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The Policy Statement made by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the opening of the New Session of Parliament 25th November 2005 At this moment an important event from the past comes to my mind. The world's first Prime Minister too came from a small Parliament such as ours. In 1970, I had the privilege of delivering the vote of thanks after that great national leader, Sirimavo Bandaranaike made her Throne Speech or policy statement. I still remember the sentiments I felt at the time as the youngest MP in House. I realised then that every word a Head of State utters reflects public policy. Today I have been given the opportunity of making the most important statement on public policy. Hence I consider it my duty to honour all the past leaders from who we have inherited progressive politics. Likewise I consider it my duty to pay tribute to the millions of people of this country who elected me President, defeating all vicious attempts to project distorted imaged through the media and rouse religious divisions for which purposes unlimited amounts of money was spent. I had no secret pact or agreement with the people of this country. There were no conditions between us. The only conditions were to build a new Sri Lanka and to be honest. On the other hand I do not consider the votes that my good friend Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe received as votes cast against me. Everyone accepts that the recently concluded Presidential Election was a very free and peaceful election. It should be considered an important milestone in our journey to create a healthy political culture. The Presidential Election now is over. As I said in my swearing-in speech I am not working for any one party, one group or religion. I therefore I wish to state that I am the leader, servant and friend of all of you, since it my policy to build a new democratic State without dragging the aforesaid differences and complexities into the administration. I do not consider my rival in the Presidential Election, Opposition Leader Wickremesinghe and his party as enemies of my new Government. I strongly believe that we should forget whatever ill feelings or pain of mind between our two parties during the Presidential Election. I expect the Opposition's cooperation for our Government in implementing the plans outlined in my policy statement. Likewise I wish to state that our government will accept the Opposition's fair and constructive criticism. Our overall objective in the Presidential election was to ensure the victory of our policy. Today the majority of people in this country have endorsed that policy. It has emerged victorious by the power of universal franchise, which is a part of people's sovereignty. It is to protect the country without dividing this country. It is to free this land from poverty, underdevelopment and backwardness and build this country. Our policy is to build an entirely new Sri Lanka. I am preparing to make before the House the official statement making this policy - which until now was only an election manifesto - this country's public policy. 1. Peace with dignity in an undivided country My government will give the highest priority to launch a new peace process to usher in a lasting peace through a political solution to the country's national question. Our method is discussion instead of war. We are aware that such discussions are not simple and easy. Yet it is the only way to peace. My Government is ready to have direct talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The political solution to a lasting peace should be based on a consensus reached through discussions among all parties linked to the problem and it should receive the approval of majority of the people. Our policy for reaching such a consensus is as follows: In order to realise a lasting peace by solving the national crisis, we propose to build a new social democratic state cherishing political pluralism that upholds the aspirations and rights of all sections of our society. Based on that principle we will pursue the following policy to reach a national consensus for peace with dignity. 2. Starting an open and transparent peace process The current Ceasefire Agreement will be revised to ensure the protection of human rights, prevent recruitment of children for war, safeguard national security, prevent terrorist acts, pave the way to rebuild lives that were shattered by war and the tsunami in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and introduce an open and transparent ceasefire monitoring machinery. The failure of the United Front Government's peace efforts was the result of the peace talks being confined only to the Government and the LTTE. Instead of such an unsuccessful bipartisan approach there will be a new peace process in which all parties involved in the crisis can participate. 1. An open and sincere invitation will be given to the country's main Opposition to participate in such a process. 2. Special attention will be paid ensure Muslim people's representation in peace talks. 3. The peace process will be continued openly and transparently to reach a broad consensus within a definite time frame. 