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“There is no decision made to improve our lives. The
government should take decisions immediately for us. We
need to resettle in our own lands.”
1
It seems that people are unhappy with the government
services and expect an immediate response to the rebuild-
ing and rehabilitation. The government has provided basic
services such as water, electricity, sanitary facilities and
other related services, however, the divisional secretariat
in this area mentions that they face various difficulties in
delivery services.
The government has already provided necessary services
such as electricity, sanitary facilities, garbage collection, and
water – every family gets tap line water provided by the water
utility and the drainage board. The government collects
garbage from the village once a month. People can get the
services of midwives at the government hospital. The villag-
ers use the bus provided by the Sri Lanka Transport Board
to visit to the nearest village.
According to the villagers, they are receiving some mone-
tary subsidies from the government, for instance, a fund
of 3000 rupees to the widows. It has been observed that
several houses were constructed, most with funds provided
by UNHCR.
However, there are more things to be done for improving
living standards, completing resettlement and fulfilling other
expectations. There are various ways to change the situation
in the region but a lack of support from the ministries and
dependence on central government does not supply solu-
tions. Alternatively, managerial innovation could be applied
to build strong, responsive and effective public service deliv-
ery. Innovation can be defined as a view to a change or doing
something in a different way. Yin
2
defines organizational
innovation as originating predominantly from the motive of
improving goods and services provided by the organization.
Through managerial innovation, existing working patterns,
systems, procedures and styles could be changed leading to
more efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of public
services that help to reduce costs, generate income and
increase the peoples’ satisfaction towards the public service
3
.
The chief role of a divisional secretariat is to solve issues
relating to lands in that region. It is possible to arrange aware-
ness programmes to explain the difficulties faced in giving
back the original lands. The people should be reminded that
they are no longer the victims of war, but have the capacity
to expand their livelihoods.
As the income level of a family directly affects their living
standards, a suitable mechanism could be developed to
increase the level of income. People in the area should be
given lands to cultivate as it is suitable for the cultivation of
grapes, mango, rubber and many other crops. This action
will increase household income levels as well as economic
productivity. If facilities are provided for cultivation with the
support of the private sector, it will bring several benefits for
the people. For example, a leading private sector company
in Sri Lanka has developed links with farmers, helping the
harvest to be sent direct to the market. Hence, the company
Image: Third year undergraduates of the department of public administration reading for B.Sc. Public Management (Special) Degree
People live with only minimum living conditions. Their temporary houses are visible in the background