Features
Digital literacy and senior citizen – A Sri Lankan perspective
The International Day of Older Persons fell on October 1 on the theme ‘Digital Equity for All Ages’
By Randima Attygalle
Chandrani Senanayake (name changed) an educationist and one-time principal of a leading school in Colombo in her mid-60s says that the digital technology has been a blessing to revive her much loved teaching career. “Now that I’m retired from government service, virtual teaching has helped me revive my passion and as a consultant to a university today, I enjoy organizing webinars to assist students to develop their personality, soft skills etc. Digital platforms have helped me adapt my teaching methods to suit the evolving times,” she says.
Senanayake notes that especially during the pandemic, such interventions not only keep her professionally fulfilled but personally too, connecting her with her children and grandchildren. “I enjoy watching video clips my granddaughter shares with me on Whatsapp. Although I’m a lover of print material, I have now got used to reading newspapers and other content on line, especially during the lockdown, and this kept me really engaged.”
Milton Liyanage or Milton Uncle as he is fondly called is a vegetable vendor from Thalawathugoda. He drives his three-wheeler in his spare time to earn an extra buck. Milton, 75, now owns a smartphone but its use is limited to making and answering calls. “My children bought me this phone although I find it very complicated,” he says with a smile. Having done his vegetable business for decades with minimum or no technology, he finds digital devices overwhelming. “Sometimes my grandchildren help me maneuver the smartphone, they talk of face book and internet which I do not find that fascinating.” An avid newspaper reader, he still trusts the good old printed word as his credible source of information and rejects the Facebook.
Pushpa Hemalatha from Galle is 62-years old and her children are both overseas. Never having done a job, she has now “very little to do” with her children grown up and abroad for higher studies. Facebook is one of her greatest indulgences. “I enjoy being on it and being connected. I also like watching tik-tok videos,” says Pushpa. “Thanks to WhatsApp, I can see my children via video calls.”
A senior professor of Humanities who asked not to be named notes that digital interventions such as the Zoom and WhatsApp are extremely useful to him for sharing his knowledge with friends and the public. The additional features of recording the proceedings and even mixing with You Tube are very useful, he adds. “Digital media is of immense use in this global pandemic as it enables cashless transactions and spares us of the hassle of traveling to pay bills and do grocery shopping,” says the professor.
Now nearing his 80s, he does online shopping and also arranges for home delivery of groceries and pays his utility bills with a mobile apps. “It makes life a lot easier, remaining at home than maintaining social distancing in public,” he says. An avid reader, he prefers to read his newspapers online. “Since I can enlarge the letters on the screen, I need not struggle reading small print.” The digital evolution has made lives of senior citizens easier with less dependence on others says the scholar adding that it also helps avoid more risky actions including driving. It helps senior citizens to obtain medical consultations and even medicines home delivered, he says.
The International Day of Older Persons which fell on October 1 on the theme ‘Digital Equity for All Ages’ affirms the need for access and meaningful participation in the digital world by older persons. “Ever since the United Nations declared the International Day for Older Persons in 1990, every year the day had been dedicated to a topical theme with the objective of making communities, families, decision makers and service providers aware of certain needs of the older people and thereby contribute towards meeting them qualitatively and quantitatively. Last year WHO declared 2020 to 2030 as ‘The Decade of Healthy Ageing’. The 2021 theme of ‘Digital Equity’ becomes very valid in the pandemic-hit world where connectivity is of importance despite physical distancing,” Dr. Shiromi Maduwage, Consultant Community Physician from the Youth, Elderly and Disability Unit of the Ministry of Health told the Sunday Island.
The 2021 theme targets many goals: to create awareness of the importance of digital inclusion of older persons while tackling stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination associated with digitalization. These take into account socio-cultural norms and the right to autonomy to highlight policies to leverage digital technologies for full achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and to address public and private interests, in the areas of availability, connectivity, design, affordability, capacity building, infrastructure and innovation.
Other areas covered include exploring the role of policies and legal frameworks to ensure privacy and safety of older persons in the digital world and to highlight the need for a legally binding instrument on the rights of older persons and an intersectional person-centered human rights approach for a society for all ages.
The ‘digital divide’ as the United Nations points out, ‘still persists between more and less connected countries, communities, and people.’ It further notes that ‘enabling all the world’s people to access and use digital technologies and closing digital divides remains a challenge that needs to be addressed if the world community is to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ( ) by 2030.
The number of older persons worldwide is projected to more than double, reaching more than 1.5 billion persons in 2050. According to UN data, while all regions will see an increase in the size of the older population between 2019 and 2050, the largest increase (312 million) is projected to occur in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, growing from 261 million in 2019 to 573 million in 2050.
“The whole world is now ageing and Sri Lanka is not spared. Today there is around a billion elderly world over (those over 60 years) and according to our Census of Population and Housing 2012, out of our total population 12.4% belong to the elderly category. Of this, female adult population is more. It is estimated that Sri Lankan elderly population would be 16% of the total at our next census in 2022 and this is a sizeable percentage for a country in the South East Asian region,” observed Dr. Maduwage. With the increasing elderly population, a country will have to face health, social and economic challenges. “However, as policy makers and programme planners, we always attempt to convert older persons into assets or resources despite challenges,” pointed out this senior health official.
The fact-finding exercise carried out by the Youth, Elderly and Disability Unit of the Ministry of Health, on the impact of the digital culture on Sri Lankan elders was an attempt to study the relevance of this year’s theme of The International Day of Older Persons. The initiative under the banner, ‘Hello Project’ was carried out by a group of young people under 24 years and they were provided technical support by the Youth, Elderly and Disability Unit, Ministry of Health. The survey in form of telephone conversations was done in August this year.
“The elders were categorized into three groups as ‘young – old’ (60 to 69 years), ‘middle -old’ (70 to 79 years) and ‘old-old’ (over 80 years) and were interviewed to find out about their adaptability to the digital world, their thinking patterns and the gaps,” explained Dr. Maduwage. The findings revealed that while some elders were not digital-savvy due to lack of devices, others had to depend on children or grandchildren to handle them. “Vision problems, physical discomfort in handling devices were some of the common problems found among those between ‘middle old’ and ‘old-old’ group of elders . The use of devices was found to be minimal or zero among the ‘old- old’ age group,” she explained.
The issues some had encountered with merchants when ordering their groceries online and through other mobile applications were also found to discourage older people from trusting digital platforms. “Some said they had been played out and wrong goods had been sent. Some of their bill payments have not been updated discouraging them from using such facilities. This is where we need policies and regulations to make older consumers lives easier, especially during a pandemic situation such as this,” the health official noted.
Another cross section of older people was found to completely reject any advanced digital platforms on the grounds of ‘no faith’. “Certain family or environmental factors such as seeing the ill effects of addiction to such devices by younger family members and reports of cyber crimes have driven these elders to completely reject smartphones, websites etc.”
Loneliness among the elderly is a challenging situation in the community. In 2012, the Census of Population and Housing revealed that one in every three older women were widowed in Sri Lanka. Thus, digital inclusion provides better solutions for issues like loneliness. Digital inclusion on the whole can add colour to the lives of the elderly, especially during a pandemic situation and advancements can improve their quality of life as well, Dr.Maduwage remarked.
“Policy makers and other stakeholders should also strive to create an enabling environment for the elders in terms of offering incentives such as special phone packages, awareness of digital culture and its benefits through concepts such as ‘Silver Economy’ (the system of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services aimed at using the purchasing potential of older and ageing people and satisfying their consumption, living and health needs). Digital inclusion is also an effective means of bridging the generation gap as it enables connectivity between the young and the old,” she noted.
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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