4. The facilitation and meditation extended by the United Nations and other such organisations that support peace in Sri Lanka, all friendly countries, the international community, India and other regional States will be properly organised and utilised to strengthen the peace process. The creation of a Government infrastructure that will safeguard Sri Lanka's sovereignty, territorial integrity, unitary nature of the State and the people's national identity with the participation of all sections of our society as positive shareholders in a pluralistic system for the maximum devolution of power within an undivided sovereign democratic republic. Instead of the concepts of traditional homelands and self-determination that allow an ethnic group to breakaway from the Republic of Sri Lanka, steps will be taken to ensure for all communities, including Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher and Malay the freedom to exercise all the rights enshrined in the Constitution - including the right to live in any part of Sri Lanka on the grounds that the entire territory is the homeland of all communities. All citizens will be equal before the law and no citizens will be discriminated on account of ethnicity, caste, religion, sex, political beliefs or place of birth. Steps will be taken to ensure freedom of conscience and religious freedom including the right of all citizens to embrace any religion or faith. A Commission will be appointed to re-demarcate Secretarial Divisions, District and Provincial boundaries to suit new socio-economic, environmental and political requirements for the establishment of grass-roots level democratic people's representative organizations that will help all citizens to share the benefits of the country's mineral, water, land, oceanic and other natural resources, harbours, the beaches and human resources, to protect ethnic rights, accelerate rural development, secure the participation of all communities in the development process and launch large-scale development projects. Public participation in the peace process will be encouraged to reach a broad national consensus through a series of open discussions based on the above points while political parties, pressure groups, voluntary organisations, religious organisations and the media will be invited to contribute to a culture of peace. Constitutional reforms will be proposed and approved according to proper legal procedures in order to include the objectives reached through a broad consensus in the State infrastructure. Rebuilding of lives affected by war and tsunami in the North and East will be parallel to the peace process and will be utilised to build up the confidence of all communities that support peace. A new Tsunami Reconstruction administrative infrastructure that will coordinate with the Central Government, provincial councils, pradeshiya sabhas, political parties and voluntary organisations will be introduced in place of the controversial P-TOMS which is now before the courts. This new setup will be linked to 'Jaya Lanka' the Government's overall tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation programme. New projects will be introduced in the North and East to accelerate rehabilitation and reconstruction in the two provinces. A new Authority, named Jathika Saviya will be set up to resettle with no discrimination all people displaced by the war in their hometowns and ensure for them a livelihood. Each resettled family will be initially paid Rs. 150,000 and Rs. 250,000 for a permanent house. Likewise we hope to provide tax money to all those lost houses and property due to the establishment of High Security Zones. Security Forces will be ordered to do security checks without causing harassment or embarrassment to anyone. Special units will be set up in all police stations to enable to people to make complaints in their own language without fear or suspicion. A three-year crash programme will be launched to expedite the full implementation of the official language policy in police stations, Government offices and other public places and minimise obstacles that Tamil speaking people face when dealing with State organizations. Realistic reforms will be done to make it clear at all State functions that Sri Lanka belongs to all of its citizens. Steps will be taken to build the intellectual, moral and spiritual environment required for building peace and consider it as a collective effort rather than a miracle or the work of one man or political party. Constitutional Reforms A Constitutional assembly will be set up if Constitutional reforms are needed for a political solution to secure peace. This Government has recognised many areas where Constitutional reforms are needed. Changing the constitution to secure the required balance between a stability and representing public opinion is among the most important. Our manifesto has also proposed abolishing the Executive Presidency. For this purpose Constitutional reform based on a broad consensus is required. Until then our Government hopes to introduce Constitutional reforms by which the President will be officially answerable to Parliament. The powers of Ministerial and Working Committees will be increased with Parliamentary approval to ensure the efficient participation of government and opposition MPs in State administration. Steps will be taken to include the Charter of Human Rights in the Constitution to ensure to protection of social, cultural, political, economic and civil rights of all Sri Lankans on a equal basis without discrimination in accordance with the UN charter and international conventions. 