- A timely Presidential intervention
A Presidential Task Force (PTF) has been appointed for rebuilding the Nation through an Extraordinary Gazette in response to Cyclone Ditwah. Given the scale of the damage to infrastructure, livelihoods, housing, and essential services, such a high-powered coordinating mechanism is both timely and appropriate.
The President’s decision to establish a high-powered, multi-sectorial TF Chaired by the Prime Minister, consisting of 25 members, is appropriate given the national scale of the disaster, the need for rapid decision-making and the requirement for the political authority to resolve cross-Ministerial bottlenecks.
Human-centred governance in practice
By empowering the TF to establish specialised committees on housing, social infrastructure, livelihoods, finance, and public communication, the administration has recognised the complex realities of the affected citizens. This approach aligns with global best practices observed in countries that have successfully navigated major disasters — where centralised leadership, political authority, and professional coordination were essential to restoring public confidence and accelerating recovery
Core issues
Post-disaster environments often suffer from overlapping mandates, a duplication of efforts, and weak inter-Ministerial coordination. By designating the TF as the central coordinating authority under the Chairpersonship of the Premier, the President has introduced a unifying command structure, reducing institutional silos. This formal arrangement could be further enhanced by establishing a legally binding coordination protocol across Ministries and introducing performance dashboards linked to Ministries deliverable.
Immediate humanitarian needs
In instances of national calamities, delays in restoring sanitation, healthcare, shelter, and water systems take the backseat, escalating humanitarian crises. It is commendable the President had the audacity to give explicit prioritisation of basic needs, sanitation, and healthcare within the terms of reference, ensuring people-centric recovery. This aspect can be further improved by adopting Sphere Standards and World Health Organisation emergency benchmarks and also integrating psychosocial and mental services early.
Rebuild basic infrastructure damage
Cyclone Ditwah caused considerable damages to roads, utilities, schools, hospitals and common amenities, impeding recovery and economic revival. Presidential intervention to rebuild basic and public infrastructure enables strategic, national-level planning rather than piecemeal reconstruction. It is suggested to enforce “build back” and climate-resilient standards and also introducing third party audits for large projects.
Scale up livelihood and economic assets
In any natural disaster, the most vulnerable segment is the informal workers - farmers, fishers, small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), etc., and in this context, the Presidential intervention on scaling up livelihoods, assets and restoring local economies aligns recovery with long-term resilience, which is certainly commendable. To enhance the livelihood income during this turbulent situation, deploying cash-for-work and micro-enterprise recovery grants and partnering with the private sector for local value-chain revival are the other options.
Beyond damaged roads and broken buildings, the most enduring impact of Ditwah has fallen silently on those with the least capacity to absorb shocks — small-scale farmers, rural households with no stable income base, daily wage earners, and micro-industries operating at the margins of the economy. For these groups, the cyclone has not merely disrupted income; it has threatened survival. Global benchmarks from countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Indonesia demonstrate that targeted livelihood interventions — implemented early — significantly reduce long-term economic scarring and accelerate community recovery.
Weak data and information
Poor data integration undermines targeting, transparency, the decision making process and the speed of recovery, and the Presidential intervention to include digital data and decision-support mechanisms reflects modern disaster-management thinking. This mechanism can be further improved by developing a unified post-disaster digital registry (geographic information system-enabled) and linking data systems with national planning and budget platforms.
Communication
Misinformation, the lack of transparency, and weak stakeholder engagement erode public confidence in an environment where political rivalries play havoc to ridicule every national minded project engineered by the National People’s Power Government, as hitherto seen. Public trust can be further strengthened by conducting public briefings and structured engagement with the civil society and affected persons and communities. The rousing welcome the President received from the destitute, despite their untold suffering from a rehabilitation camp located at the Poojapitiya Temple, Kandy, is a case in point.
Post-disaster assessment committees
Responsible for conducting rapid and detailed damage and needs assessments across sectors, the eight committees will standardise assessment methodologies, validate data from field agencies, and prioritise recovery needs. The committees will ensure evidence-based planning, avoid duplication, and support equitable resource allocation, forming the foundation for all rehabilitation and reconstruction decisions.
Restoration of the public infrastructure committee
Tasked with planning, coordinating, and monitoring the rehabilitation of transport, utilities, irrigation, health, and education infrastructure, the public infrastructure committee will ensure resilience-based rebuilding, compliance with national standards, and the integration of climate-adaptation measures while minimising service disruption and ensuring cost efficiency.
