even painting our zebra crossings, a task which could have been easily performed by our own men.

A heavy influx of foreigners into the country was witnessed with the advent of the open economy that saw a construction boom and the launch of mega projects such the accelerated Mahaweli Development scheme. True, we had our own engineers working in these projects but it was the foreigners who called the shots and directed the course of every project.

That was also a time when there was not much expertise we could boast of that could match with the foreigners. This came about only with more and more exposure to new developments in advanced technology afforded by the free market enterprise and also to a large extent through the novel medium of television.

It is in this context that the selection of Sri Lankans for the "Qatar project" assume significance in that it will be the first time the country will showcase

Sri Lankan expertise and professional skills in their original form in a foreign land, a feat every Sri Lankan could be proud of.

The credit for this is owed to Minister Rajitha Senaratne who was largely instrumental in striking this deal for Sri Lanka under the guidance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

It is hoped that this will pave the way for more overseas contracts in the future for Lankan professionals in diverse fields which would help put Sri Lanka on the world map for its skills market.

The Qatar venture more than anything underlines the fact that Sri Lankans possess the skills and talent to hold their own in any field of endeavour on par with the best. What had been lacking is the proper environment and advanced facilities to give rein to their abilities as in developed countries.

In fact, what had been keeping many Sri Lankan professionals domiciled abroad from returning to help in the development activities of their Motherland is this lack of advanced facilities that they are familiar with in their adopted countries. Bureaucratic red tape was a another deterrent.

However the 'Qatar contract' has shown that Sri Lanka too has now entered the big league where the expertise of her workmen could be in demand even in developed countries. This is a tribute to the vast strides made in the introduction of skills based education over the years in technical and related fields.

The present Government has further expanded these frontiers for the youth to acquire diverse skills that could be marketable in diverse employment fields here and abroad as seen by the fund of skilled personnel that have been recruited for the 'Qatar Project'.

The recognition of Sri Lankan expertise by the Qatari Government would also dispel the popular notion of Lanka being chiefly an exporter of unskilled labour.

But we should guard against a heavy exodus of skilled manpower lest the country would be bereft of local expertise at a time gigantic projects are in the pipeline. The lure of the mega bucks could precipitate such an exodus.

Therefore, it is incumbent that the Government offer extra incentives and perks to our pool of skilled manpower to retain their services for the massive tasks ahead. Some time ago President Rajapaksa made an appeal to Lankan expatriates to return to their country and offer their expertise for the country's development effort.

It is hoped that this appeal is heeded at a time the Government is to embark on its ambitious "Eastern Awakening" programme. We hope the "Qatar Project" will prove a catalyst for the opening of opportunities to our youth to demonstrate their talents on the world stage and bring honour and glory to the Motherland.

Every opportunity should be afforded by the Government to realise this ambition.