The Hon. Eranga Gunasekara - Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs
Deputy Minister Eranga Gunasekara said the reorganization of Youth Clubs is part of the Government’s “Prosperous Country - Beautiful Life” programme and has a public mandate, noting that no such reorganization had taken place since 2020. He stated that the process was carried out openly through public notifications and coordination with Divisional and District Secretaries, resulting in active Youth Clubs in over 12,700 of 14,002 GN Divisions. He rejected allegations of political appointments, saying office-bearers are elected by duly enrolled members through a democratic process.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Leader of the Opposition, this is part of our “Prosperous Country - Beautiful Life” programme; on page 88 it clearly states reorganization of Youth Clubs, for which we have a public mandate. Since 2020 there was no reorganization; after assuming office we informed youth across all GN Divisions and commenced reorganization—openly, not secretly—through media briefings, posters, and notification of Divisional and District Secretaries. For the first time, there are 14,002 active GN Divisions; over 12,700 Youth Clubs are now active. This is a democratic process: only duly enrolled members may attend and elect officers by vote. Claims on political appointments are unsupported; where individuals spoke in media, that does not change the democratic process. We intervene broadly on youth issues.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Tuesday, 5 August 2025 ·No. 1754902606038704 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Eranga Gunasekara - Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 5 August 2025. No. 1754902606038704. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/27838