Hon. M.S. Abdul Wazeeth

¶ 01 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

¶ 02 Hon. Presiding Member, among the State institutions providing comprehensive services to the people in Ampara District is the Pottuvil Divisional Secretariat. It covers 269 square kilometres and comprises 27 Grama Niladhari divisions in a tri-ethnic area. Severe cadre shortages prevent the public from receiving full services. In particular, there is no ADS, no ADP, no ADR, no SSO; the AO/GN is acting; there are vacancies of 09 MSO, 05 GN, ICT – 01, Driver – 02, and more than 20 vacancies in other departmental cadres.

¶ 03 There are 340 Development Officers in Ampara District in excess, yet at this Secretariat there are 20 Development Officer vacancies. Further, the Muslim Religious and Cultural Officer, Moulavi Azwar, and the Livelihood Development Officer, A. Zukhur, are serving only in acting capacity.

¶ 04 The Eastern Province Land Administration Department’s Land Officer post here has long remained vacant. The previous Land Officer, Fazeer Ahmed, was transferred out due to age category transfer without any valid reason, leaving the post vacant. Therefore, Hon. Presiding Member, I request the House to urge that these vacancies be filled urgently so our people in this prominent tourist area of Pottuvil can receive complete services.

¶ 05 Hon. Presiding Member, the Lahugala Divisional Secretariat in Ampara District is highly backward with severe staff shortages—over 20 vacancies—yet it continues to serve the public. Even the Additional District Registrar is affected. Officers transferred from nearby Pottuvil after serving 6–8 years seek re-transfer to Pottuvil. The Government must urgently fill these cadre shortages. For drinking water, the “Camu Oya” scheme is vital. People also need to lawfully extract river sand to build their houses; measures should be taken to facilitate this.

¶ 06 Amid many difficulties, I thank in this House the Divisional Secretary N. Navaneetharajah, Assistant Divisional Secretary Satheesekaran, and Secretary Sateesekaran for their services. Compared to what we accomplished earlier with adequate officers, today the Secretariat suffers acute shortages. I request that at least management service officers be appointed promptly.

¶ 07 Schools in the Pottuvil Divisional Secretariat are ethnically segregated. An Education Office should be started in Pottuvil by consolidating them into a distinct zone, and a Teacher Professional Development Centre within the division should be established to upgrade facilities for teachers and promote effective teaching.

¶ 08 Nationwide teacher shortages exist; in the Eastern Province alone there are more than 5,000 vacancies. These should be filled quickly, and when transferring teachers, avoid sending them far away; transfer them to nearby areas so they can willingly teach. At present, teachers appointed to areas from Maruthamunai to Komari face long commutes and fatigue. For future appointments, fill vacancies in local schools using applicants from the same area to avoid problems.

¶ 09 It is now said that there may be no or delayed Government appointments for graduates in Siddha, Ayurveda and Unani medicine. This raises fears that these faculties may be closed. The Government should consider this positively.

¶ 10 I previously informed this House that the Mayyawaadi (central cemetery) at Maligakadu faces severe coastal erosion. The situation continues; even the remains of the deceased are becoming exposed. With the sea encroaching inland, the cemetery risks being consumed by the ocean. The Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management must immediately inspect and take action to prevent further damage.

¶ 11 Recently, the cutoff mark for recruiting Health Management Service Officers was set at 150, adversely affecting many candidates awaiting appointments. I request the Hon. Minister of Health to consider reducing the cutoff by 01 or 02 points to accommodate the affected applicants.

¶ 12 Hon. Presiding Member, the responsibility to protect lands under the Department of Archaeology in Pottuvil rests not only with the majority community but with all three communities. When undertaking matters of identification and demarcation, the area Grama Niladhari, Divisional Secretary and Chairman should be informed. Doing so will prevent unnecessary problems.

¶ 13 Last month, in Pottuvil 1/05 division at a place called “Kiliar Malai,” archaeology boundary stones were placed without anyone’s knowledge, causing fear among residents. A clear decision must be made on this. People fear that after marking boundaries, the next step will be to establish cultural sites there. Similarly, in the Third Kattai area of the division, stones have been placed. I wish to point out that such actions have caused issues in the past and continue now.

¶ 14 In our country, all religions perform their duties. If religious places are on State land, only Buddhist temples of the majority receive land ownership through a Pooja Oppuwa (grant), whereas the lands of Hindu and Muslim religious institutions are said to be accepted only on a leasing basis. I request that a Pooja Oppuwa be issued to all religious institutions equally.