We never allow others to take over our economically significant resources: President – Lanka Business Online

Jan 03, 2020 (LBO) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa says that he will never allow other countries to take over Sri Lankas economically significant geographic regions or physical resources.

Addressing the Parliament at the ceremonial sitting, he reminded that the countrys 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, he said.

We must establish 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.

Rajapaksa said that in order to safeguard the security, sovereignty, stability, and integrity of the country, it is essential that changes be made to the existing constitution.

Whilst preserving the positive characteristics of the proportional representation system, electoral reforms are needed to ensure the stability of the Parliament and to ensure the direct representation of the people, he said.

Even though elections can be won through numbers, an unstable Parliament that cannot make clear decisions and remains constantly under the influence of extremism is not one that suits the country.

Full text of the speech:

Honourable Speaker, Honourable Prime Minister,

Honourable Leader of the Opposition,

Honourable Ministers, Honourable State Ministers,Honourable Members of Parliament,

I have this opportunity to address you as the Head of Stateof the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka consequent to the historic victorygranted to me by the people of this countryon the 16th of November.

Iexpress my gratitude to all citizens, institutions and all politicalparties who were committed to a peaceful, free and fair election.

Irrespective of the politicalparty you, the Honourable members in this august Assembly belong to,together all of us have as our prime responsibility to work for the bettermentof the people of this country.

I have served this nation as an ArmyOfficer for twenty years,

and as Secretary of Defence for nearly another ten years.

Even though I was not activelyengaged in politics, I have experienced what service to the people is, from anearly age.

My fathers elder brother, D. M.Rajapaksa, began his politicaljourney in the State Councilin 1936, representing the Hambantotaelectorate. After his demise in 1945, the people of Hambantota elected my father, D. A. Rajapaksa, to the State Council. Later,he was elected throughthe popular vote as a Member of the countrys first Parliament.

Fromthattime until now, manymembersof the Rajapaksa family, hailing from the ruralvillage of Medamulana in Giruvapaththuwa,Ruhuna, have served as electedpublic representatives. There havenot only been Members of Parliament, DeputyMinisters, Cabinet Ministers,a Deputy Speaker of Parliament, a Speaker of Parliament, a Leader of theOpposition and a Prime Minister, but also two Presidents elected to office bythe people, who reposed their trust in us.

Fromthe first day the honourable D. M. Rajapaksa, known as the Lionof Ruhuna, appeared in the State Council, he wore a maroon coloured shawl.

Whathe symbolized throughthis maroon shawlwere the milletfarmers of Giruvapaththuwa.

Following D.M. Rajapaksa, my father D. A. Rajapaksa and each member of the Rajapaksa family who was elected to Parliament wore themaroon shawl.

Even though I do not wear this shawl,I stand for the same profound philosophy of constant dedication to the poorthat is symbolized by the maroon shawl.

It is this same philosophy that isembodied in the Policy Statement I presented during my Presidential electioncampaign.

HonourableSpeaker, I now take this opportunity to table the Visions

of Prosperityand Splendour Policy Statement.

The people ofthis country gave me a clear mandate at the Presidential election held on 16th November 2019. That mandate wasgranted because of the trust the people had in me. I, together with myGovernment, stand committed to honour the trust of the people and implement theprogramme of developing a prosperous nation that we promised to them.

The peoplewho elected me to office desired a profound change in the political culture ofthis country. They rejected political agendas founded on race. The majorityof the people proved that it is no longerpossible for anyone tomanipulate and control the politics of this country by playing the role of king maker.

I invite the politicians concerned tounderstand this reality. I call uponall to join together in the national undertaking to develop this country, andto reject the politics based on petty agendas that have sown division in oursociety in the past.

We must always respectthe aspirations of the majorityof the people. It is onlythen that the sovereignty of the people will be safeguarded.

In accordance with our Constitution,I pledge that during my term of office, I will always defend the unitary statusof our country, and protect and nurture theBuddha Sasana whilstsafeguarding the rightof all citizens to practice a religion of their choice.

