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One out of six Lankans now multi-dimensionally poor and bulk of them are in rural areas
Approximately one out of every six (16 percent) persons in the country is multi-dimensionally poor, says the Sri Lanka’s first official national Multidimensional Poverty Index (national MPI).
The National MPI, using data from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2019, launched last week, shows that more than eight out of every 10 (80.9 percent) persons who are poor live in rural areas.
The National MPI, prepared jointly by UNICEF, the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the European Union, the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) indicates that poverty levels in districts vary significantly, from a low of 3.5 percent in Colombo to 44.2 percent in Nuwara Eliya. Even for districts with similar MPI values, high-impact policies must consider the indicator composition of poverty, in order to plan the most cost-effective response. Estate areas are pockets of poverty, requiring policy attention, as more than half (51.3 percent) of all people in these areas are living in poverty.
The Executive Summary of the report, titled ‘Sri Lanka’s Multidimensional Poverty Index 2019 Results: National and Child Analyses’ shows that 17.9% of the people, aged 65 years and older, are the poorest age group in Sri Lanka, with the highest headcount ratio (17.9 percent), as well as intensity of poverty and MPI. . Deprivation patterns – and therefore policy and budgetary responses – vary by district and age. The deprivations that require immediate policy attention are the lack of access to health facilities and basic facilities, clean cooking fuels, and safe drinking water.
It says: In 2021, in close consultation with various ministries, the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) developed the first official national Multidimensional Poverty Index (national MPI) for Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan national MPI is an official permanent statistic of multidimensional poverty that will be updated and published regularly, reported as Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 1.2.2, and used to complement the monetary poverty measure. A key population of concern around poverty is young children, whose deprivations in nutrition and cognitive development have lifelong effects. To further probe and support child poverty policies, DCS crafted an individual child Multidimensional Poverty Index (child MPI) for children aged 0-4, which includes exactly the same indicators as the national MPI, plus undernutrition and early childhood development. The national MPI and the child MPI are both based on data from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2019 (HIES 2019). The HIES 2019 was modified to include key MPI indicators, and will do so in future, permitting updates of both MPIs. Sri Lanka’s child MPI is the first official measure of child poverty that links directly and precisely with the national MPI. The MPI is not just a statistic, it is a policy tool. It provides relevant information to accelerate poverty reduction with limited resources – by informing high-impact budget allocation, focused interventions, policy design and coordination, and poverty monitoring. This report presents the key findings of Sri Lanka’s official permanent national MPI and its linked child MPI, further disaggregated by location, age and sex, and the policy implications of these findings. This report explains why Sri Lanka was motivated to develop multidimensional poverty indices, the process followed to design these policy-salient measures, and the measurement methodology. The national MPI results convey the level and composition of multidimensional poverty, disaggregated by age, area, district, and sex of the household head. The child MPI results delve further into an individual measure for children aged 0-4 that is directly linked to the national MPI, but which exposes particular needs of young children.
By Priyan de Silva
The Election Commission (ECSL) has opposed a move by the government to appoint representatives of the Chairpersons of the Regional Development Committee to monitor local government institutions.
ECSL Chairman Nimal G. Punchihewa told The Island that the government had informed the ECSL of its plan to appoint representatives of the Chairpersons of the Regional Development Committee to monitor the local government bodies and the ECSL had decided to write to the Ministry of Local Government opposing the move, he said. A Chairman of a regional development committee ESD a representative of a particular political party and it would be unfair by other parties for such appointments to be made, the EC Chairman said.
Punchihewa said that the administration of local government institutions could be done through Municipal Commissioners and Divisional Secretaries.Many political parties had complained against the government move, he said.
By Saman Indrajith
The JVP would file a fresh application before the Supreme Court against the government for not holding the local council polls, JVP MP Vijitha Herath said yesterday.Addressing the media at the party headquarters in Pelawatte, Herath said that his party had ascertained fresh information by invoking the Right to Information Act about the funds needed for the holding of the elections and his party would file another fundamental rights case against those responsible for conducting elections.
“The LG polls were to be held on 09 March. They were postponed until 25 April, and later they were put off indefinitely. The President appoints Governors to the provinces and the local councils are under them. Now, he says no party commands the support of 50 percent of voters.
Is this reason why he is not holding elections? His claim that there are no funds for elections is not acceptable. The Election Commission (EC) has, in a letter to the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, asked for Rs 1,100 million in installments for conducting local government elections. The Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, on 07 March, informed
the EC that the latter’s request had been referred to the Minister of Finance on the same day. But so far the money has not been released. As per a report released by the Treasury, the government revenue was Rs 177,900 million in January this year alone. Of that amount, Rs 156,760 was allocated to government institutions. The Treasury has Rs 21,410 million. In February, the government revenue was at Rs. 271,750 million and of that Rs. 208,620 million was spent. The balance was Rs 63,130 million. In January and February, the Treasury had Rs 84,270 million. These figures have been officially confirmed by a Deputy Treasury Secretary. The EC is seeking only Rs 2,460 million for elections. So, the claim that there is no money for elections is false as per official records. We will submit this information to the Supreme Court when we file a fresh application. We will prove that the government has lied to people,” Herath said.
SJB mayoral candidate for Colombo Municipal Council Mujibur Rahuman alleges that President Ranil Wickremeisnghe has violated election laws by appointing UNP’s mayoral candidate Rosy Senanayake as the Presidential Advisor on Local Government.
Participating in a talk show hosted by a private TV channel, Rahuman said that Senanayake was a candidate for the delayed local government polls. “She has submitted nominations for the Colombo Municipal Council from the UNP list. It is illegal to appoint a candidate to such a post pending an election. The local council polls have not yet been cancelled and cases pertaining to the holding of elections are in progress,” he said, adding that of all the posts the local government candidate had been given the post of Presidential Advisor on Local Governance.
“More than three months have lapsed since Senanayake stepped down from the Colombo Mayor post, but she is still occupying the Mayor’s Residence. The President says that he is implementing the system change demanded by people. The change he is actually doing is giving appointments to his cronies. Is it the change the people expected,” Rahuman queried.
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