Ø Laid the foundation to move the country forward while addressing the suffering of people
Ø Leaders of previous government now act as if they have never been in power
Ø Easter Sunday attack, MCC compact, Eastern Terminal Agreement were issues created by them ; now they protest against us
Ø If misled by falsehoods, the outcome will be irreversible
President says at “Discussion with the Village”
“We will face the Geneva challenge without fear. We will never succumb to pressures. We are a free nation. We will not be a victim of big power rivalry in the Indian Ocean.” President Gotabaya Rajapaksa stresses.
He observes that the foundation has been laid for the country to move forward while correctly identifying and resolving the problems faced by the people for a long time now. The government is bounded to meet the basic needs of the people. It is not only the responsibility of the government but also that of the officials as well. This foundation will strengthen the economy in a manner that is most effective for the country and will prioritize addressing the issues of the rural people.
Back in the day, Colombo was developed into a green city. Strategies are now in place to utilize renewable energy sources to the tune of 70% of energy requirements by 2030. Steps have been taken to supply electricity to the main power grid from over 7000 solar power systems. The use of chemical fertilizer will be reduced by 25% every coming year. All these projects are aimed at conserving the environment as well as strengthening the economy.
“Foreign and local forces who cannot stand this progress and the mafias which support them are misleading the public. The devastation caused in the last five years can repeat if the true progress is left unnoticed and you choose to believe lies and misled yourself. If you give into those lies the damage could be irreversible.” President says.
The President made these remarks addressing the gathering at the beginning of the 16th “Discussion with the Village” program held at the Derangala Maha Vidyalaya premises in the Kiriwelkele North 3rd Step Grama Niladhari Division which falls within the limits of Pitabeddara Divisional Secretariat Division in the Matara District yesterday (27).
National security was ignored due to the wrong priorities of the previous government. The Easter Sunday attack was a result of that. War heroes were imprisoned on baseless charges. The country’s sovereignty was compromised by co-sponsoring the Geneva resolution. Attempts were made to destroy the culture and religion associated with our unique heritage by provoking issues in relation to tamed elephants.
The country was thrown into a crisis by entering into agreements such as the MCC Compact and the Eastern Container Terminal Agreement. The President added that they are being resolved today.
President highlighted that those who created and supported all the issues are now protesting against the present government adding that several prominent figures from the former government pretend as if they were never in power. The President observed that although it was not his way to respond to baseless allegations, now he has to answer and expose lies.
The “Discussion with the Village” programme commenced on September 25, 2020 from Badulla District. Thereafter programmes were organized covering Matale, Ratnapura, Anuradhapura, Ampara, Polonnaruwa, Kalutara, Moneragala, Kegalle, Kandy, Puttalam, Trincomalee, Kurunegala, Galle and Nuwara Eliya districts. The idea behind this program is for the President to talk to the rural communities living in remote and difficult areas without intermediaries about their long-standing unresolved problems and to present them directly to the officials in order to find solutions. Problems that can be solved on the spot are instantly addressed. The rest which takes time to deal with are noted down to find solutions later. The objective of the program is to reach out to the people of the village, understand their problems and find solutions giving considerations to their own suggestions.
Kiriwelkele North 3rd step Grama Niladhari Division is located 12km away from Pitabeddara town. It is a highland colony established in 1958 and it became Kiriwalkale village following the settlement of people in the area. It is the most difficult village which falls within the limits of Pitabeddara Divisional Secretariat area. The total population of the Grama Niladhari Division is 2990 comprising 622 families. Most of the owners of small tea holdings in the Matara district live here. The main sources of income are tea, cinnamon, rubber, black pepper and coconut.
President Rajapaksa arrived at Dehigaspe Dudley Senanayake Maha Vidyalaya, Pitabeddara and from there he made it to Derangala Maha Vidyalaya to attend the “Discussion with the Village” program. President Rajapaksa conversed with the people gathered on both sides of the road as well as the people and students gathered in close proximity to Derangala Junior College and inquired into the problems that ail them.
President Rajapaksa opened the ‘Smart Classroom’ facilitated with a high-speed internet connection donated by Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) Mobitel to Derangala Maha Vidyalaya and presented the laptops with internet connections donated by SLT Mobitel and the TV set and the internet connection provided by Dialog Axiata to the Principal of the Seelarathana Junior School, Banagala.
