President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has decided to go among the people to give swift solutions to their grievances at the village level.

The President hopes to witness himself 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.

The Haldummulle Divisional Secretariat Division of the Badulla district has been selected for the first inspection tour. The public gathering will be held at Kumarathenna Vidyalaya, 100 Acre Village, Haputale on next Friday the 25th of September beginning at 10.00 am.

While touring the country during the Presidential and General Election campaigns President Rajapaksa came to realize that people in remote areas suffer a great deal due to a number of long drawn unresolved economic and social problems. Issues pertaining to livelihood, shortage of lands and houses, unavailability of undisputed deeds for lands, inadequate health and transportation facilities, shortages in school and other educational issues, inaccessibility to drinking and farming water, elephant intrusions, difficulty in selling their produce were some of the major difficulties identified.

The inefficient and lethargic conduct of the public institutions which are entrusted with the task of identifying and solving the issues of the rural communities is another prominent problem.

The President’s inspections visits to the villages are organized giving priority to the people. The expenditures relating to these tours are kept at minimum possible levels. Officials from Colombo will not accompany him. When solving the issues public officials in respective area will be involved.  People are requested to apprise of the President their grievances at these public meetings.

The objective of President Rajapaksa is to provide solutions for the public issues on the spot in every possible circumstance. The issues which will take time to solve will be noted down for future references.

The selected Haldummulle Divisional Secretariat has 2 Grama Seva Divisions where 222 families reside. Their main livelihoods are paddy, black pepper, Cinnamon and Chena cultivation. There are only 17 students receiving education at Kumarathenna Vidyala; the location of the public gathering.

We expect the United Nation will place due emphasis on non-interference in domestic affairs of other states, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said in a pre-recorded statement at the High-Level Meeting to Commemorate the 75^thAnniversary  of the United Nations today (21).

“At a time when the world is facing a common and an unrivalled threat, the “United Nations We Need”, I am certain, will place due emphasis on the sovereign equality of States, respect for territorial integrity and non-interference in their domestic affairs”, President said.

President said that he firmly believes that partnerships fostered between Member States and the UN continues at their best when no country is held hostage to the interests of a few.

UN Member States agreed in June 2019 that the UN will mark its 75th anniversary with a one-day, high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on Monday, 21 September 2020 on the theme, ‘The Future We Want, the UN We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism’.

The President of the 75^th Session of the General Assembly Volkan Bozkir made the opening statement at the meeting where leaders and delegates of 180 countries made their representations.

“The world is plagued by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, which has jeopardized our economies, health systems and indeed our societies, just within a few months”, President Rajapaksa observed.

Sri Lanka was able to successfully face the challenge of COVID-19 through a proactive intervention. We established the National Action Committee for Preventing COVID-19 even before the first patient was detected in Sri Lanka. Our approach synchronized the military, health as well as civilian authorities of national and regional levels.

Sri Lanka’s recovery rate stands at over 90% well above the global recovery rate.  Our success story owes much to our reliance upon ‘tracing and quarantine’, which was our greatest strength, President stressed.

“Sri Lanka is hopeful that we of the United Nations would rededicate ourselves in efforts to strengthen this great institution to ensure the future we want. We owe our peoples and future generations no less”.

Full text of the statement by H.E. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, At the High-Level Meeting to Commemorate the 75^th Anniversary  of the United Nations- 21 September 2020

Mr. President,

Mr. Secretary-General,

Excellencies,

Ayubowan !

Your Excellency Volkan Bozkir, I congratulate you on being elected as the President of the 75^th Session of the General Assembly.

 I am deeply honoured to represent the people of Sri Lanka on this historic occasion.

Unfortunately, the world is not what the founders of this august body envisaged 75 years ago.

The world is plagued by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, which has jeopardized our economies, health systems and indeed our societies, just within a few months.

Sri Lanka was able to successfully face the challenge of COVID-19 through a proactive intervention. We established the National Action Committee for Preventing COVID-19 even before the first patient was detected in Sri Lanka. Our approach synchronized the military, health as well as civilian authorities of national and regional levels.

