Help migrant workers to own a house/property

Sri Lanka desperately needs foreign currency and we witness on a daily basis the Finance Minister and the Central Bank Governor pleading to Sri Lanka expatriate workers to send money through recognised banks to strengthen the state coffers. I suggest to these two gentlemen, instead of pleading without bringing anything to the table, why don't you offer something in return? For example, you can introduce a “earn a house” project to migrant workers. By this, any foreign worker can enroll and select a house of his choice to pay a reasonable down payment such as half a million rupees and pay the rest of the total value on a monthly instalment. There are a number of housing projects done by the Urban Development Authority and the National Housing Development Authority in many parts of Sri Lanka. Throughout the years governments which came into power simply gave away these houses to their so-called “supporters” and government officials who always say “yes” to them and of course to their friends and relatives.

Now, it’s time to do something tangible for hardworking migrant workers by providing something which can really change their lives in a big way. Building a house of their own is one of the dreams of those people who flew out of Sri Lanka and spend years and years to work here in the Gulf. But the ground reality is only a few fulfill this dream and the mass majority simply cannot afford it.

To change things dramatically and drive the migrant workers to seriously involve themselves in solving the current economic crisis, the Finance Minister and the Governor need to be more creative than just pleading at press conferences. You need to create a “win- win” situation to attract migrant workers by giving something back as a token of appreciation for their contribution to the economy over three decades, which everyone else failed throughout the years. Without a doubt, this could be a major factor to regain the trust and interest of these workers to bring them back into the system and start treating them with appreciation and respect which they truly deserve.