Month: April 2020

මව්පියන්ගේ සදාකාලීක ආදරය…..

කුඩා කල සිටම, මව්පියන්ගෙන් මට අසිමීත ආදරයක් හා රැකවරණයක් ලැබුණු අතර, මගේ සහෝදරයන්ටද එලෙසම මගේ මවගෙන් සහ පියාගෙන් ලැබුණු ඒ ආදරය හා රැකවරණය මිල කරන්නට පුළුවන්කමක් නැහැ. වැඩිහිටියන් වශයෙන්,මව්පියන්ගෙන් ලැබුණු ජීවන අත්දැකීම් වගේම ආදරයත් අද අපට යහපත්,ගුණගරුක මිනිසුන් ලෙස නිවැරදි දේ වැරැද්දෙන් වෙන් කොට හඳුනාගෙන,සෑමවිටම මනුෂ්‍යත්වය අගය කරන ස්වාධීන මනුෂ්‍යයන් ලෙස ජීවත්වීමට අවශ්‍ය පරිසරය සකස් කර තිබෙනවා.

ඔබ හැමෝම දන්නා පරිදි, වත්මන් අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ගරු මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා මේ රටට සුවිශේෂී සේවාවක් කර ඇති යුග පුරුෂයෙක්. ඔහුගේ දේශපාලන නායකත්වයෙන් හා සේනාධිනායකත්වයෙන් මෙරට තුළ දශක 3ක් පැවති ම්ලේච්ඡ LTTE ත්‍රස්තවාදය නිමාකර, පසුව දැවැන්ත සංවර්ධන ක්‍රියාවලියක් හරහා දෙස් විදෙස් ප්‍රජාව තුළ අප රටට ඉහළ පිළිගැනීමක් ලැබුණු බව අවිවාදිතය. අදටත් මගේ පියා පවතින කොරෝනා වසංගතයෙන් මේ මව්පොළොව සහ ජනතාව බේරාගැනීමට කැපවීමෙන් හා ධෛර්යවන්තව දිවා රෑ නොබලා සේවය කරන්නේ අතිගරු ජනාධිපති ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමාට යෝධ සෙවණැල්ල බවට පත්වෙමින්. (more…)

Parents love is eternal.

Since childhood, I have always received so much of love and care from my parents and the teachings which my brothers and I received from my mother and father are invaluable. Today, as adults, their life lessons and love have turned us into independent human beings who can differentiate from right to wrong and can value humanity at all times.

As you all know, my father, the Honorable Mahinda Rajapaksa has served this country well. It was under his leadership that Sri Lanka witnessed freedom from the clutches of terrorism and rose to greater heights within the domestic and global community. Even today, my father continues to serve this country and her people with dedication and courage and his leadership along with the leadership of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is helping us combat the existing pandemic.

My mother has always been the backbone of my family. She has always been there for my father and her children and has solely run the household while my father led the nation and while we were busy growing up. Her love is priceless and is the greatest treasure my brothers and I have.

Today, I am sharing with you some priceless pictures of my parents which awakens memories of how my parents were always present for my brothers and myself during our childhood including important occasions even amidst their tight schedules. They never missed even one occasion whether it be school events, rugby events or any other valuable days.

The pictures shown here, shows my parents attending rugby matches which my brothers and I were playing in, representing our respective houses at St. Thomas College. A younger Mr. Jhonston Fernando is also seen in the pictures.

Rugby has always been a passion for my brothers and myself and it was most spoken about in my household when we were children. Today, I have wonderful memories of my younger years as my parents never missed even one rugby match back then whether it be the under 15 matches, house matches, club matches or national matches which my brothers and I participated in.

The fondest memory I have today is of my father and mother cheering my brothers and me from the stands, while my mother always twitched in worry when we fell with an injury.

No amount of words can express my appreciation and my love towards my parents. As your parents were to you, my parents were always available for us despite all other commitments in their lives.

No matter how old we get, our parents will always be our strength and today, I write this note to express my love, appreciation and dedication to the the two most important people in my life who raised me to be what I am today. For that I tell them – Thank You.

On Monday, the Elections Commission announced June 20 as the date set for the Parliamentary Elections. Since then, there has been quite a debate as to whether it is appropriate to hold an election at a time when the country is facing a COVID-19 pandemic.

While the question is arguable, it is also vital to note that a country cannot function in a stable manner without having a strong and stable government in place. While the country, within a few months since November, began progressing well under the strong leadership of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, a strong government in place however is a necessity especially at times of crisis.
Decisions have to be made, economic activities need to restart in an organized manner and proposals need to be drawn up. The backbone of a successful leadership is a stable, strong, visionary government who can move this country forward.