Sri Lanka’s recovery rate stands at over 90% well above the global recovery rate.  Our success story owes much to our reliance upon ‘tracing and quarantine’, which was our greatest strength.

Sri Lanka has not reported a single case arising within the local society for over a month now.

Excellencies,

Sri Lanka has committed to the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development. Poverty alleviation through an agri-based production economy is a major goal of my Government.

The steps that we had initiated earlier this year for enhancing local production, partial restrictions on imports as well as assisting small and medium scale entrepreneurs paid their dividend.

As we celebrate 65 years of UN membership this year, Sri Lanka is pleased to have contributed significantly to United Nation’s agenda, ranging from peacekeeping operations to programmes of its specialized agencies.

At a time when the world is facing a common and an unrivalled threat, the “United Nations We Need”, I am certain, will place due emphasis on the sovereign equality of States, respect for territorial integrity and non-interference in their domestic affairs.

Excellencies,

I firmly believe that partnerships fostered between Member States and the UN continues at their best when no country is held hostage to the interests of a few.

Sri Lanka is hopeful that we of the United Nations would rededicate ourselves in efforts to strengthen this great institution to ensure the future we want. We owe our peoples and future generations no less.

Thank you.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa says that one of the top priorities of the government is to formulate and implement a strategy that will cover the entire process from early childhood education to tertiary education in order to ensure that future generations will choose the right path for them and their future.

The President emphasizes since early childhood development and primary education are the most stages in a child’s life special attention should be paid to that aspect.

President Rajapaksa made these remarks at a discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat today (21) on the future activities of the  State Ministry of Women and Child Development, Pre-School & Primary Education, School Infrastructure & Education Services.

Up until now, there has been no proper focus or monitoring on pre-school education. ‘Therefore, a formal plan has been formulated with the assistance of specialists in children’s education’, the President said.

‘It is the responsibility of the parents and teachers to create an environment where the child will be able to receive the education with a free mind as well as to constantly appreciate the child. Attention has been paid to grant an allowance to teachers of pre-school, which do not charge fees. Another objective is to regulate and train them in a way that does not discomfit them. We also plan to provide pre-school children with a locally manufactured kit with the aim of developing their early skills. The primary responsibility of the officers and authorities is to identify and properly manage the resources of all schools in the island’, the President emphasized.

The responsible officers of national and provincial schools should not be confined to their respective offices instead they should go to schools to identify and solve problems on the spot. The President pointed out the need of introducing a system where officers visit schools to provide appropriate solutions for the issues of the teachers rather than teachers travelling to education offices.

Mr. Basil Rajapaksa, the Head of the Presidential Task Force on Economic Revival and Poverty Alleviation expressing his regret over the hardships faced by teachers who go to zonal offices for various needs related to their profession, said that the officials should support to resolve the issues faced by the teachers.

Mr. Basil Rajapaksa emphasized the need to provide safe drinking water and improved sanitation facilities to all schools within a short period of time.

The Government is also focusing on setting up Special Education Units at the district level to develop the skills of children with special needs in order to socialize them. Mr. Basil Rajapaksa said that families with such children should be supported with financial assistance to protect them from being the victims of psychological and economic collapse.

The need of passing the necessary legislations by an Act of Parliament to establish a National Committee on Women for the benefit of desperate and victimized females was discussed in detail at today’s meeting.

The attention was drawn to expedite the adjudication of child abuse cases and to provide closed court facilities to take testimonies in a manner which will not disrupt child’s wellbeing.

The President said that beginning from the practice of leaving the classroom placing the chair and desk neatly, an education system will be set up that will transform the child into a responsible citizen with attitudinal changes and behaviours, who loves the country and the society.

Prof. Ven. Medagoda Abhayatissa Thero, Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, State Minister Piyal Nishantha, Secretary to the President P.B. Jayasundera, Secretaries to Cabinet and State Ministries and officials of line institutions were present at the discussion.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa visited Puttalam district today (19) to inspect some of the development projects in the area.

