The Government yesterday warned those who spread false information on COVID-19 that they would face harsh penalties under the Quarantine Ordinance. Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardena pointed out that some individuals spread rumours through social media and put the country into various difficulties in order to gain personal benefits.

“Some Opposition politicians have forced Buddhist monks to protest against the proposed Quarantine Centres. Such ideas are being fabricated by Opposition politicians in order to create instability in the country,” he said.  “Sri Lanka has a very strong Quarantine Ordinance Act introduced when the country was under British colonial rule. Rumour mongers should be aware of this before resorting to their various gimmicks.

Police also warned that legal action would be initiated against anyone found spreading false rumours regarding the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic over social media with the aim of causing panic among the people.

The Police Media Unit issuing a statement refuted claims that many COVID-19 infected persons had been reported from various parts of the country.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa requested the heads of research organizations to find ways and means to uplift a small country like Sri Lanka with a comparatively small population and an economy.

Since the current global economy is based on knowledge, ours should be developed centered around our workforce that can be easily trained, President observed.

President Rajapaksa made these observations during a meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat today (13) with Chairmen and Director Board members of state- sector research entities. This is the fourth of the series of meetings organized to enlighten heads of government institutes on ‘Saubagyaye Dekma’ Policy Statement. Heads of Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, National Science Foundation, Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies and Institute of Post-Harvest Technology were among the participants.

“There is a visible breakdown in our political culture. The people of this country elected a person who was not a politician as their President with the hope of rectifying this. This is the challenge before me. The State sector has an enormous responsibility in fulfilling aspirations of the people. If the public institutes function in an efficient manner we will not have any issue in carrying out our duties”, President Rajapaksa said.

The President emphasized that conducting comprehensive researches is crucial for economic development and said that his main objective is to ensure higher standard of living for the lower segment of the society. He also said that the programme to recruit 100,000 unskilled persons from the underprivileged families was designed to achieve this objective.

‘We are an agricultural country. But our farmers have always been poor. Second and third generations choose the agricultural field if it is the only option for survival. Modern technology should be introduced to this field to attract new generation. India has successfully achieved results by doing so. Researchers should introduce new technologies to agriculture in order to free the underprivileged people from poverty’, President Rajapaksa emphasized.

Explaining the role and responsibilities of the research institutes, the President said it is imperative for researchers to identify accurately what our people need. Researches need to be done to introduce new techniques to agricultural sector as well as to the fisheries sector. Even though we have many problems about use of chemical fertilizers, we still haven’t been able to shift to use organic fertilizer. When considering the fisheries sector, researches can be used to identify areas where fish are abundant. President pointed out that the results of researches should be socialized as a product.

Secretary to the President Dr. P.B. Jayasundara, Ministry Secretaries and other senior officials were also present in this meeting.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has paid his attention to enhance the efficiency of railway services and to make it a people- friendly service while identifying the existing shortcomings.

The President instructed the officials to devise necessary strategies and to take required decisions to improve the service by eliminating delays and upgrading compartments facilities.

President Rajapaksa made directives at a meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat, today (11) to discuss the steps to be taken to improve the railway services.

On a daily basis, over 385,000 passengers travel by train. The President said that by providing improved services to these commuters and attracting more people will help easing traffic congestion on roads.

Our trains are often over crowded. During this meeting the steps that should be taken to rectify this situation were discussed in detail.

The President also required trade unions to make their representations to enhance the efficiency of the railway system.

Daily train schedules should be designed based on public needs. The President also highlighted the importance of identifying potentials of the current workforce of the Railway Department with the objective of improving their skills in order to provide more efficient service.

The train delays are mostly caused due to the out-dated signal systems. The President also instructed relevant officials to take necessary remedial measures in this regard with the assistance of the local engineers. Attention was drawn to the possibility of using railway lines for freight transport after peak hours. The President said that it would be of great importance to the national economy as well.

Discussions were also focused on modernization of the railway service in an attractive manner targeting foreign tourists.

Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, Secretary to the President Dr. P.B. Jayasundara, Mr. S. Atigala, Secretary to the Finance Ministry, Mr. H.M.Gamini Seneviratne, Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, Railways General Manager, M.J.D. Fernando and Senior Officials were present in this meeting.

Information, Media, Higher Education, Technology and Innovation Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardena yesterday said that the government will soon begin the construction of fully fledged university in Kotagala, Hatton for the benefit of students in the plantation sector who qualify for university entrance.

Minister Dr. Gunawardena made these remarks when he visited Kotagala along with Minister Arumugam Thondaman to inspect the land which has been earmarked for the construction of the new university.

“Steps would be taken to fulfill the pledge made by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to the plantation sector people,” he said.

