The Hon. Major General (Rtd.) Aruna Jayasekera - Deputy Minister of Defence

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity.

¶ 02 I am pleased to make the concluding speech of the debate on the Resolution under the Public Security Ordinance, presented to extend the Emergency Regulations again for the proper continuation of essential services in the face of a disaster situation.

¶ 03 At this point, I must state that the Hon. Member of Parliament from the Opposition who spoke just before me made several allegations against the facts and figures presented by the Hon. Prime Minister regarding the post-disaster administrative progress.

¶ 04 Hon. Speaker, the facts and figures that have been put forward from this afternoon until now by the Hon. Prime Minister, all the Hon. Ministers and the Hon. Members representing the Government relating to post-disaster administrative progress show the efficiency and effective administration of the Government over the last five months.

¶ 05 Although Members of the Opposition said that it was the ineptness of the Government and that it is not a justification to extend the Emergency Regulations, the data demonstrate that the administration carried out by the Government is over 90 per cent effective. That is a very clear manifestation that justifies the extension of the Emergency Regulations because we want to complete the remainder successfully as well.

¶ 06 It was also brought up by an Hon. Member from the Opposition that no reform in the security sector has taken place over the last 15 or 16 months. We, the NPP Government, have clearly shown how to bridge the gap between communities, doing away with long-standing disharmony. It was very clearly demonstrated at the May Day Rally in Jaffna led by our Hon. Minister and Hon. Members of Parliament with a mass gathering of people, which others have not been able to do so far. That shows the pulse of the people embedded in the National People’s Power.

¶ 07 The land issue has also been raised based on false information. I request the Hon. Member to attend the next Ministerial Consultative Committee on Defence presided over by the Hon. President. I am to visit Jaffna and other areas of the North and East to consider all that information and to see how best we could release more land for the people in need.

¶ 08 This afternoon, the Hon. Leader of the Opposition also asked what exactly we have done after this disaster—whether houses have been built, whether Rs. 5 million has been given, and so on. The Hon. Prime Minister, Ministers and Members who spoke today presented all these matters very clearly and in detail. I wish to particularly state that we have commenced work on 952 fully-damaged houses. By “952 fully-damaged houses”, I mean houses for which construction has already begun, with Rs. 1,950 million allocated. Likewise, the number of partially-damaged houses is 24,365, as shown by the Hon. Prime Minister. An amount of Rs. 5,291 million has been paid for that, which means work has now commenced on approximately 25,000 houses.

¶ 09 I must also state this: the Meeriabedda area experienced a landslide years ago; it took four years to build just 35 houses. Similarly, Kabbaragala suffered a landslide four years ago, but houses have still not been built. After we came to power, the Department of Buildings started constructing those houses and they are now in the final stage.

¶ 10 In Meeriabedda and Kabbaragala, the disaster affected only parts of the respective districts. But the “896” storm affected the entire country, causing severe damage to infrastructure and everything else. I must state that all officers in the 0065 Service, the Tri-Forces, civil organizations, the Disaster Management Centre, and the Disaster Relief Services Centre undertook and are still carrying out a massive operation. The Government has taken responsibility to provide land for resettlement or rebuild houses where necessary. Those activities are progressing well.

¶ 11 Currently, several hundred families are staying temporarily in safety centres, and a large number are still with relatives and friends. On the instructions of the Hon. President, we are constructing 1,000 temporary houses until they can return to permanent places. Hon. Speaker, it has been directed that this work be completed before the end of this month. Accordingly, there is a special responsibility on the public service and other institutions to properly organize, expedite, and plan these activities. Therefore, the responsibilities assigned to the Commissioner-General of the 65605 Service under these Emergency Regulations are particularly important for expediting the work ahead. I reiterate that.

¶ 12 In this process, numerous administrative, technical, procedural, and legal challenges arose—particularly concerning land release and the provision of other necessities—which significantly affected progress. We are resolving those as we proceed. This “Ditcha” cyclone struck at a time when people were already living with great difficulty due to prevailing economic and social crises, thereby worsening their situation further. As a Government, we accept responsibility to act properly and help restore the lives of our people.

¶ 13 Prioritizing relief for those affected by this disaster—payments for loss of life, assistance to those rendered fully disabled, resettlement, relocation where necessary, and compensation for damaged houses and businesses—imposes a large workload on Divisional Secretaries and District Secretaries. Administrative issues encountered in doing this have caused delays. The results of the coordinated efforts of the political authority and public officers over the past five months are what we now present: we have completed over 90 per cent of the tasks. There is still a significant amount to be done using the provisions under these Emergency Regulations.

¶ 14 As a Government, we have a great responsibility. We have received foreign assistance and financial aid. Locally, our people have contributed funds. The objective is to coordinate all of it properly and deliver it efficiently to the affected public. That is the responsibility assigned to the officers of the 0065 Service. Even in doing so, certain delays can occur.

¶ 15 Hon. Speaker, amidst the global crisis and our challenges in the economy and energy sectors, additional administrative tasks have been assigned to District Secretaries and Divisional Secretaries. Even alongside those, this disaster response had to be carried out. Therefore, the conducive environment for delivering relief to those affected by the “8960” cyclone was constrained, and delays occurred. Nevertheless, we are now carrying out these tasks properly and in an organized manner.

¶ 16 As a policy-driven Government with strong discipline, we were able to do this work well over the recent period. We have experience of how previous governments and political authorities acted during the past tsunami disaster. We must recall matters such as the “Helping Hambantota” issue—how much money was lost then, and how the funds that should have gone to the affected people were instead used for other purposes such as building houses for associates, topping up bank accounts, or distributing money within close circles. In contrast, we must proceed with transparency and accountability. Therefore, this cannot be completed overnight or within a month.

¶ 17 Accordingly, under our concept of “Rebuilding Sri Lanka”, a Presidential Task Force has been established. We have formulated a special programme and are already implementing it. The Post-Disaster Needs Assessment has been completed. Sectoral ministries are receiving the strategic inputs from it, and we are confident that, on that basis, the work ahead can be carried out in an orderly manner.

¶ 18 I must also emphasize that we are managing the challenges arising from this disaster as a team. To further strengthen disaster management, we convened the National Council on Disaster Management, and we will continue to do so to keep this process orderly. We have also prepared national-level strategic plans to face any future disasters. The Tri-Forces, Police and other institutions—especially the Air Force and Navy—are in the process of receiving necessary fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters from other countries. That will further enhance our capacity to respond to disasters. Under the leadership of the Hon. Prime Minister, we intend to structure the “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” programme over three years, and we are planning and proceeding with that objective.

¶ 19 Hon. Speaker, these Emergency Regulations are very important for us to carry out this work successfully. Therefore, I conclude by noting the necessity of extending the Emergency Regulations for another month.

¶ 20 Thank you very much.