3. Rule of Law, good administration and government service My Government is working towards a building disciplined society by strengthening the Rule of Law. We will not leave room for anyone to break the law by using political or financial power or privileges. We will give priority to stamp out bribery and corruption and empower new agencies for this purposes. We will introduce reforms to eliminate bureaucratic attitudes and make the State administrative service an exemplary public service. Steps will be taken to run all Ministries, departments, corporations and boards without unnecessary expenditure. The salaries and allowances of public servants will be raised in accordance with the pledges made in the Presidential Election Manifesto. New technology, improvement of human resources and means to increase productivity will be introduced to extensively reform the public service to meet today's requirements. Law enforcement agencies like the police, the judiciary and the prisons will be strengthened with better facilities and a process of broad legal reforms will be introduced to ensure efficiency and transparency in the criminal justice system. All these will be aimed at making my Government follow a strong policy of righteous rule. Legislature My government's policy is to fully safeguard the dignity of the Parliament, which is the supreme institution that drafts the laws of the country. We are aware that in the recent past there were unfortunate incidents that affected the dignity and honour of Parliament. If more laws are required to uphold the dignity of this House and safeguard the powers and privileges of its Members my Government will not hesitate to introduce them. But laws and regulations alone will not protect the dignity of this institution. I hope that the Speaker and all of you will work in unity and harmony to make the Parliament reflect the features of a developed democracy. A responsible society Our Government will give full protection to religious freedom. The Government will meet all its responsibilities towards all religions will safeguarding the special place accorded to Buddhism under the Constitution. Our Government requests religious dignitaries to give the Government the necessary assistance to make law-abiding civilised citizens of high morals via the teachings of the noble founders of different religions. My Government will stand for building a network where the State, the citizenry and the market will be answerable to each other. Overall economic policy My Government will work towards building a new economy that ensures social justice, opens up opportunities for individual progress and pave the way for an economically strong State in the community of nations. Our Government's aim is to boost new local and foreign investment to achieve speedy progress and build a strong economy. All the salient features of the free market system will be absorbed into the system for this purpose. Government expenditure will be directed towards areas of economic importance to ensure maximum benefits for the national economy. We will take steps to reduce the budget gap to a bearable level through an efficient expenditure management system. The taxation system too will be simplified. Agriculture The farmer faces untold suffering due to water scarcity, land shortage, crop devastation and inability to sell his produce. We have identified that improving agriculture is vital for the country's development. We will initiate giant development schemes whereby major rivers and reservoirs and waterways will be linked by a national irrigation system and dry land from North to South will be turned to wet zones. Under this scheme the 10,000 reservoir (tank) project will be completed and steps will be taken to launch multiple development projects associated with the Uuma Oya, North Central Mahan Ella, Demure Oya, Manic River, Kumbukkan Oya, Yan Oya, Heda Oya, Kirama Oya and Oorawa. My Government hopes to deal with the shortage of cultivable land through a national policy. Initially we will distribute 100,000 blocks of land among farmer families without land to cultivate. Farmers who have already been provided with State land will be given the legal right to own them. We will also provide land to descendants of farmers in the Mahaweli scheme and the agricultural colonies. We hope to achieve major progress in the cultivation of paddy and other food crops. Essential chemical fertiliser will be sold at Rs. 350 per bag of 50 kilos. This will be an investment to improve agriculture. We will ensure a guaranteed price for paddy, establish paddy-purchasing centres, repair dilapidated small and medium scale rice mills and launch a rice processing village project to boost agriculture to bring new prosperity to farmers. We will take steps to revise the Agrarian Reform Act while providing facilities to develop the cultivation of fruits and minor export crops and other agricultural products to provide them with an overseas market. We will introduce a national plan to revive the plantation economy involving tea, rubber and coconut. Steps will be taken to change the unfortunate situation facing major plantations and the relevant ministries will work to inject lifeblood to this industry including tea smallholdings. A special programme will be activated to increase milk production and parallel to this the marketing and consumption of fresh milk will be encouraged. Fisheries Although the ocean surrounds the country, the fishery industry is still stagnating. My Government and I are keenly interested in this area. When I was Fisheries Minister I established the Sagara University in the hope of making Sri Lanka reach the world's highest position in