Having written that, Sri Lanka cannot forget that we are presently in the midst of a deadly, contagious virus. So in order to strongly adhere by the guidelines set by the Health Ministry and maintain zero cases of COVID-19 in the Hambantota district as of now, I have decided not to have any public gatherings or public election campaigings that will go against the norm of social distancing and risk the safety of the citizens. Instead, adapting with the situation, I will hold all my meetings using online technology which I have been doing since the outbreak of the virus under the banner of “Cyber Janahamu”.

The use of such technology will also introduce a new cultural wave among the residents of Hambantota, especially the youth, where I will continue to communicate with them through their smart phones etc. While online meetings will focus on the elections ahead, I will ensure we do not deviate from the present crisis and ensure to daily discuss the safety of all citizens and continue to provide all the necessary facilities such as food and facilities for them to run their businesses, while observing the standards set by the Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, I also request the Elections Commission to look at introducing pre voting methods which will enable voters to cast their votes over a series of days for the upcoming Parliamentary elections. For example, we do have the postal voting method in place, which can be expanded to the public too and each area can be assigned for a specific day to cast their vote. This wil prevent public gathering on a large scale, allocate only a limited number of election staff, law officers and monitors per day, and it will enable the voter to cast their vote who are being threatened by the virus. In the coming days, I will propose this method to the party seniors to hold discussions with the Elections Commission for them to look into the possibility of implementing at this time.

Countries such as South Korea can be an example to Sri Lanka at this time. Amidst the pandemic, South Korea successfully held parliamentary elections under strict measures. Voters had their temperatures checked on arrival at polling booths, and were allowed to enter the booths while wearing gloves and masks. While the local public there had raised concerns over their safety from the virus, many voters later took to social media saying that strict measures had enabled them to cast their votes without any fear.

South Korea has also taken measures to contain the virus, just like Sri Lanka and it is up to us now to ensure that the virus spread remains limited while going in for a peacful poll. However, as a politician myself, I request all politicians and politicial parties not to engage in public campaiging and make use of the technology available to communicate to the public and authorities. Till health authorities do not lift the ban on public gatherings, it is extremely important that no such gathering takes place.

The safety of our nation should be priority and while the government, medical workers and authorities are working tirelessly to ensure our safety, we should reciprocate in the same manner by adhering to the guidelines.

I will do my part. Hope everyone else will too. Stay safe.

The Hambantota district, which has been under a curfew like all other districts since a curfew was imposed on March 20, will restart functioning from tomorrow when the curfew is relaxed, however strictly observing health regulations to prevent a spread of COVID-19.

The district which is home to various communities and sectors, such as a strong agricultural sector, fisheries sector, small and medium scale enterprises and farming has contributed immensely to the Sri Lankan economy. However it is also a district which needs to be uplifted as there are several families which live below the poverty line.

The population of the district is a little over 650,000 people with 188,422 families. Those living below the poverty lines is an average 1.20 percent. In addition to the Samurdhi allowances which has been granted to families within these past few weeks in order to provide them some relief, in the Hambantota district, disability allowances and pensions and farmer allowances have also been allocated and paid to provide relief.

According to statistics, over Rs. 500 million has been allocated to conclude making these payments. In addition another Rs.9 million is required to pay allowances to the patients sufering from Chronic Kidney Diseases and those with disabilities. Presently there are 347 patients who are sufering from kidney ailments while there are 1641 people with disabilities. Grants have also been obtained to pay allowances to patients suffering from cancer.

Since March 20, when a curfew was imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, authorities began distributing food to needy families. Till April 16, thousands of families benefited from this initiative, which included the distribution of essential food items such as red rice, dhaal, sugar, salmon, onions, chick peas, garlic etc.

In addition, since Hambantota is popular for its agricultural sector, arrangements were made with the authorities to sell local stocks within the district while also sending large stocks of fruits, vegetables, rice to other districts across the country. The district has over 49,000 farmers.
Even dairy products were included in this, so that farmers ss well as the domestic market benefits. Strict Health guidelines were maintained and followed during the distribution process.

Even during the pandemic closure, farmers were allowed to continue their farming in order to prevent a food shortage in the island. Presently there is 36,000 hectares of cultivated land in Hambantota district out of which 34,000 hectares has already been harvested. The district has the potential to produce 400 metric tonnes of paddy rice per day so during the curfew, farmers were given all facilities to work in order to distribute according to market demand. There is already 7,357.5 metric tonnes of paddy already collected.

The Hambantota district also has an annual production of 112,382 metric tonnes of vegetables out of which 45,120 metric tonne is consumed per year. The district has an annual vegetable surplus of 67,262 metric tonnes per year.
The district also produces over 47,000 metric tonnes of fruits per year with a surplus of over 185,000 metric tonnes. In addition there is a mega home gardening program also ongoing in the district with the corporation of the Agrarian Development Department.