I remember my father being at thisParliament, during my childhood. I often used to watch Parliamentaryproceedings from the public gallery.The Parliament we had then was exemplary. The discourse that took place in itwas of great importance. The debates were replete with logic and richarguments. School children and adults were eager to come to Parliament tolisten to those debates. Members of Parliament always behaved in a way that upheld the dignityof the Parliament and the officethey held. The people then had great respect for the Parliament. They respectedpeoples representatives. Unfortunately, latterly, that respect gradually waned.

This Parliament should once againbecome an exemplary institution where the real issues of the peopleare discussed, wherematters concerned with nationalpolicy are subjected to debate, and where the responsibilitiesof the legislature are duly fulfilled. The responsibility of ensuring that theParliament once again becomes an institution winning the respect of the peoplelies with the Members who are in this House.

There is a social, economic andpolitical crisis in the country today. Even after 70 years of Independence, we cannot be satisfied with thecountrys development. We all have a responsibility to change this situation.We must be prepared to make the sacrifices required for this.

The primary responsibility of apeoples representative is service to the people. We should all remember thatthe offices we hold are not privileges, but responsibilities.

To develop the country, the right vision and plans areneeded. The Policy statement, Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour, placedbefore the people at thePresidential Election by me contains a national programme that was craftedduring a period of nearly four years by incorporating my vision with the ideasand recommendations of national organisations such as Viyathmaga, the findingsof the Conversation with the Villageprogramme conducted by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, the discussions heldwith other political parties, and the ideas contributed by the general public.

In accordancewith that programme, we have already taken several steps including the easingof taxes that were unduly burdening the public, introducing a high degree oftransparency and efficiency to the government administration, and curtailingunnecessary government expenditure.

In ourpolicy, National Security occupies the foremost place.

We havealready taken steps to strengthen the national security apparatus. Talentedofficers have been given appropriate responsibilities again. We have takensteps to ensure proper coordination between the Armed Forces and the Police,who are collectively responsible for maintaining national security. The networkof national intelligence agencies has been reorganized and strengthened.

We will take all necessary stepsto make our motherland a safe country free of terrorism, extremism,underworld activities, theft and robbery, extortionists, the drug menace,disruptors of public order, and the abuse of women and children.

Our primarypurpose is to create a productive citizen, a happy family, a disciplinedsociety and a prosperous nation.

The Government must take the initiative to make every healthy citizen of employable age a useful andproductive citizen. What we need is for all of them to contribute to thenations economy.

We must ensure that the benefits of development reach everygroup of people. We must employmodern methodologies and indicators to gauge whether the needs of the peopleare truly being met, and whether they are happy.It is no longer necessary to wait for elections to find out how peoplefeel about the work programme of the Government.

We need everyones support for ourefforts to reduce the cost of livingof the people. The corporate sector must ensure that some percentage of thebenefits of the tax concessions recently provided to them are passed onto the public as well. Accordingly, we expect a reduction in the priceof all goods and services on which taxes have been reduced.

Eliminating povertyis a priority of ourGovernment. We must understand the causes of povertyand find solutionsto eliminate such causes. We willbe able to alleviate povertyby finding practical approaches to issuessuch as the lack of proper education or skills, the lack of land forcultivation, or the lack of capital for self-employment.

We have made plans to find employmentopportunities for 100,000 young men and women from low incomefamilies within the next month. My government is prepared topresent practical solutions to resolve unemployment, with the public sector andthe private sector working together.

One of ourmain themes during the last election was the development of a virtuous, lawabiding and disciplined society. The public has given us a mandate for thispurpose.

Ours is acountry with an ancient history, and a society nurtured by Buddhist teachingsand the teachings of other world faiths. We must always safeguard our cultureand our values.

Our target isto make Sri Lankaa developed country. It must be a sovereign, independent nation. Also, it mustbe a safe, and a peaceful country. Sri Lanka will be a prosperous nation only when all of these are achieved.

We have introduceda people-centric economicpolicy through the

Vistas ofProsperity and Splendour manifesto.

Its main aimsare to ensure economic stability for all citizens, provide equal opportunitiesto all who seek to improve themselves, to establish a clean and efficient state sector that is committedto public service,and to protect and empowerlocal entrepreneurs.

In order tosuccessfully establish a people-centric economy it is important that everyofficial from the highest to the lowest level of government becomes aware ofour vision and aims. That will enable them to perform their duties moreproductively.