fisheries products. We will strengthen the Coast Guard to protect aquatic resources and provide within a short time at the assistance necessary to rebuild the lives of fishing families affected by the tsunami. Within three years we will provide 500 fishing crafts under an easy payment scheme. Fishing nets and other implements will also be provided under a similar scheme. Fishery harbours and anchorages will be developed and a fuel subsidy will be given to fishermen. Steps will also be taken to open 150 new farms to breed saltwater and fresh water prawns while canning factories will be established in the vicinity of the main fishery harbours. Industrial development My Government will take immediate steps to accelerate industrial progress. For this purpose 12 new investment promotion zones covering the entire island will be established. Three hundred new factories will be built and each Secretarial Division will get one factory. Our Government hopes to make medium and small-scale industries, the backbone of our economy. For this purpose the relevant ministries will introduce special plans. The relevant bank services will be developed. To encourage investors we have proposed the launching of the Lanka Banking service. Our Government hopes to make use of our good international relations to solve the problems that the apparel industry is currently facing. To increase the value of apparel exports we hope to establish three textile zones and will pay constant attention to the health and other welfare requirements of those employed in the apparel industry. Construction Our Government hopes to make a massive transformation in the area of construction. We plan to launch a major housing development and urban development scheme. We will make the Construction Training and Development Institute an Authority while introducing special banking and monetary services to overcome the lack of capital for these projects. Tourism My Government's aim is to bring new life to the Tourism industry which is a major foreign exchange earner. Our target is to attract 1.5 million foreign tourists to this country by 2010 and we are planning to organise the industry accordingly. Special attractive Tourist zones will be set up in Hambantota, Kalpitiya and Arugambay. Power During my six-year term I will direct my Government to overcome the energy crisis. We will build new power stations according to Electricity Board plans and launch the 'Power for All' programme, to provide power to villages that have so far had no electricity. We will ensure the people's ownership of the CEB and the Petroleum Corporation and see that the public will benefit from the exploration of oil deposits off Sri Lanka's coast, through the ministry specially set up for the purpose. Transport Transport too has become a national crisis in our country. We will develop our railway network and build a number of new rail tracks. A new ministry has already been set up for this purpose. We will strengthen the Ceylon Transport Board and make it Sri Lanka's proud national transport service by developing bus depots and providing them with more buses. We will also give priority to the numerous problems facing the private bus service. Steps will be taken to reorganise the National Transport Commission and streamline timetables, passenger safety, rural and school bus services and night services. Plans have also been drawn up to build new expressways parallel to the improvement of railways. Information Technology Sri Lanka, with its ancient heritage of having being a centre of knowledge in Asia and considering its high literacy rate and its talented human resources, should undergo speedy development in the area of IT. We shall formulate policies and legal and institutional backgrounds required to achieve this objective in the area of mass communication. We hope to expand computer knowledge and technology countrywide by taking computer technology to the village under the Nenasala programme. Through this project we expect to develop Sri Lanka as a regional centre in the Asian information network. Health services It is our responsibility to protect the free health service and the Government will guarantee the right of every citizen to receive a good health service. The hospital system will be developed and steps will be taken to improve disease control methods and health education. More doctors and nurses will be recruited and their services will be given to the rural sector. We will also implement the Senaka Bibile drugs policy. Education A theme in our Presidential Election campaign was to build a country suitable for children. We will plan education, higher education and vocational training on a national scale to help our children and youth to improve their talents and knowledge and do everything possible to brighten the lives of our future generation. I recall here what the great Chinese philosopher Confucius said thousands of years ago. "If you are planning for a year grow paddy If you are planning for ten years plant trees If you are planning for a century educate people". If we are building our country we should look at this century in which we live and make our national plans accordingly. It is with such a broad vision that we should formulate education policies. I appeal to this August assembly not to consider our interventions for the sake of education as relief assistance but as investments for the sake of the country. During the recent election campaign I was able to read the UNP's election manifesto. I wish