The Hon. Chandima Hettiaratchi

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, at this Adjournment, I move the following:

¶ 02 “The National Youth Services Council, its branches and institutions such as the National Youth Corps are established under the Government for youth, with the objective of producing knowledgeable, skilled, disciplined, active and modern young leaders and integrating them into society.

¶ 03 Acting on the core mission of ‘a Blessed Sri Lankan Youth’ and ‘providing facilities to empower Sri Lankan youth to face life’s challenges by utilizing local and international opportunities,’ there is a question whether, in recent times, the National Youth Services Council has functioned in a manner that achieves this objective.

¶ 04 Therefore, I propose to this Hon. House that these institutions—which implement tasks such as empowering the youth community, developing their leadership skills, providing vocational training, and conducting various social service programmes—be reorganized so that they can effectively realize the government’s current policy vision for youth: ‘A Fulfilled Youth.’”

¶ 05 Hon. Presiding Member, I wish to raise a few points relevant to the Adjournment Motion. Successive rulers have misused the youth. Some came promising a future for youth, but ended up looting and ruining the country. Prior to the Presidential Election, Rs. 100 million was brought into the account of the Youth Services Council, and cheques were written and used for their election campaign. These public funds were misused. Do politics if you must—no problem—but public funds cannot be abused for politics.

¶ 06 Therefore, these need to be corrected. In Singapore, at the beginning of the 1970s, they formed an 18% CPF-type mechanism to harness youth energy for national development. Our Government already has such tools; we have institutions—like the National Youth Services Council—which have operated for years. This Government has allocated around Rs. 4,000 million in that regard, Hon. Presiding Member.

¶ 07 Not only that. Through this Budget, Rs. 38.6 billion has been allocated to build SMEs and youth entrepreneurs to take the economy, services and entrepreneurship to a better place. Why? Because the Malima Government has a policy. Its fundamentals include: making youth active participants in the economic process; ensuring freedom from oppression, exploitation and discrimination; enabling youth to contribute to social development; providing them with advances in science and technology; instilling the aspiration to overcome social challenges; creating a youth population capable of providing political, social and economic leadership; nurturing cultural life and free thought; developing a youth population with the soft skills to shoulder national and international leadership; and building a youth population that rejects social injustice—all included in the Malima Government’s policy statement.

¶ 08 Hon. Presiding Member, I respectfully submit this proposal: kleptocrats who plundered public funds have destroyed these youth institutions. Therefore, these public institutions—for youth and maintained with public funds—must be called back to serve the public and the children of our people. We must dedicate ourselves and work hard for that purpose. It is with that objective that I present this Motion, Hon. Presiding Member.