We must also implement a special programme to combatcorruption and fraud. Legal action must be taken promptly againstall who engagein corrupt practices, irrespective of their status.

Today, most countries have employed technology as a means ofenhancing the efficiency of the state sector. Through this, it will also be possible to provide equal opportunitiesfor all. As such, we will pay special attention to increasing the use oftechnology in government institutions.

We must plan for the future, based on the geographiclocation, natural resources and human resources of our country.

Sri Lanka has been an international trading hub for merchants fromGreece, Rome,Arabia, China and various other nations forthousands of years. One of the main reasons for Sri Lankas renowned standing wasour countrys unique location in the ocean connecting the east and west. We canbenefit from this advantage in the same way today.

During theperiod from 2005 to 2014, the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa plannedto develop Sri Lanka intothe commercial hub of South Asia.

The Mattala Airportwas built adjacent to the Hambantota Port with

the aim ofestablishing an industrial city in the south.

Thedecision to developthe 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 projectsthat were designed according to achieve long term objectives.

If we workaccording to a proper plan, we will be able to encourage internationalbusinesses to locate themselves in Sri Lanka and supply goods andservices to regional neigbouring countries. Toencourage such investors, wemust be prepared to swiftly provide all the facilities they require within Sri Lanka.

For economicdevelopment to occur, it is important that we accelerate improvements to theroad network, including the expressways, so that travel from any one part of the countryto another in a few hours becomes possible. The development of thetrain service is an integral part of this programme. We can also help alleviate the grave problem of heavy roadcongestion through an efficient and comfortable train service.

Urbanisationbrings both good and bad results to a country.We need a restructuring programme to ensure that the benefitsof development reach every region of the country. Thiswill help us reduce congestion, pollution and the cost of living.People dispersed throughout Sri Lanka should have access to facilities foreducation and healthcare, and opportunities for employment, within theirown area. The development of the roads and rail network together with theprovision of high-speed internet and telecommunication facilitiesthroughout the country is essential for this.

Thecost of electricity is an important factor in economicdevelopment. It particularly affects the attracting of investors to theindustry sector. We needshort-term and long-term solutions to generate power at a reasonable price. Inlooking at 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.

Although our country is rich in gemand mineral resources, relevant value-added industries have not yet developed to international standards. Each year, the countryis deprived of significant foreignexchange earnings

through the export of these natural resources withoutvalue addition. We should establish a world class marketplace in which gemsfrom not only Sri Lankabut even from African nations can be sold after value addition.

While we should provide newtechnological facilities for conducting oceanic and geological surveys, we mustprovide special incentives to encourage investments in industries that willprovide value addition to Sri Lankas mineral resources.

We will not allow various laws,permits and restrictions to impose unnecessary and unfair limitations on someof Sri Lankastraditional livelihoods, including the gem industry, tile industry, brickindustry, carpentry and handicrafts.

When planning for the future, moreattention than at present must be given to the agriculture, plantation and fisheries sectors.As a country that possessesa large oceanic economic zone in temperate waters, we can develop theseindustries much further.

We need to increase earnings fromagricultural produce such as spices,

fruits, vegetables, grains, meat and fish,for which thereis export potential.

One third ofthe countrys population is engaged in agriculture, plantation industries and the fisheriessector. We must raise their standard of living.

There is a need for new technology-based approaches that can develop these industries beyondtraditional farming methods.

Encouraging the production of foodfree of pesticides and chemicals, by increasing the use of organic fertilizerfor agriculture is part of our policy. We must prepare plans to encourageSri Lankas entire agriculturesector to shift to using only organic fertilizer within the next decade.Increasing domestic production of organic fertilizer should be included inthese plans.

Theproblems that had been causedto growers of export-oriented crops through the allowing of unlimited re-exportswere addressed by the new Government soon after its assumption of office. Instructions have already

been issued to completely stop the re-export ofagricultural products.

Moreattention has to be paid to the ocean economy.We will introduce asystematic programme to improve the fisheries sector through the introductionof new technologies and equipment. Existing harbours will be improved and newharbours developed to cater to the requirements of multi day vessels that engage in deep water fishing.

Introducing new technologies to furtherdevelop the inland fisheries sector is also part of our plan. Protecting thenatural environment for our futuregenerations is one of our fundamental responsibilities. We will pay special attention to environmental protection in theformulation and implementation of governmentpolicies.