Commencing the tour President Rajapaksa inspected activities in Palachchonai Estate in Madurankuliya. Coconut, vegetables and several other agricultural crops are cultivated in the 900-acre estate. President appreciated the successful model cultivation of grapes in 10 acres of land.

President declared open the agro-technical institute constructed with funds received by His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith from the Government of Italy. The institute has been designed so as to provide residential practical training to 50 students. His Eminence Cardinal said more opportunities will be given to the youth from low income families in the area.

The institute will operate under the supervision of the Archbishop House in Colombo. President engaged in a cordial discussion with the Rector of the training institute.

During the visit to Model School in Madurankuliya President spent some time talking with students. Heeding to the request by the students to construct the playground in the school, President instructed the Army Commander to expedite construction work. President informed the Secretary to the Ministry of Highways to construct a flyover connecting the Primary School on the other side of the road. President gave immediate solutions to several public issues including transport problems.

President exchanged pleasantries with the people on his way to Daluwa from Madurankuliya.

Inspecting farm lands of beetroot, tobacco, green chilies and onion President encouraged farmers to cultivate similar crops.

President also inspected the wind mill in Nimalapura, Daluwa.  His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and Member of Parliament Chinthaka Mayadunna were also present.

The interviews for the selection of “Asidisi Media Scholarships 2020”, being implemented under the objective of enhancing the professionalism of the journalists of Sri Lanka, would be held from today (18) until 20, Sunday at the auditorium of the Ministry of Mass Media.

Under this scholarship programme every journalist gets an opportunity to be entitled to this scholarship twice. After being selected for the scholarship and successfully completing the course for the first time, he or she would again be eligible to apply for this scholarship for the 2^nd time in five years.

A maximum amount of 200,000 rupees for the degree and postgraduate degree programs and 100,000 rupees for the long or short term certificate courses will be provided.

The beneficiaries for this scholarship programme would be selected by an interview panel appointed by the secretary of the Mass Media Ministry.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa urged the tea factory owners not to pave the way to tarnish the image of Ceylon Tea brand which has attracted many countries in the world for a long time.

Media recently reported instances of adulterating the quality tea by mixing sugar, glucose, sodium bicarbonate and ferrous sulfate. The rejection of such tea in the world market has caused a huge setback to the tea industry.

President emphasized that the country’s reputation as well as the global demand for Ceylon Tea could not allowed to be harmed in the future.

President stressed that no room will be left for tea industry to suffer the same fate that the pepper had met with.

President Rajapaksa made these comments during a discussion with small and medium scale tea factory owners and exporters held at the Presidential Secretariat today (18).

The deterioration of the quality of tea has resulted in the decline of its demand from 65% to 45% among the global consumers. The number of tea factories in this country stands at 705. Improper activities have been reported from 45 factories and production has been stopped in 18 among them following investigations, Chairman of Ceylon Tea Board Jayampathi Molligoda said.

Based on intelligence information the Special Task Force of the Police and the Police raid tea factories which produce garbage tea and using harmful chemical components.

No room should be left to hamper the revenue of the country or the tea industry due to substandard tea production. Tea factory owners as well as the exporters should ensure the supply of high quality tea to the world market. “Production of low-quality tea will not be allowed” said the President while giving instructions to officials to close down the factories that do not adhere to this rule.

President also instructed the acting Inspector General of Police to continue to raid such factories after conducting investigations with the assistance of intelligence services.

State Minister Kanaka Herath, Principal Advisor to the President Lalith Weeratunga, secretaries to Cabinet and State Ministries, acting IGP and other officials, tea factory owners and exporters were present during the discussion.

President Rajapaksa symbolically presented motorbikes for the Public Health Inspectors in appreciation of their commitment and life-risking service during the COVID 19 at the Presidential Secretariat today(September 18).

Since 2015 no PHIs were provided with motorbikes. PHIs representing 26 selected Medical Health Zones covering the entire island and who had not received motorbikes during their service were presented with 749 motorbikes. In addition, another 56 PHIs received motorbikes on a priority basis.

