The Hon. Ruwanthilaka Jayakody

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I strongly support the Motion presented by Hon. Lal Premanath to put to public use all buildings constructed under “development projects” in Sri Lanka that remain unused.

¶ 02 Recently, we secured Executive power and obtained the highest number of MPs in history—159—from our party. In the recent local government election we also gained the comparatively highest victories: starting from scratch, we now control 267 local bodies with 3,927 councillors elected. The people expected us to reform the way things were done and deliver proper development from the bottom up. They empowered us to correct the past and implement sound development planning. Therefore, this is a very timely Motion.

¶ 03 Many past “development” undertakings were politically driven. This morning I was reminded of this when I saw a report where an Opposition MP, who once governed and now dons the shawl, claimed the current Government works without a plan. In fact, looking back, who really lacked a plan? Even Hon. Tissa Kuttiarachchi of their own side admitted commissions were taken from many projects. Large projects were brought in, but were they based on genuine local needs?

¶ 04 In my district of Gampaha, about 289 buildings constructed under various special projects are today not in use. Some are just concrete pillars; some have no electricity; some lack sanitation; some have no proper access roads. That is how projects were implemented.

¶ 05 Therefore, at the District Development Committee in Gampaha, we decided to prepare a full report on these past “development” schemes—how much it will cost to make them usable for the public, and what needs to be done. Some buildings were put up without even an idea of purpose. We will assess and adapt them for practical use.

¶ 06 Accordingly, I support Hon. Lal Premanath’s Motion. We will ensure this is implemented under our Government and fully intervene to see it through. Thank you.