The Hon. K.S. Kugathasan

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson,

¶ 02 First, I thank the voters of Trincomalee District for electing me to this Parliament and remember with respect the late leader Hon. R. Sampanthan, who long represented this District. I deliver my maiden speech of the 10th Parliament.

¶ 03 I wish to comment on the policy statement delivered by His Excellency President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the opening of the First Session of the Tenth Parliament. He pledged a transparent, merit-based administration free of corruption, racism, and religious bigotry. This is welcome; it must be shown in action, not just words. He also spoke of establishing the rule of law and making the public service efficient. Only an efficient public service can take the country forward. At Independence, there was one public servant per 139 citizens; today it is said to be one per 13, hence the need to streamline and restructure. He said public assets will be protected and those who loot public property will be punished. Past governments made such promises during elections, but nothing happened; I hope he will act as stated.

¶ 04 He further said steps would be taken to improve the economy. Agriculture, fisheries, and industry must go a long way. It is not enough to achieve growth alone; there must be both growth and development. Growth is like a tree growing vertically; development is like its branches spreading. Sectors like industry, fisheries, and animal husbandry must spread and develop.

¶ 05 In the 1960s, Bolivia’s economy grew by 20 percent. Before that growth, 60 percent of income was held by 40 percent of the people, and 40 percent of income by 60 percent. After growth, 80 percent of income was held by 20 percent of the people, and 20 percent by 80 percent. That is not development. Therefore, the Government must focus not only on growth but also on income distribution.

¶ 06 For agriculture, fisheries, and animal husbandry to advance, specialized universities should be established. We should consider the contribution of the Agricultural University at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, to that sector. Similar universities should be set up here. The foreign exchange they can generate and the sectoral contribution would be significant.