The Hon. Mayilvaganam Jegatheeswaran

¶ 01 Madam Presiding Member, I support this very good Motion brought by Hon. Rajeevan Jeyachandramoorthy. Although the Northern Province has abundant raw materials suitable for SME production, since the end of the war in 2009 successive Governments did not take proper steps to encourage those sectors.

¶ 02 For 16 years, despite many MPs from various parties representing the North, appropriate measures to develop the SME sector were not taken, and SMEs have greatly declined. Going forward, our Government will undertake various programmes to develop them.

¶ 03 Key needs: - Market access is crucial for SMEs, as are technological facilities. Compared to other countries, we must upgrade technology, especially in the North, to increase output and create better marketing opportunities. - Improve value-addition and shelf-life through processing technologies; provide technical advice so SMEs can export more.

¶ 04 Also essential: - Workspace and facilities for producers. - Modern promotion: advertising and showcasing product benefits abroad so tourists purchase more. We have initiated steps, especially by linking with institutions such as Laksala, BCC and Sathosa to create market opportunities. This can uplift vulnerable households, especially women-headed families. The North has many such families; we must act to increase their incomes. All Northern MPs will fully cooperate. Thank you.