With the aim of providing quality customer service and banking services to the people, Homagama, West Horagala Divisional Cooperative Society was modernized and handed over to the people as a “Mini Coop Super” by the Minister of Transport, Highways and Mass Media, Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana yesterday (4).

At the same time, the West Horagala Cooperative Rural Bank branch belonging to the Homagama Multi Purpose Cooperative Society, which has been modernized as well, was also handed over to the people by the Minister.

In conjunction with this event, stationery including exercise books and special commemorative gifts were presented to the account holding school students and selected account holders of the Cooperative Rural Bank.

The Minister speaking at the event said, “It is possible to build any institution without theft, corruption and fraud. It is politicized and by leading the institutions according to political agendas, all of them will collapse and be destroyed. All the chairmen and heads of institutions under my ministry have been appointed using professionals with good experience in their respective fields.

 
 Most of them are experienced engineers. My political friends have not been appointed to a high position in any of these institutions, even to the most important position of my Ministry of the Ministry Secretary and others such as Ceylon Transport Board, Railway Department, State Development and Construction Corporation, Lake House, Rupavahini Corporation and Road Development Authority. By giving professional freedom to the professionals, this country can be built under a visionary programme.
At a time when the cooperative movement, which had once become a prestigious movement in the country, was about to collapse and close down, I took steps as the minister in charge of the subject to write off all the debts that had to be paid during the governance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Also, during the opening of private supermarkets across the country, the cooperative also took steps to modernize according to the concept of Coop City. Steps were taken to start production cooperative societies. It was possible to prevent the loss of the very valuable property owned by the cooperative from various frauds.”

The General Manager of Homagama Multi Purpose Cooperative Society Dr. Thilaka Katriarachchi, the officers including Saman Manjula of the governing body, the Secretary of the Homagama Divisional Secretariat, public representatives of the area, and a large number of local residents attended the event.