Project 'Clean Sri Lanka'
The Sri Lankan government’s ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ project which was launched recently, aspires to make the island the cleanest country in the Asian region. Getting better than Singapore, Japan or South Korea is wishful thinking; nevertheless one can aim for the stars and still get to the moon. ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ aims to maintain cleanliness in the country where steps will be taken to ensure clean buses and stands, trains and railway stations, public toilets, rivers, beaches and so on.
Literarily, the cleaning of Sri Lanka means conscious efforts taken to rid the physical environment of unsightly and hazardous polluting matters. But the project is meant to go beyond that literary meaning. According to the website on ‘Clean Sri Lanka’, the project is a combination of cleaning both the environment and human attitudes. It is based on four pillars of sustainability, namely, environmental, economic, social, and governance, abbreviated as EESG.
A task force, established to implement the ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ programme, will aim at achieving the objectives of elevating society to a more advanced status through a social, environmental and ethical awakening.
In this regard, ‘awakening’ is not about preaching – it’s about offering the people the right information to enable them to make the proper choice. Raising people’s consciousness relates to three key components:
The path ahead though must be tread carefully, because overkill of messages that follow such government intentions often end with undercooked results.
First and foremost, the message to keep Sri Lanka clean must be allowed to percolate over a protracted period of time. Awakening society requires creating a strong public awareness of everyone’s duty to keeping Sri Lanka clean. The awareness-building about cleanliness and environmental protection refers to sensitising local people, tourists and relevant stakeholders about the benefits of cleanliness, hygiene, sanitation, and a healthy environment. And that higher standards can be achieved by first; improving cleansing services and second; everyone, at home, at school, at work, at play and on the move, making his/her effort to see that waste, rubbish and litter goes into proper bins for the cleansing workers to regularly collect.
During the launch of the ‘Keep Singapore Clean’ campaign in 1968, the then-prime minister Lee Kuan Yew emphasised that maintaining community cleanliness is dependent on a population aware of its duties, and, that raising the standards of social behaviour will put pressure on anti-social conduct such as throwing litter on the roads, dumping refuse in drains. He urged people to look after public parks as their own garden, kept neat for everyone else’s enjoyment and that lifts, staircases, corridors and toilets in offices or public spaces be treated as extensions of one’s home - to be kept clean and well maintained at all times.
Cleanliness refers to a clean and sanitary environment that includes airports, tourist sites, hotels, restaurants, public places, etc., taking account of the quality of air, drinking water, and the collection and management of liquid and solid waste.
Tourism can play a key role in achieving the quantitative and qualitative aspects of a clean Sri Lanka. Colombo the capital city is emerging as a developing city. Some sections, like the bustling Pettah area, the Floating Market to name but a few, can be exciting ‘must visit’ places for tourists and locals alike. But they would remain ‘grey areas’ or misfits in urban spaces, unless the neglect, chaos and disorganized manner in which these unregulated informal businesses operate is properly regulated.
It is crucial for national and regional tourism development to maintain and enhance the good image and reputation of cities that mirror the ‘face’ of the country—where cultural, natural and man-made attractions exist in a visually pleasing manner. Hence, the ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ initiative is also an ideal opportunity to encourage other main cities to adapt the mechanisms considered as key activities which should be initiated and to remind relevant stakeholders to understand and start contributing to gradually implement the standard.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Customer Service Trainer and Ex-Hotelier
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