At the stage of recruitment process, Public Health Inspectors are directed to follow a 2 year fulltime course. “We will discuss with the University Grants Commission to extend their training period and allow them to graduate at the end of the course.” President added.

Minister of Health, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Secretary to the Ministry, Retired Major General Dr. Sanjeewa Munasinghe and Director of COVID 19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Project Jayasundara Bandara were present at the occasion.

The Buddhist Advisory Council commended President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for following advice and implementing suggestions of Maha Sangha. Member Theros of the Council are confident that the policies being followed by the President will be instrumental in building a fair and virtuous society.

Five months ago, President Rajapaksa decided to set up the Buddhist Advisory Council to seek the advice and views of Maha Sangha in the process of implementing policies of the Government.

The first meeting between Maha Sangha and the President took place on April 24^th at the Presidential Secretariat. During the meeting President apprised Theros of the measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID – 19 pandemic and the future activities of the Government. President informed that he intends to meet the Council on the third Friday of every month and invited Theros of the three Chapters to participate.

Member Theros of the Council presented their advices and suggestions to implement strategies pertaining to several areas included in “Saubhagyaye Dekma” national policy statement during previous 5 sessions.

The Buddhist Advisory Council which met for the 6^th time at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (18) reviewed the progress of the implementation of proposals so far.

Maha Sangha commended and invoked their blessings for paying attention of the Government and executing several proposals put forward by them including protecting historical places with archeological value, developing Pirivena education by removing deficiencies, providing deeds to Vihara lands, Dhamma School education, National Education Policy, early childhood development, prioritizing national security, controlling the drug menace, environmental protection, creating the background for discourse on Buddha Sasana and taking Buddhist Universities under the purview of Ministry of Education.

The Council praised the President for taking measures to lay a strong and viable foundation for the future of Ministry of Education by appointing 4 State Ministers for the first time in the history.

The Maha Sangha pointed out that the decision to amend the Antiquities Ordinance to address the long standing issues related to Viharas built on archeological sites has been welcomed by many.

While highlighting the importance of the Advisory Council which meets once a month, President Rajapaksa said that it had helped him as well as the officials to gain a better perspective of various fields. President assured to take steps to rectify prevailing shortcomings.

Maha Sangha representing the Buddhist Advisory Council, Principal Advisor to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Ministry Secretaries and heads of several institutes were present at the meeting.

The Cabinet of Ministers approved a proposal made by Mass Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella to purchase necessary machinery to print passports and government confidential documents locally through the Government Printing Department.

Addressing a media conference held yesterday at the Government Information Department Cabinet Spokesman Minister Rambukwella said this decision had been taken to save foreign exchange spent annually to print these documents through foreign printing companies.

The Cabinet of Ministers decided to assign the Planning Department to conduct a detailed evaluation on this project.

Principals are advised to totally disregard requests to admit children to schools based on letters that mention the names of President, Prime Minister and other high ranking state officials.

It had come to light that certain individuals have resorted to influence Principals to get children admitted to schools claiming that it had been ordered by the President, Prime Minister and other high ranking state officers. It has been observed that even state officials have sent such letters attempting to influence the proper enrolment procedure.

Under no circumstances, Principals should admit children to schools accepting such letters. Students should only be enrolled adhering to the guidelines and regulations stipulated by the government.

Secretary to the President, P.B. Jayasundera warns that stern action will be taken against all the principals who violate this rule.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa emphasized that it is an imperative of the era to establish a sports culture in order to form a healthy, disciplined and an athletic society in the country.

Sport is the youth’s language. President noted that directing a child simultaneously towards both education and sports will raise a balanced individual for society.

President stated that Ministries of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports have a massive responsibility to bear in this regard.

President Rajapaksa made these comments during a discussion to review the future activities of the State Ministry of Rural and School Sports Infrastructure Promotion at the Presidential Secretariat today(September 16).

President stressed the requirement of a program to hone the skills of the students who show talents in sports across the island by providing them proper nutritious food and access to international level training from a young age.

