The Call For Local Talent – A Response To Gotabaya’s Speech
Dr. Thrishantha Nanayakkara
I read defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s keynote address at the inaugural National Engineering Conference, organized by the Institution of Engineers in Sri Lanka (IESL), with great interest. He had given a number of good advices to the members of IESL about positive thinking, initiative, professional conduct, and leadership. The specific examples of success in the infrastructure development projects in Colombo were impressive. His observation – “We need engineers to come up with innovative methods to help mitigate problems such as water, land and air pollution. Even with regard to public security, it is very clear that traditional policing methods are no longer adequate to deal with the increasing sophistication of criminals and terrorists.” – is commendable.
He identifies migration of engineers abroad as a problem while the foreign ministry applauds the foreign currency remittances by Sri Lankan workers abroad. Not only Gotabaya, but also all other politicians including the president keep on re-iterating the importance of professionals in this kind of forums and election rallies, without seeing what they can do to get professionals engaged in the development process of Sri Lanka. I thought of writing this note because some flaws of attitude are clearly evident in the statement by Gotabaya – “Unfortunately, one of the problems we face as a nation is that many of our talented professionals leave the country in pursuit of higher paying jobs abroad”.
Unfortunately, Many Of Our Talented Professionals Leave The Country
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
It gives me great pleasure to deliver the keynote address at the inaugural National Engineering Conference, organised by the Institution of Engineers in Sri Lanka. The theme chosen for this conference-”Engineering Sri Lanka’s Future”-is a very timely and appropriate one. The present era will in many ways be a decisive one for the future of this country. Having emerged from a three decades long terrorist conflict less than five years ago, Sri Lanka today is one of the most peaceful and stable countries in the world. It is also a country in the midst of a widespread and far reaching economic development thrust. What is required at this time is for all stakeholders to work together with vision, dedication and commitment to drive the nation’s development. In this context, the role of Engineers assumes particular importance. Read More
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