Another objective of President Rajapaksa is to develop school library facilities in all areas where the “Discussion with the Village” programme is held. The President presented sets of books to schools under the programme “A generation empowered with knowledge”. Each school receives 500 books covering a number of subjects to assist students in their further education.
A programme to grant title deeds to the families who had been in possession of government lands without clear ownership started recently. President Rajapaksa symbolically presented title deeds for 5 families in the Pitabeddara Divisional Secretariat Division, yesterday (27).
It was decided at the “Discussion with the Village” to expedite the development of bridges including Pahuruthota, Jambugasdola, Mederipitiya and Velangavita which were destroyed by the floods.
The President instructed the officials to resolve the issues regarding the unauthorized use of land belonging to the Land Reforms Commission and conduct surveys following a joint inspection of large tracts of land under plantation companies.
It was decided to hold a “Land Day” to resolve all existing land issues in Pitabeddara and adjoining villages.
The Road Development Authority was tasked with identifying unsafe slopes on roads in the area and constructing safety fences.
President Rajapaksa instructed the relevant officials to develop about 120 km of roads including Derangala, road near the Podidahayakanda bus stand, Mahena Ella road and Nagahahena 517 road in Banagala East within the next few months.
Farmers apprised the President regarding the difficulties faced by them in selling cinnamon produce. The President instructed to formulate a proper system and monitoring mechanism to end the injustice caused in purchasing grade A cinnamon as grade B. The Ministry of Plantations was directed to distribute high-quality cinnamon seedlings to nurseries owned by Cinnamon Farmers’ Associations.
The small-scale tea plantations in the area have a history of over 35 years. It takes more than 2 years to replant and collect tea harvest. The President emphasized the need to expedite the replanting of tea by providing an annual allowance for two years to compensate the loss of income during this period as a remedy.
The President instructed the Secretary of Education to take steps to eliminate the issue of shortage of teachers and develop infrastructure facilities in schools including Thalapekumbura Junior School, Derangala Maha Vidyalaya, Siyambalagoda West Junior School and Kalubowitiyawa Maha Vidyalaya as well as to construct a flyover at Alapaladeniya Secondary School.
It was instructed to implement a drinking water project in Morawaka and to establish a number of small community water units covering 60 Grama Niladhari Divisions.
The President also directed the officials to renovate the Derangala Health Center and provide immediate solutions to a number of public problems including infrastructure development and filling vacancies in health centers in the area.
Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Minister Dullas Alahapperuma, Governor of the Southern Province Dr. Willie Gamage, Minister of State Kanchana Wijesekera, Members of Parliament Nipuna Ranawaka, Weerasumana Weerasinghe, Karuna Kodithuwakku, Principal Adviser to the President Lalith Weeratunga, People’s representatives of the district, Secretaries to Ministries, Heads of Government Institutions and the Security Forces were present at the “Discussion with the Village” programme held on the premises of Derangala Maha Vidyalaya.
Views expressed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa addressing the gathering at the 16th “Discussion with the Village” programme held at the Derangala Maha Vidyalaya premises in the Kiriwelkele North Grama Niladhari Division 3, of Pitabeddara Divisional Secretariat Division in the Matara District. (2021-03-27)
We are conducting the “Discussion with the Village” programme at the district level. This is the 16th in the series. For this programme, we select the poorest village in the district. The other villages I went so far were more remote and difficult areas than this village. There were many long-standing unresolved problems. Those villages even don’t have proper road networks and there were no infrastructure development.
I know you also have various issues. We hope to find solutions for your existing problems giving considerations to your own suggestions. The Secretaries of the respective Ministries are participating with me on this occasion. You have an opportunity now to submit your grievances directly to the officials and find solutions.
Even after coming to power, we go among the people to witness ourselves the difficulties suffered by fellow citizens first hand and to listen to them in order to relieve them of their burdens with a correct understanding. All of you are aware that everything is done through government officials in our country. People’s day to day life depends on their decisions. My primary objective is to transform public servants into responsible officers, who clearly understand the problems of the people and take steps to solve them speedily.