We hope to make Sri Lanka oneof the worlds leading nations in achieving the United Nations SustainableDevelopment Goals.

Our most valuable resource as anation is our future generation. As such, we have identified the development ofour human capital as one of theprimary responsibilities of the government.

We have to pay special attention toensuring that our future generationwill become productive citizens by nurturing them with the required knowledge,skills and abilities. The opportunities young people have to pursue highereducation and technical education should be broadened. The infrastructurefacilities needed for this must be developed within a short time frame. Thenumber of students entering tertiary educationcan be increased through more effective utilization of the capacities ofstate universities and other higher educational institutions.

Some of the coursestaught in universities today are not in consonance with market requirements. Inthe near future, we intend to introduce short-term courses to equip ouruniversity students to meet the needsof the modern job market, which they can opt to attend whilst pursuingtheir current courses of study. Universities and other higher educationinstitutions should be given more freedom in the enrollment of students and in the restructuring of their syllabito meet theneeds of themarketplace.

Institutions in the country that currentlyteach diploma levelprogrammes must be gradually enhanced to the level of degree awardinginstitutions. As a preliminary step, we look forward to upgrading teachertraining schools and nursing schools to degree awarding level. The shortage oftrained graduate teachers continues to be a problem in the education sector. Further, by upgrading the existing3-year diploma programme in Nursing into a 4-year degree, and by improving theEnglish knowledge of nurses, we will createopportunities for them to even seek work abroadby providing services that meet international quality standards.

Colleges which provide technical andindustrial training need to be strengthenedto cater to more students who have studiedup to the Ordinary Levelexaminations but not progressed beyond the Advanced Level examinations. Thefunding and facilities provided to these institutions need to be increased.This will not only enable us to create a workforce that has received vocationaltraining in line with global standards, but also enable such trained personnelto seek high wage employment in the fast-evolving marketplace both here and abroad.

Manyyoung people arecurrently deprived of employment opportunities due to their lack ofproficiency in English. We willintroduce a special programme to improvethe facilities providedfor English educationin all schools, and torecruit the required teaching staff.

We intend to entrust our foreignMissions with special responsibilities to seek new employment opportunities for our youth.We can enhance Sri Lankas image in the global job market and earn more foreign incomeby sending trained and qualified workersin all fields to work abroad, instead of untrained workers.

The educationsector can be a significant foreign exchange earner. A large number of Sri Lankan studentspresently study at higher educational institutes in Asia. Instead of sending our students abroad for highereducation at a high cost, we should introduce a programme to attract foreignstudents to Sri Lanka.We must prepare short term and longterm programmes to improve the global ranking of our universities.

Sri Lanka is still referred to as a developing country even after70 years of our achieving independence. We mustidentify the opportunities that would allow us to move away from this situationand to become a developed country.

With a population of over 5 billion,Asia is undergoing an economic boom and the centerof gravity of the globaleconomy is movingtowards it.

The fastestgrowing middle class with high purchasing power is in thisregion.

That is why we must encourage ourlocal entrepreneurs to seek new markets in Asia.

The 21st Century is known as theKnowledge-centric Century.

New technologies such as ArtificialIntelligence, biotechnology, robotics, 3D printing, and the Internet of Things,amongst others, are continually changing the world.

Mostdeveloping nations have grasped this reality. They are spending substantiallyto attract technology centric investments.

We must payattention to this in the formulation of our investment policies. We mustunderstand what type of investments we need to spur future economicdevelopment. We must provide special incentives and concessions to encourageinvestors who are capable of introducing new technologies to the country.

It is also very important to directour youth to learn these new technologies and undertake research relevant tothem. We must assist our educationsystem to speedilyprepare to facilitate this change without delay.We must also take steps topromote English education as well as Information Technology usage amongst our youth.

Itis important to understand that we have market opportunities beyond technology heavy sectors. One sector we can very swiftly developis

the tourism industry. This sector, which earned 4.4 billion USDollars in 2018, has space to grow toone that can earn revenue in excess of10 billion US dollars within the next few years. We will introduce a systematic programme to achieve this.

For us toreap the fullbenefits of democracy,the government

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We never allow others to take over our economically significant resources: President - Lanka Business Online