to state sincerely that in their manifesto there were several valuable points that should be appreciated. Among them the concept English For All on page 35 drew my attention. I wish to inform you that I hope to implement the concept with some revisions while giving Members of the main Opposition the credit for it. I wish to remind that according to Mahinda Chintana political colours cannot measure good things. We will fully safeguard the right to free education. We will take steps to teach the mother tongue - Sinhala and Tamil - and English to every child. Every child will be provided with a free mid day meal. We shall improve laboratory, language teaching, computer, library, sports and other facilities in all Maha Vidyalayas and other Government schools. We will raise 325 schools to the highest level selecting one school from each Secretariat Division. The education service will be depoliticised and a number of steps will be taken for the welfare of teachers and employees in the educational administrative service. One challenge is providing higher education to all those passing the Advanced Level. The Government will accept the challenge. We will increase the number of university admissions and improve facilities in universities. We will also raise the Mahapola and student allowance by Rs. 500. We also take steps to introduce changes in the vocational training under a life skills programme. We shall increase training opportunities in the State sector from 60,000 to 100,000 to accommodate school leavers. A 100 more vocational training centres will be set up and 500 community schools will be established under the Vocational Training authority to increase livelihood opportunities. Rising again after the tsunami My Government will launch a giant development and reconstruction scheme in 2006 to rebuild the lives of those affected by the tsunami. I took the decision at my first Cabinet meeting to implement this programme through the reconstruction and Development Authority which functions under the President's direct supervision. Provincial development We will also launch a number of special programmes targeting the development of different provinces, districts and other areas in addition to the common national programme. These comprise the Northern Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Programme, Negenahira Nawodaya, Senkadagala Nawodaya, Ruhunu Arunalokaya, Rajarata Nawodaya, Wayamba Punarjeewanaya, Pubudamu Wellassa and New Life for Plantations. Social Development We are happy about the successes that our Samurdhi Movement achieved so far in overcoming poverty. We are confident that the Samurdhi programme can meet future challenges and therefore will give it a further boost to achieve its objectives. We will increase Samurdhi allowances by 50 percent. Parallel to it we will launch projects that will help increase the monthly income of Samurdhi recipients up to Rs. 5,000. I have decided to increase the allowance of Rs. 5,000 given to a low-income family in the case of death up to Rs. 10,000 with effect from the first week of December. Similarly the allowances paid in the case of child birth and the scholarship scheme meant for children of such families will become effective immediately. Likewise we shall provide relief assistance in the form of milk powder to reduce cost of living burdens of such families, special allowance for Government employees and relief in the payment of water, electricity and fuel bills, nutrients for pregnant mothers, an allowance of Rs. 200 per month for poor families to purchase milk for children up to year five. Houses My Government's aim is to provide a house to every person who does not own a house. We shall provide 100,000 blocks of land for those who want to build houses but cannot do so because they do not own any land. For State employees in urban areas we will launch four projects to build flats. For shanty dwellers in urban areas we will build 65,000 new houses. There will also be a commercial housing scheme coming under easy payment schemes. At the rural level we will build 25 houses every year in every village. A weakness in State policy for a number of years was to ignore the village. Our Government's policy will be to first build the village in order to develop the country. Accordingly, we are introducing the Gama Neguma program with the board objective of developing every village with all facilities. Our plan will be as follows: Electricity for every village that has no power; A public telephone service for every village; Sufficient supply of drinking water; Irrigated water for cultivation Rural approach roads via Maga Neguma Infrastructure development Rural schools with human and material resources Health centres Cooperative store to provide consumer items at low cost Paddy store, fertilizer store and rice mill Factory to provide employment Pre-school with playground Community hall and Sports ground People's Committee People's Committee Secretariat Nenasala Computer Centre Forest area Public cemetery My government's aim is to usher in a new era in rural development in the decade starting in 2006 by building model villages with all or many of the above features. We shall also launch programmes with the assistance of law enforcement agencies, schools, religious centres and community organisations to eradicate drunkenness, gambling, and drug addiction from our villages. I will take every possible step to eradicate the drugs menace by the end of my first year. Employment A major aim of our