Our departments often work separately, but there is a need to maintain a good understanding between these agencies. The Wildlife Department works separately, the Forest Department works separately, the Ministry of Environment works separately and the Ministry of Agriculture works separately. If a person goes with a problem in agriculture, the relevant authorities say the issue is beyond their subject area and this is a problem which comes under wildlife, or forest conservation. There are various problems like this. The responsibility of these issues cannot be given to the people. The government should solve them.
Now there are large number of small scale tea estates in this area. We, as a government, need to consider the measures that we can take to increase their income and make their lives easier. Developing infrastructure facilities, construction of roads and to ensure good price for tea, are among the steps that we can take as a government. We, as public representatives and government officials are bound to perform those duties.
We have initiated this programme to fulfill that responsibility, apart from that this is not a political show. We need to go among the people, talk to the people and find solutions to their problems. Most of the time when we are in the Opposition we go among the people, but not after gaining power. But we changed that. We know that people are suffering from a wide variety of issues. We need to address these as much as we can.
When I am on my way here I saw a poster with the word ‘dozer’ on it. You can’t do anything without a dozer, even to build this road we had to bring a dozer. These kind of falsehoods are being spread among the public. We know that when President Mahinda Rajapaksa carried out a massive development programme after eliminating terrorism from this country while ensuring national security various deceitful propaganda campaigns were launched. Some were deceived by these propaganda campaigns and defeated the then government. What happened next was a major policy collapse, in addition to an economic collapse and deferred development. Our national security completely collapsed. At that time the necessary strategy was used to end the war and ensure national security with great dedication. That’s why we were able to create the necessary environment so that stability prevailed. Even in the event of a minor incident, we acted immediately and ended it on the spot. We had a methodology. That system was completely ruined.
Everywhere in the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the Easter Sunday attacks, it is stated that this incident occurred yet again as a result of the then government not giving priority to the national security. Basically the national security of the country had collapsed. War heroes were imprisoned, prosecuted and harassed using baseless allegations. Furthermore, the then governing going to the international stage completely destroyed the sovereignty of our country. We lost our freedom by co-sponsoring the Geneva resolutions. Our culture, religion, our heritage linked with the religion has been destroyed. The monks were imprisoned. There is no way to conduct a Perahera as a result of taking away the elephants in the temples. By doing these kinds of activities the culture was destroyed.
You are aware that when we go among the people during the last elections period, everywhere the public requested us to save this country. We are making that change through policy decisions today. We have ensured the national security, re-deployed those officers, re-strengthened the intelligence services and appointed talented officers to those positions.
We also withdrew from co-sponsorship of Geneva Resolution. We can face those challenges. We are a sovereign nation. We can do our work. We face them fearlessly. That is what is needed. There is no need for us to propagate so-called neo-liberalism of other countries or to get caught in the big power rivalry striving to establish their influence across the Indian Ocean. We are not ready to bring back separatism in the name of devolution of power and betray our sovereignty to fulfill their political needs. The people of this country gave power to us to bring these basic things back on track. As this initiative continues, various forces will rise against us.
Now they talk about environment. We did a great deal of work for the benefit of the environment under the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Palm oil (Katu Pol) cultivation was carried out in this area. People made a firm demand to us to ban Palm Oil cultivation. We banned the cultivation of Palm oil to protect the environment.
Our goal is to generate 70% of our energy requirement by 2030 using renewable sources. 800 solar power systems are nowin operation. Opportunities set up 7,000 projects across the country have been given to a number of small-time entrepreneurs. Planting a tree just for show is useless, this is what truly matters to conserve the environment.
Then the reducing the use of chemical fertilizers. We have formulated a program to reduce the use of organic fertilizer by 25% every coming year through the Ministry of Agriculture. How much environmental pollution has been caused by the use of chemical fertilizers? How many groundwater sources have been polluted by them? We need to change them. Only then will the environment be protected.
When we do these, various foreign forces try to intervene. These are the campaigns of the oil mafia against us. What they say is not what we do. They propagate falsehoods among people. How many fake news campaigns are being circulated on social media today?
I was watching a program on a foreign channel yesterday about fake news. It states how much false information is spread via social media and how people are politically misguided by them. It demonstrates how to identify what is true and what is fake. There are special websites to identify them. Fake news has become a serious issue in the world today.
