ICTs in post-conflict Sri Lanka: Preliminary findings Sriganesh Lokanathan Presented by Rohan Samarajiva, PhD This work was carried out for the World Bank with part of the work done with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre, Canada and UKaid from the Department for International Development, UK. 1

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Island state of 65k square km, off southern tip of India – Gained independence from the British in 1948 – Per capita GDP at market prices in 2010: USD 2,399 Multi-ethnic population of 20.5 million (2009) – Sinhala (82%) – Tamil (9.4%) – Moor (7.9%) – Other (0.7%) Multi-religious – Buddhist (77%) – Hindu (8%) – Islamic (8%) – Christian (7%) 2

The conflict Lasted years (1975/ ) between the government and the secessionist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) seeking to create an independent state for Sri Lankan Tamils (1.9 million in 1981 prior to conflict) in the North and the East (and parts of other Provinces as well) – Population in East was split almost equally among Muslims, Sinhala and Tamils – Large population of Tamils of recent Indian origin (855,000 in 2001) remained outside the conflict and part of ruling government alliances throughout – Significant proportion of Sri Lanka Tamils live outside the North and East – Conflict mainly confined to Northern and to a lesser extent in the Eastern provinces Districts in the Northern Province: Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya Districts in the Eastern Province: Ampara, Batticaloa, Trincomalee – LTTE had a virtual parallel government structure in areas under their control Controlled entire Jaffna peninsula from 1990 withdrawal of Indian Peace Keeping Force to 1995 – By 2002, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu and part of Mannar districts in Northern province were firmly under LTTE control – Kilinochchi was the administrative capital of LTTE – They also controlled less populated parts of the Jaffna peninsula (the cultural heartland of the Sri Lanka Tamil population) and Vavuniya districts in the Northern Province and in Eastern province (Ampara, Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts ) 3

Challenges in post-conflict reconstruction Infrastructure losses especially in the North and to a lesser extent the East (about USD 1.63bn by 1996) – Transportation & electricity infrastructure was destroyed by LTTE, leaving the areas poorly connected to the South Economic inequality especially in the North – Cost of the war has been estimated at about USD 200bn – Deaths estimated at k among all ethnic groups; destruction of assets; livelihood loss (more than a 1mn people affected); lack of markets and trade Social inequality – The population in the North especially has been “disconnected” from those in the south – Effects of population displacements (including ethnic cleansing) persist – Poverty alleviation program (Samurdhi) was not accessible in Killinochchi, Mannar & Mullaitivu during the conflict, though government continued to pay its officials and make other welfare payments throughout the war 4

Post-conflict reconstruction efforts Internal and external funding of USD 2.56 billion (grants+loans) committed for development of Northern (mainly) and Eastern provinces by 2010 – For infrastructure Transport infrastructure (railways, roads, bridges etc.) Electricity Irrigation and water supply Government & livelihood related (courts, police stations, administrative offices, housing, agriculture service centers, schools, hospitals, buses, sports and cultural services) – For community & livelihood development Agricultural societies co-ops, livelihood training (mainly in agriculture), connecting markets 5

HOW DO THE FORMER CONFLICT ZONES COMPARE WITH REST OF THE COUNTRY 6

Northern & Eastern provinces have lowest per capita income 7

Northern & Eastern provinces had lowest household income ( ) Source: Household Income & Expenditure Survey, 2009/2010 8

Conflict has caused relative deterioration of social indicators in North and East Infant mortality rate per 1000 live births in 2000 Maternal mortality rate per 1000 live births in 2000 Low birth weight in 2001 % Underweight in 2002 % Home deliveries in 2001 % Sri Lanka North & East

Telecom access Overall phone penetration high in Sri Lanka – 17.1 fixed access paths/ 100 (2011 Q2) – 86.5 mobile SIMs/ 100 (2011 Q2) Mobile signal coverage almost everywhere (even post-conflict areas) – 3G coverage available in areas in the Northern and Eastern provinces – ADSL available in the Northern province as well (Jaffna only for the moment) Optical fiber laid to Jaffna 10

Household access to amenities in N&E provinces are lower in general; Communication devices lowest Source: Household Income & Expenditure Survey, 2009/2010 Communication * Northern province data does not include data for Kilinochchi, Mannar and Mullaitivu districts

How about communication access at the BOP? 90% of the Sri Lankan BOP have used a phone in the previous 3 months Source: LIRNEasia, June 2011 – Representative multi country survey of teleusers at Bottom of Pyramid – Target group: BOP teleusers aged BOP defined as SEC D & E correlating with those earning less than USD 2/day Teleusers defined as having used a phone in the last 3 months BangladeshPakistanIndiaSri LankaJavaThailand %96%86%88% - 77 % %96%89%90% 91% Used a phone in the last 3 months (% of BOP) 12

Not much difference in household access between N&E BOP and rest of country BOP Source: LIRNEasia, 2011 Household access (% of BOP teleusers) 13

Frequency of telecom use also not very different Source: LIRNEasia, 2011 Last time respondent used a phone (% of BOP teleusers) 14

Own phone use higher in N&E Source: LIRNEasia,

Computer use low among LK BOP teleusers; but N & E use higher Source: LIRNEasia,

Internet use low among BOP teleusers in LK; But N&E use higher Source: LIRNEasia,

Phones used mainly for voice; SMS & missed call use higher among N & E BOP teleusers Source: LIRNEasia, 2011 What they do with their mobiles (% of BOP teleusers) 18

Slightly higher instrumental use among BOP phone owners in N & E Source: LIRNEasia, 2011 Use of phone for financial, business or work related communications (% of BOP phone owners) 19

Awareness of polls, entertainment & livelihood related information higher in N & E Source: LIRNEasia, 2011 Awareness of More Than Voice (MTV) services accessible through phone or computers (% of BOP teleusers) 20

Use of MTV services generally low; Voting and competition related services more popular in N & E Source: LIRNEasia, 2011 MTV service usage through phone or computers (% of BOP aware of services) 21

Higher reliance on phones for planning & livelihood related decisions in N&E; also, higher social status associated with phone ownership Source: LIRNEasia, 2011 Benefits of phones in Sri Lanka (mean rating): 1=No change 5=Improved greatly 22

ICTs in reconstruction efforts eGov services available for the north but needs significant improvement in content, services, etc. Gemidriya (Rural development project focused on improving intra-village connectivity and market linkages) – Utilization of telecenters – But there are concerns about lack of utilization in the post-conflict areas Central Bank livelihood development effort – Primarily agricultural related livelihood development – Cooperation with telecommunication operators to provide market prices information and specialized packages for farmers in the Northern & Eastern provinces. 23

Preliminary conclusions Basic ICT infrastructure is not very far behind rest of the country Whilst household access to communication is lower in the conflict areas, amongst the poor it’s not that much different and in some cases use is higher – Higher phone ownership amongst the poor due to large external migration of family members – However relevant content is lacking (for e.g. farmers in the North get market price information via phones for markets in the South) ICT sector is market driven; not dependant on government, except in terms of effective regulation If employment/business opportunities do not increase, demand will be constrained. But signs of hope... 24

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