President highlighted that despite the construction of school playgrounds following requests by the people, it was evident on multiple occasions that they had not been maintained accordingly. President added that simple maintenance tasks such as cutting grass are cheap and bearable.

President advised the officials to establish a separate unit to maintain school playgrounds at district level.

Provincial Government bodies have the capability to maintain school playgrounds. Head of the Presidential Task Force for Economic Revival, Mr. Basil Rajapaksa requested to make school playgrounds cleaned within 3 months.

Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs, Namal Rajapaksa noted that plans have been devised to attach the National Institute of Sports Science at Torrington Avenue with the Diyagama Sports Complex to establish a globally recognized Sports University.

Minister Namal Rajapaksa added that in order to create a sports culture it is necessary to look for locations young are attracted to play and construct playgrounds accordingly.

Minister further added that during the past month they have focused on tasks such as taking all the major playgrounds under the purview of one institute, maintaining 25 fully accommodated playgrounds, new proposals for the sports ordinance and formulation of a brand new sports act and attracting sponsorships from the private sector to promote sports.

State Minister Thenuka Vidanagamage showed the importance of developing sports at divisional level.

President stated that it was necessary to identify popular sports in remote areas and train sportsmen and sportswomen under training programs immediately.

Member of the Sports Council Kumar Sangakkara highlighted the importance of ranking each sport and training sportspersons targeting international games.

In addition, Mr Sangakkara also shared a suggestion to promote providing marks for sports talents in university entrance to popularize sports as well as to breed national level sportspersons within university network.

It was also discussed during the meeting to make a full scale restructure of Sugathadasa National Sports Complex Authority.

Moreover, mastering sports such as archery and the shooting which have a chance at winning Olympic medals, from the school level were discussed.

Cabinet and State Ministers requested the Sri Lankan sportspersons around the globe to gather under the national flag to bring glory to the motherland.

Minister of Education, Prof. G.L. Peiris, Head of the Presidential Task Force for Economic Revival Mr. Basil Rajapaksa, Secretary to the President, P.B. Jayasundera, Secretaries to the Cabinet and State Ministries, officials of the Line Institutes, representatives from Sports associations and veteran sports personnel were present at the discussion.

• No vehicle parking on pedestrian walkways of main roads
• New bridges to replace hanging bridges, wooden plank bridges, and small bridges
• Steps to plant 2 million plants along roads

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa assigned the officials to complete the project for the construction of 100,000km of rural roads and connect them with the main road network by 2024.

It’s a right of the citizenry to have their transportation requirement satisfied speedily with convenience, and security. Considering the unsuitability and fractured inter-connection in the existing road system, establishment of an efficient and advanced road system was promised in the national policy framework “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour”.

President emphasized that the project to construct 100,00km of rural roads needs to adhere to environmental guidelines.

President made these comments during the discussion to review future activities of the State Ministry of Rural Roads and Other Infrastructure Facilities at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday(September 15).

The President stated that new bridges will be built replacing hanging, wooden plank and small bridges. The construction of 8000km of roads has commenced and 400km of it has already been completed in the last few months.

President Rajapaksa noted that the District Secretaries are tasked with ensuring the supply of required soil, stones and sand for the constructions. President emphasized that prior approval should be granted to those who seek necessary resources from the authorities such as Wildlife Conservation and Archaeological Departments at district level meetings.

It was also decided during the discussion to plant 2 million trees along the main roads to shelter the pedestrians.

President highlighted that no room should be left for interruptions and delays in the construction process.  “The supervision of the constructions should be carried out by both government representatives and contractors and no subcontracts are allowed”. President added.

President advised to strictly prohibit vehicle parking on the pedestrian walkways along the main roads. President further added that it should be made mandatory to allocate parking spaces when residential flats and shopping complexes are constructed.

Minster Johnston Fernando, State Minister Nimal Lansa, Head of the Presidential Task Force for Economic Revival, Mr. Basil Rajapaksa, Secretary to the President, P.B. Jayasundera, Cabinet and State Ministry secretaries, officials of the Line Departments and representatives of the contract companies were present at the discussion.