They spread falsehoods about the environment to deceive the people. People should be aware of this. Do not let the same mistake that defeated President Mahinda Rajapaksa happen again. We are rectifying the mistakes created by the previous government. I have already said this before, none of the problems I have to resolve are created during my time in office.
There has been great controversy with regard to the MCC compact in the past. The previous government had signed that agreement with the US and even set up an office here. When we came into power, we discussed about it with the US, appointed a separate committee, looked into the matter and discussed it with the Secretary of State of the US upon his arrival in Sri Lanka. We withdrew from the MCC compact with mutual understanding.
The Eastern Container Terminal Agreement was also signed by the former government with India. It is not easy to withdraw from an agreement with another country on a whim. But we discussed the matter and made amendments to the agreements which would benefit Sri Lanka as well.
Then the 20th Amendment. Why did we have to bring in the 20th Amendment? It was to rectify the blunders that were made by the 19th amendment. It made the country ungovernable. The powers bestowed on the head of state to run the country ensuring national security were removed. If the 19th amendment was in effect I would not have been able to retain the Ministry of Defense.
As the head of state, I am responsible for national security. However, if the 19th amendment was in effect, the army and the police would not be under my purview. That way everything was headed to disaster. We were lucky to get off this far, if it went beyond that point we would not be able to run a country.
Easter Sunday attack happened during the last government. The PCoI into the attack was appointed by them. But now they are protesting against our government. The MCC compact, the Eastern Container Terminal Agreement, Easter Sunday attacks, all these were the results of the wrong priorities of the former government. We are trying to resolve them. Now we have to shoulder them.
We have to find solutions to address the issues while implementing the policies for the welfare of the citizens at the same time. People have to realize these.
People of this country wanted a political change. We came to power to fulfill the expectations of the people. Members of the previous government today speak as if they were never in power. It’s been only 7 months since they left their offices, and it’s only been a year and four months since I assumed office. The prominent figures of that government act as if they were not part of the former government. They are responsible for all this. The cabinet should be held responsible. The President alone cannot be held responsible. They had stripped away the powers of the President and armed themselves with those powers. They should be responsible for this. But if they direct absurd allegations and try to take a different political line, they have to be answered. Normally I do not like to talk about falsehoods like this but I have to.
We are talking about government policies and programs. I advised not to place billboards. When you build a road, when you do something, you place a portrait first. I asked them not to do that. Ministers now inform me that when we don’t advertise, people do not know what we do for them.
In particular, our economic policy is based on agriculture. About 75% of our people live in rural areas. We have formulated our basic policies to uplift their living standards. That is why we provide fertilizers at a concessionary rate. A guaranteed price of Rs. 50 is given for their paddy. Imported grains such as Mung beans and cowpea can be grown locally. Turmeric, ginger, Tamarind and Garcinia were imported. We banned it completely and made arrangements to divert that income to the farming community in this country. The government is actively involved in ensuring higher prices for tea, coconut and rubber to develop a green economy, to develop the rural economy. Our primary objective is to eradicate poverty. That is why we have come up with a program to provide employment to 100,000 impoverished families.
Food security is very important in the world today. If we are not prepared for it, we will be in deep trouble. If we are not self-sufficient in food, a number of issues could arise in the future. We are building our economy to face them. Considerable tax concessions were given to the local industrialists. To develop our industries, to develop our enterprises, huge tax concessions were given to all sorts of businessmen. We are investing enormously on education. We employed 60,000 graduates recently. The jobs of these graduates are not directly related to the economy. It’s not their fault. We need to change our education system. We are already working on that. We are in the process of developing a technology-oriented education policy to make a technology-savvy future generation.
When I go to the villages they ask for jobs. But when I speak to various businessmen and industrialists in the city and those in the construction industry, they say that their projects are delayed because they don’t have people with the know-how to continue their work. There are not enough masons, carpenters, plumbers, electricians. Those businessmen want to recruit people for a good salary. But when you go to the village there are so many unemployed people. The job vacancies in the market and the skills people have do not synchronize together. Vocational Training Institutes were established during the tenure of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. We also need to strengthen the technology sector, increase secondary and tertiary education and generate a future-proof young generation suitable for the next century. We are in the process of making those changes. We are making those fundamental changes to move forward as a country. These are what the people expected from us.