The Minister said the proposed university will introduce novel study courses in the field of bio technology, engineering technology and Information Technology on the directive of the President.

“A generation armed with cutting edge technology will emerge from the plantation sector with the commissioning of this new university,” he said.

The Minister also said the Thondaman Vocational Training Centre will also be upgraded to a University College status soon.

“This university will introduce novel study courses through which those who pass out can receive gainful employment projects without participating in protests seeking for jobs,” he said.

He said that the President succeeded in fulfilling his pledge of granting employment to the graduates before the election.

Dr. Gunawardena also opined that the rifts developing in the United National Party will help the Government secure a 2/3 majority at the upcoming election.

The Old Parliament Building where the Presidential Secretariat is currently located will be open for public view every weekend from 10 am to 4 pm, from March 14^th Saturday. Public is also allowed to take photographs within the Old Parliament premises.

For reservations, people may reach the Director General(Admin) via fax 011-2441685 or Telephone number 011-2354354.

The Old Parliament Building represents a crucial era in the Sri Lankan political history. The Building was constructed 82 years ago and its construction was inspired by the Greek Ionian order which is considered to be one of the oldest architectures of the ancient Western classical time period. The outer appearance of the Old Parliament Building resembles the Athenian “Parthenon” in Acropolis dedicated for their patron goddess Athena.

The Building was initially established as the “Legislative Council” by the Governor Sir Herbert Stanley in 1930. Following amendments to the Constitution and ensuing amendments to the name of the Legislature, the Old Parliament Building was called a number of names throughout history. Between 1931 and 1947 it was called the “State Council”, while it was changed to the “House of Representatives” from 1947 to 1972. During 1972-1978 period it was called the “National State Assembly” and finally, it was called the “Sri Lanka Parliament” from 1978 to 1982. As the parliament was moved to the current Parliament Complex in Sri Jayawardanapura Kotte, this historical building was designated as the Presidential Secretariat in 1983.

Sri Lanka will host the next Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit in early September this year, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa told Secretary General M Shahidul Islam. The Secretary General Islam met President at the Presidential Secretariat today (04).

Sri Lanka is the Chair of BIMSTEC from 2018 to 2020. Though Sri Lanka has already hosted three Working Committee meetings, this will be the first one under the new Administration. The Senior Officials’ Meeting that were held from March 01-03. Here, BIMSTEC Charter was concluded as well as the long overdue rationalization of sectors.

Earlier, there were 14 such sectors. However, many of the areas such as climate and environment were overlapping and this created various issues. Taking all these into consideration, the number of sectors was reduced to seven. This will strengthen the institutional mechanisms of BIMSTEC.

Under the rationalizing of the sector, Sri Lanka will be the lead country for Science, Technology and Innovation. Bangladesh will lead Trade and Investment, Bhutan on Environment and Climate Change, Myanmar on Agriculture and Food Security, India on Security, Napal on People-to-People Contact and Thailand on Connectivity.

Accelerating our economic development is the primary challenge facing Sri Lanka today and most of the security issues that Sri Lanka has faced over the years have been due to the exploitation of the economically disadvantaged, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said.

The proposed people-centric model takes this factor into account, said the President at a forum with representatives of the ICT sector held at the Presidential Secretariat today (4).

“We must ensure that the benefits of economic growth will reach everyone in our society, especially the very poor. We must raise their standard of living in a rapid and sustainable way, bringing them out of poverty and making them productive contributors to the economy,” President added.

To succeed in the digital era, companies need to recruit world-class talent.  We need to ensure that our citizens are equipped with new technological skills said the President adding that the government confronts the challenge to make easier for people to develop the skills they need for better job opportunities in a technology-based economy.

President highlighted the significant misalignment between the demands of the job market and the workforce that emerges from our schools, training institutes and universities. The shortage of skilled workers that the IT sector faces today is just one of the symptoms of this mismatch, he said. The importance of undertaking short- term and medium-term solutions to the problems inherent in our education system was observed by the President.

Pointing out the deterioration of the public service in recent years President said and creating an environment for productive economic activities to thrive, without any obstruction, is a priority of his Government. “Infusing technological solutions including automation to make the public sector much more efficient in discharging its duties is essential to liberating the economic potential of our people”.

Expressing his views, Chairman of ICT Industry Council Chinthaka Wijewickrema said the information communication technology industry is a very dynamic sector and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the first President of this country to address this vital sector.

The General Secretary of the Council Shantha Yapa requested the President to prioritize the promotion of local software industry.

‘The Global Delivery Destination of the Year’ award of the Global Sourcing Association won by the Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies was handed over to President Rajapaksa by its Chairman Ranil Rajapaksha.

Representatives of the ICT sector and the Honorary Advisor to the President Lalith Weeratunga were also present at the forum.