In addition to agriculture, the district also has a strong fisheries industry. For a day, 187 boats depart out to sea to catch their stock, while 229 multi day boats enter the local waters. Small fishing boats also engage in daily fishing in the district.

The Hambantota district, since it is a dry land also faces severe droughts in some months of the year. To prevent this from affecting the agricultural sectors, we have provided drinking water facilities to several households which include community water projects, drinking water projects and wells and tube wells being constructed. Hundreds of water bowsers are also deployed in each area across the district to provide water to families so that they can continue to have access to clean drinking water.

During to the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure safety of all citizens in the district, and to ensure that strict health guidelines are followed, hundreds of police and tri force personnel had been deployed across the district while quarantine centers have been set up in Weeraketiya, Lunugamvehera, Weerawila and Sooriyawewa. All safety measures have been in place.

Meanwhile an education program is also underway across the district to create awareness on the upcoming southwest monsoons. In recent years, these monsoons have caused devastation especially in the south and farmers have lost all their cultivation. Local authorities have begun an awareness programs at the division level and we will now try to turn the tide in being prepared before hand before natural calamities affect us and cause devastation.

The above is just an overview of what is going on in the Hambantota district and the measures already in place. However there is always room for improvement and we are ensuring that we take all steps necessary for the development of the district as well as to ensure a better life for the citizens in the area.

The government is committed to look into the welfare of all its citizens. In unity we can emerge as a leading nation very soon which will benefit our domestic sectors the most.

Yesterday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, following discussions with the Presidential Task force and Health officials, and after thoroughly evaluating the present situation over the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, announced that curfew will be relaxed in 19 districts from Monday, from 5 am to 8 pm daily so that the country can re-start the economy.

He further announced that the five districts which have been declared as ‘High Risk Zones’ including Colombo, will relax its curfew in certain areas from April 22, from 5 am to 8 pm daily so that businesses can begin to function and people can restore normalcy in their lives, gradually.

Before this announcement, which came on Saturday evening, I took part in the District Development Committee meeting in Hambantota on Saturday morning with the participation of all government officials on ground and representatives from the JVP and UNP. The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss post curfew methods in the district so that people can be given the freedom to restore their livelihoods but at the same time adhere to the guidelines issued by the Health Ministry as the threat of the pandemic still exists and we must prevent a spread of the virus.

During the Committee meeting, we discussed the strategies to be put in place, and I stressed that while safeguarding the economy was vital, we also need to ensure that the people in the Hambantota district are well educated on how the virus can overtake us if we give it a little leniency. For starters, we discussed about the farming industry, the fishing industry, the small and medium businesses and the agricultural industry – sectors which are the backbone of the southern economy. Once these sectors start, it can well start to benefit the domestic market with goods being distributed evenly which wil strenghten our domestic sector to a great extent.

Before people step out of their homes on Monday, they will be re-informed of the health guidelines and officials will be stressing on social distancing and maintaining the hygiene procedures. Throughout the curfew, strict measures were in place so that communities were safeguarded from a virus spread. Factories in the area will also implement strict measures to ensure employees are well protected whilst ensuring that work re-starts.

In addition, to the COVID-19 and post curfew discussions, talks were also held on how the district is going to face possible adverse weather patterns when we face the monsoon rains in the coming weeks. Local councils should prepare from now itself to face the possibility of floods which may also further pose a threat on spreading the COVID-19. Businesses need to be safeguarded to face these threats in the future and several suggestions were taken note of. It is always better to be prepared early than waiting and later having to see our citizens suffer because we failed them.

Yesterday’s meeting was not only a success but it was also a sign that parties in Sri Lanka indeed can work in unity. With the participation of other political party representatives, and several officials, it was great to see everyone coming together to serve the districts in dedication to ease the hardships on our citizens. Indeed if we remain united in such a manner, we can achieve greater heights. The work has already begun and we are confident that we cam overcome this virus as soon as possible, just the way we limited its spread in a short period of time.

Meanwhile, with the country shut for over a month now, families have suffered and livelihoods have come to a standstill. In order to provide some relief to those severely affected, the government started the Samurdhi program, to distribute Rs.5000 to each family. An initiative I have personally overlooked in the Hambantota district. To date, 95000 families have already enjoyed this benefit. In Hambantota alone, over 150,000 families out of the 188,000 families will receive this grant over the coming days. There will be no red tape in the process. The money will be distributed fairly and in an organized manner.

As Sri Lanka gradually opens this week in several districts, we have to ensure that we must behave responsibly as the COVID-19 threat still looms. However as the spread has been limited it is time we restart our economy gradually. We have always come out as a strong nation and I am certain Sri Lanka will emerge as a transpiring nation once again.

My best wishes are with you all. Stay safe. Stay Healthy.