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Shall we get our act together at least in 2016?
View(s):The rainy season this year is coming to an end and the festive season is at hand. It is time to reflect on what we have to do and what we have to avoid as we welcome 2016. I believe that we have to take timely action to develop the country, raise the living standards of our people and lead them to prosperity and good health. If the Government delays what it ought to do, then others who can should take over and do the needful.
Based on a proposal from Ranil Wickremesinghe, when he was Minister of Youth Affairs in the J.R. Jayewardene Government, we started the Sri Jinarathana Technical Institute by the side of the Beira Lake. This was a time when our youth were on a wrong path. We took the initiative and set up technical training centres of high standard at various places. This way we succeeded in giving these children who lost a good education the technical knowledge and recognition of their talents. We started with just two students doing welding and blacksmith’s work, but today the project has now opened up employment opportunities to hundreds of thousands of students. Today the institute teaches more subjects including videography, electronics and language studies. Today, even though there are many vocationa1 training institutes such as the National Youth Council and centres run by the Ministry of Youth Affairs, the standard has dropped to the 1980-90 period.
During the Sirima Bandaranaike Government, the National Apprenticeship Board was set up in 1971 and the students were drawn to the private sector with a government allowance. This system worked well but collapsed due to some reason or other. It was possible at the time for a technician to teach his skills to his son or a relative and find a job for the young man at his place of work. But after the takeover of many private companies by the then Government, the technician lost heart and did not pass on knowledge to those who came after him. This was also because most of the new entrants came in with political affiliations, and preferred to play carom or some card game, whiling away the time, instead of learning the job. Some of those who joined through the Apprenticeship Board got their salaries virtually doing nothing. Carpentry, carving work, masonry and blacksmith professions were handed down from father to son. But when these professions began to be taught with diagrams and drawings on paper, we were not able to get a proper professional work done in state institutions. If such professions were encouraged allowing knowledge dissemination from father to son and employment generation, we would have had highly skilled technicians. This is one area where we went wrong.
In India, to develop domestic income, industrialists encourage home industries. Without exerting themselves too much they are able to earn something remaining at home. They also get the necessary experience. No one tried this out here. We see and hear about the economic hardships experienced by the people in the North and East. These include Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim people. There are people who cannot afford three meals a day. Their houses have no toilets. They are living in abject poverty. Such people are living in Padaviya and beyond. The Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim people of the area suffered immensely because of terrorism, and they must be rehabilitated immediately. We have to help these people, forgetting our religious, caste and political differences. I see it as a matter of priority. If these people become weaker, we will lose the peace that we won with great effort. I learn about their plight not only from newspapers and letters sent to me, but also from those who have visited the area. All these point to the fact that those who suffered at the hands of terrorists are very innocent and poor people. They have no roofs over their heads, no water, no employment, no means and nowhere to go. They cannot educate their children properly and are living pitiful lives.
Just as steps were taken to settle people north of Vavuniya and Padaviya, the Government should take steps to provide them with proper living conditions. The mere resettlement is not just sufficient. It will only result in the country losing the peace again. At least the Government should study the actual situation in these areas and develop the economy and infrastructure facilities of the area. Like in India, domestic industries should be developed.
In collaboration with both the public and private sectors, industrial estates should be set up to address the issues. In the new resettlement areas in Vavuniya and Padaviya, where people suffered due to LTTE terrorism, new industries should be set up.
This way the Government can settle a major problem of the country. If an initial survey could be done in the areas from Vavuniya to Padavi Parakramapura including Salalihinigama, Bogaswewa, Namalgama, Nandimitragama, Veheratenna, Kambiliyawa, and Weherawewa, one can learn what should and should not be done. We do not need caste, religious and political affiliations for this. What is needed are a survey and immediate action.
If we are thinking of going on a shopping spree during this coming festive period, it is good for us to rethink and cut down waste and go to these areas. We can talk to the police and army officers in the area to help the poor people. Let us get together to help them.
I would like to remind you that we are organising a year-end aid programme under the auspices of the Gangaramaya Temple. You can hand over your donations to the Gangaramaya Temple. The items can be clothes, roofing material, water tanks, lavatory pots, bicycles, mammoties, agricultural tools and children’s requirements. The Gangaramaya Aid Programme will work closely with media organisations. You can send your donations to “Podi Hamuduruwo, Gangarama Sahana Yatra, Gangaramaya, 61, Sri Jinarathana Road, Colombo” or call 011-2435169 for more information.