overall economic policy is to provide employment to our youth who are either jobless or under employed. In this connection we will be launching a special programme called Young Diriya. While filling all state sector vacancies we will work out a plan to provide employment to 10,000 graduates every year. We will direct every Ministry in my Government to generate employment in the state sector, the private sector, foreign service and the sphere of self-employment. Mass media, literature and culture The basis of our information, mass media and cultural policy will be to uphold people's right to receive accurate information and ensure the broad participation of the mass media in achieving the country's social, cultural and economic goals. I wish that the Information and Media Ministry of our Government will be making a special contribution to the progress of media personnel, media organisations and the media industry. We shall develop our cultural policy to strengthen the citizen's cultural life by developing our langauge and literature and safeguarding our ancient values. Sports I shall work towards ensuring the physical and mental health of our youth and bring our sportsmen and sportswomen to international levels by introducing a new national sports policy. A special programme will be worked out to provide sports facilities including an indoor stadium to every district and improve sports from the village level. Foreign policy In the area of foreign policy, I must begin by saying that I intend to ensure the continuity of the foreign policy of the UPFA Government. I will naturally emphasise areas where Sri Lanka's immediate and compelling national interests are evident. In its broadest sense, we will follow a foreign policy of friendship with all and enmity towards none. We will build on our solid and very close bilateral relationship with our immediate neighbours in the sub-region, as well as our friends in Asia. We will further strengthen our relations with the rest of the world. Sri Lanka will continue to be a consensus builder in the interactional arena in keeping with the long-standing tradition of Sri Lankan diplomacy. To this end we will be guided by the principles espoused by the Non-Aligned Movement and the developing countries where these principles and our national interests converge. My personal commitment as a human rights campaigner at the grassroots level makes me accord priority to the promotion and protection of humans rights in our international endeavours. I hope to build upon a very positive and pro-active role played by Sri Lanka in promoting humans rights. We will do this through international cooperation not through confrontation. Greater efforts will be made to widen and deepen the economic content of our foreign policy efforts and foreign relations activities, as already initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Lakshman Kadirgamar. In order to achieve the 8 per cent economic growth rate envisioned by the Mahinda Chintana, I intend to mobilise the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our Missions aborad to attract sufficient levels of foreign direct investments (FDIs) under this programme. We can thus make the foreign relations effort immediately relevant to the people of this country through socio-economic development. We will continue to play an active role in the United Nations and other multilateral bodies as well as sub regional and regional forums. We will be constructive and creative in contributing to efforts at regional and multilateral levels, to support national activities for economic development, humanitarian assistance, conflict resolution whether these are intra state or inter-state. I also propose to very strongly pursue and promote broad bipartisan support for our foreign policy activities, which have been the hallmark of our foreign relations since independence. Policy Feedback Council We plan to introduce a new subject to Sri Lanka's public policy. It is policy feed back. We shall appoint an all-powerful commission called the Policy Feedback Council operating under the President's direct supervision. The commission's task will be to decide annual targets in implementing different State policy programmes, reviewing their progress, studying setbacks and recommending the necessary solutions. My Government is not a talking Government but a working Government. On the day I was sworn in as President I appealed to my fellow citizens thus. Mothers, Fathers, Brothers and Sisters, Sons and Daughters, work for the welfare of the country. Do your duty. Work with determination. Our country will develop through work. When the country progresses you too will progress. It goes without saying that the office of the Presidency, which I took over, and my Government will face numerous challenges. In a way politics means accepting challenges and facing them fearlessly. I along with members of my Cabinet, other ministers and MPs are ready to accept any challenges. Our government is a regime that works for the welfare of children. Our government is formulating polices to build a bright future for our children. The last 17th saw the dawn of a common people's era in our country. The flowers that will blossom in that dawn is our future generation. Hence I hope that you as Members of this Supreme Public Institution will extend your maximum support to my Government. I wish you all will have the thoughts, strength and courage to build a new Sri Lanka.
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