Restoration of housing for the affected communities committee
Responsible for developing and implementing housing reconstruction strategies, including owner-driven and community-based models, the committee for restoration of housing for the affected communities will ensure safe, dignified, and culturally appropriate housing solutions, land tenure clarity, beneficiary transparency, and an adherence to disaster-resilient construction standards.
The revival of local economies and livelihoods committee
Focused on restoring income sources through livelihood grants, employment programs, micro-enterprise support, and value-chain rehabilitation, the committee for the revival of local economies and livelihoods will prioritise vulnerable groups, promote inclusive economic recovery, and align short-term relief with long-term economic resilience.
Restoration of the social infrastructure committee
Mandated to restore schools, healthcare facilities, community centres, and social protection services, the committee to restore social infrastructure will address educational continuity, public health recovery, social cohesion, and psychosocial well-being, particularly for women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.
Finance and funding committee
The committee for finance and funding will ensure fiscal discipline, donor coordination, transparency, and alignment with national budgetary frameworks while tracking expenditure effectiveness. Globally, countries facing fiscal stress have adopted special disaster-risk financing tools, such as: catastrophe insurance pools, contingent credit lines from multilateral institutions, and parametric disaster bonds. For Sri Lanka, integrating such instruments would reduce pressure on the national budget while ensuring rapid liquidity for recovery — an approach consistent with the International Monetary Fund- and World Bank-supported frameworks in post-crisis states.
International best practice emphasises sequencing and prioritisation, rather than attempting to rebuild everything simultaneously. In a post-bankruptcy context, recovery must be: needs-driven, cost-effective, and economically catalytic.
Countries such as Türkiye and New Zealand successfully mobilised private-sector participation and diaspora investment in post-disaster recovery. For Sri Lanka, this could include: public–private partnerships in housing and infrastructure, concessional financing for SMEs, and diaspora-backed recovery funds.
Data and information systems committee
Tasked with establishing integrated digital platforms for damage assessment, beneficiary tracking, project monitoring, and decision support, the data and information systems committee will enhance transparency, accountability, and real-time policy decision-making through interoperable data systems.
Public communication committee
Responsible for the unified, timely, and accurate communication with the public and stakeholders, the public communication committee will counter misinformation, promote transparency, manage expectations, and ensure two-way communication with the affected communities.
Global lessons
Taking a cue from the global disasters, the following additional interventions are recommended to the PTF, if its mission is to be accomplished beyond expectation.
- Time-bound recovery authority - Define a clear sunset clause and transition plan to regular institutions.
- Independent oversight and audit mechanism - Ensure transparency and prevent post-disaster corruption.
- Community-driven recovery platforms - Empower Local Authorities and communities in decision-making.
- Climate and disaster risk financing instruments - Introduce disaster insurance, catastrophe bonds, and contingency financing.
- National recovery knowledge hub - Document lessons learned to strengthen future disaster preparedness.
A double whammy: In a post-bankruptcy economy
Ditwah has struck Sri Lanka at a particularly vulnerable moment in its national journey. Only a few years ago, the country was navigating the painful realities of sovereign bankruptcy, fiscal consolidation, and economic restructuring. Against this backdrop, the cyclone represents not merely a natural disaster, but a compounded shock — a “double whammy” that tests both the resilience of institutions and the credibility of recovery strategies.
International experience shows that post-disaster recovery in fiscally constrained states requires more than conventional reconstruction measures. Countries such as Greece during the financial crisis, Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami, and Pakistan following repeated floods illustrate a key lesson: when disasters strike economies already under stress, recovery must be innovative.
A moment that calls for recognition
Critique is a vital part of democracy — but so is acknowledgment when leadership rises to the occasion. The speed, clarity, and seriousness with which the President responded to this national emergency merit public recognition. At a moment when the country needed reassurance and direction, this decisive intervention has offered both. It reflects a genuine desire to rebuild Sri Lanka, not merely in physical terms, but in confidence, institutional strength, and collective resolve.
Conclusion
The PTF represents a sound, constitutionally appropriate, and globally consistent response to Ditwah. With targeted improvements in accountability, data integration, community participation, and resilience financing, it can serve not only as a recovery mechanism but also as a model for future national disaster governance in Sri Lanka.
The writer is a productivity specialist and management consultant
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The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication