Steps will be taken to make our motherland a safe country free of terrorism, extremism, underworld activities, theft and robbery, extortionists, the drug menace, disruptions of public order, and the abuse of women and children, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa told the inaugural session of the ninth Parliament on Thursday.
Excerpts:
I have this opportunity to address you as the Head of State of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka consequent to the historic victory granted to me by the people of this country on November 16. Hon. Speaker, I now take this opportunity to table the ‘Visions of Prosperity and Splendour’ Policy Statement.
The people of this country gave me a clear mandate at the Presidential election on November 16, 2019. That mandate was granted because of the trust the people had in me. I, together with my Government, stand committed to honour the trust of the people and implement the program of developing a prosperous nation that we promised to them.
We must always respect the aspirations of the majority of the people. It is only then that the sovereignty of the people will be safeguarded.
In accordance with the Constitution, I pledge that during my term of office, I will always defend the unitary status of the country, and protect and nurture the Buddha Sasana while safeguarding the right of all citizens to practise a religion of their choice. To develop the country, the right vision and plans are needed.
The Policy Statement, ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour’, placed before the people at the Presidential Election by me contains a national program crafted during a period of nearly four years by incorporating my vision with the ideas and recommendations of national organisations such as Viyathmaga, the findings of the ‘Conversation with the Village’ program conducted by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, the discussions held with other political parties, and the ideas contributed by the public.
In accordance with that program, we have already taken several steps including the easing of taxes that were unduly burdening the public, introducing a high degree of transparency and efficiency to government administration, and curtailing unnecessary government expenditure.
In our policy, National Security occupies foremost place.
We have already taken steps to strengthen the national security apparatus. Talented officers have been given appropriate responsibilities again. We have taken steps to ensure proper coordination between the Security Forces and the Police, who are collectively responsible for maintaining national security. The network of national intelligence agencies has been reorganised and strengthened.
We will take all necessary steps to make our motherland a safe country free of terrorism, extremism, underworld activities, theft and robbery, extortionists, the drug menace, disruptions of public order, and the abuse of women and children. We need everyone’s support for our efforts to reduce the cost of living of the people. The corporate sector must ensure that some percentage of the benefits of the tax concessions recently provided to them is passed onto the public. Accordingly, we expect a reduction in the price of all goods and services on which taxes have been reduced.
We have made plans to find employment opportunities for 100,000 young men and women from low income families within the next month.
Ours is a country with an ancient history, and a society nurtured by Buddhist teachings and the teachings of other world faiths. We must always safeguard our culture and our values.
We have introduced a people-centric economic policy through the ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour’ manifesto.
Its main aims are to ensure economic stability for all citizens, provide equal opportunities to all who seek to improve themselves, establish a clean and efficient state sector committed to public service, and protect and empower local entrepreneurs.
We must also implement a special program to combat corruption and fraud. Legal action must be taken promptly against all who engage in corrupt practices, irrespective of their status.
We will pay special attention to increasing the use of technology in government institutions. During the period from 2005 to 2014, the Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa planned to develop Sri Lanka as the commercial hub of South Asia.
The Mattala Airport was built adjacent to the Hambantota Port with the aim of establishing an industrial city in the south.
The decision to develop the Colombo Port City was taken with the aim of making Sri Lanka a hub for finance and commerce in Asia. We must carry forward these projects that were designed to achieve long term objectives.
Urbanisation brings both good and bad results to a country. We need a restructuring program to ensure that the benefits of development reach every region of the country.
This will reduce congestion, pollution and the cost of living. People throughout Sri Lanka should have access to education and healthcare, and opportunities for employment, within their own area. The development of the roads and rail network together with the provision of high-speed internet and telecommunication facilities throughout the country is essential for this.
We need short-term and long-term solutions to generate power at a reasonable price. As long term solutions, our principle is to pay special attention to the use of eco-friendly renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydro-power. We should establish a world class marketplace in which gems from not only Sri Lanka but even from African nations can be sold after value addition.
We should provide new technological facilities for conducting oceanic and geological surveys, and special incentives to encourage investments in industries that will provide value addition to Sri Lanka’s mineral resources.
We need to increase earnings from agricultural produce such as spices, fruits, vegetables, grains, meat and fish, for which there is export potential.
One third of the country’s population is engaged in agriculture, plantation industries and the fisheries sector. We must raise their standard of living.
There is a need for new technology-based approaches that can develop these industries beyond traditional farming methods. Encouraging the production of food free of pesticides and chemicals, by increasing the use of organic fertilizer for agriculture is part of our policy. We must prepare plans to encourage Sri Lanka’s entire agriculture sector to use only organic fertilizer within the next decade. Increasing domestic production of organic fertilizer should be included in these plans.
The problems that had been caused to growers of export-oriented crops through the allowing of unlimited re-exports were addressed by the new Government soon after its assumption of office. Instructions have already been issued to completely stop the re-export of agricultural products.
More attention has to be paid to the ocean economy. We will introduce a systematic program to improve the fisheries sector through the introduction of new technologies and equipment. Existing harbours will be improved and new harbours developed to cater to the requirements of multi day vessels that engage in deep water fishing.
Introducing new technologies to further develop the inland fisheries sector is also part of our plan. Protecting the natural environment for the future generations is our fundamental responsibility. We will pay special attention to environmental protection in the formulation and implementation of government policies.
We hope to make Sri Lanka one of the world’s leading nations in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Our most valuable resource as a nation is our future generation. As such, we have identified the development of our human capital as one of the primary responsibilities of the government.
We have to pay special attention to ensure that the future generation will become productive citizens by nurturing them with the required knowledge, skills and abilities. The opportunities of young people to pursue higher education and technical education should be broadened.
The infrastructure facilities needed for this must be developed within a short time frame. The number of students entering tertiary education can be increased through more effective utilisation of the capacities of state universities and other higher educational institutions.
Some of the courses taught in universities today are not in consonance with market requirements. In the near future, we intend to introduce short-term courses to equip university students to meet the needs of the modern job market, which they can opt to attend while pursuing their current courses of study. Universities and other higher education institutions should be given more freedom in the enrolment of students and in the restructuring of their syllabi to meet the needs of the marketplace.
Institutions that currently teach diploma level programs must be gradually enhanced to the level of degree awarding institutions. As a preliminary step, we look forward to upgrading teacher training schools and nursing schools to degree awarding level. The shortage of trained graduate teachers continues to be a problem in the education sector. By upgrading the existing three-year diploma program in Nursing into a four-year degree, and by improving the English knowledge of nurses, we will create opportunities for them to even seek work abroad by providing services that meet international quality standards.
Many young people are currently deprived of employment opportunities due to their lack of proficiency in English. We will introduce a special program to improve the facilities provided for English education in all schools, and to recruit the required teaching staff.
New technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, biotechnology, robotics, 3D printing, and the Internet of Things, among others, are continually changing the world.
We must pay attention to this in the formulation of our investment policies. We must understand what type of investments we need to spur future economic development. We must provide special incentives and concessions to encourage investors capable of introducing new technologies to the country.
It is important to understand that we have market opportunities beyond technology heavy sectors. One sector we can swiftly develop is the tourism industry.
This sector, which earned 4.4 billion US Dollars in 2018, has space to grow to one that can earn revenue in excess of 10 billion US dollars within the next few years. We will introduce a systematic program to achieve this.
After the formation of the new Government, we established a committee to evaluate and recommend suitable persons for the governance of state institutions.
The success of a democracy rests upon the Constitution. The 1978 Constitution, which has since been amended on 19 occasions, has given rise to many problems at present because of its inherent ambiguities and confusions. To safeguard the security, sovereignty, stability and integrity of the country, changes must be made to the existing Constitution.
While preserving the positive characteristics of the proportional representation system, electoral reforms are needed to ensure the stability of Parliament and to ensure the direct representation of the people. We can solve this problem through constitutional reforms that will establish a strong executive, legislature and an independent judiciary that can ensure the sovereignty of the people. Our country’s unique position has resulted in considerable attention being given towards Sri Lanka in global geopolitics in recent times. We follow a neutral foreign policy. We must strive to maintain friendly relations with every country. However, we can never give up our independence. We must establish an honourable governance that will allow this country to maintain its sovereignty, security, national pride, and deal with all nations on equal terms, without demonstrating weakness in our diplomatic or trading relationships. We will never allow other countries to take over our economically significant geographic regions or physical resources. It is my aspiration to ensure that the Sri Lankan people will become a proud nation with a global standing. We can overcome all the obstacles in our path to reach that goal if we unite as a nation. I love my country. I am proud of my country. I have a vision for my country. I invite all of you to join and work with me to achieve the responsibility that has been assigned through history to our present generation.