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| Sunday, 12 December 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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UNP will form a government in March 2005 - Rajitha
Q. You are a senior politician in the country. How do you predict the future of Sri Lanka when the country's entire political system is viciously divided, even on national issues? A. I always advocate that the two main parties should come together to resolve the North and East problem. Other parties will not support us but the two main parties can find a solution to the main problem of safeguarding Sri Lanka's territorial integrity. That is why the UNP gave unconditional support to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga to carry out negotiations with the LTTE. But the President showed no interest to grab this opportunity. Instead she appointed a Peace Advisory Council to educate Southern politicians, which is a useless effort. This type of politics has brought our country to the present position. That is why we could not achieve the expected growth rate when our neighboring countries achieve high growth rates. Q. If your party is so genuine, why did you withdraw the unconditional support. What you expected was to split the SLFP-JVP coalition to form a your Government. Your comment? A. I rule out that statement. We withdrew our support because the President tried to play dirty politics by getting our members to her side by bribing them. Her only worry is her political survival. That is why she formed a Government with the JVP. She knows very well that the JVP will pull her leg if she commenced negotiations with the LTTE. That means this is a Government which does not have a solution for the country's main problem which is the major stumbling block to developing the country. This is total opportunistic politics. Q. How could you argue so when it was the President who put the country on the peace track in 1994. Even Rohitha Bogollagama, one of your party members defected to support her peace effort when your party refused to participate in the National Advisory Council on Peace and Reconciliation. Therefore what is the basis of your argument? A. Bogollagama's defection is a cover-up to save face. He cannot say that he joined the Government for perks. Everyone knows the background of Bogollagama. We have seen such opportunists even in the past. They said the same thing. But now they have proved that they joined for personal gain. Now many of them are not in politics because people have rejected them. Bogollagama ruined his political career for short term gains. Q. What is the UNP's plan for the next two years? Your leader is dreaming of becoming the President in 2005. But the Election Commissioner has not yet agreed to hold election in 2005. A. Our plan for the next three months is to allow the UPFA Government to collapse with their deceiving budget. The Commissioner of Elections and the Deputy Commissioner are of the opinion that the Presidential election should be held in 2005. But only the Government is arguing that the Election should be held in 2006. We will not let her stay in power a single day after 2005. If she tries we will call a mass civil disobedience campaign to send her home. However the President has to get a Supreme Court verdict. At the same time she says that the judiciary is one of the most corrupt institutions in the country. We are waiting to see the Supreme Court verdict on the Presidential election. Q. But the 2005 Budget has not allocated funds for a Presidential Election? A. No need, because our Government also did not allocate funds for a General Election. But President Kumaratunga found money for the last General Election. Once the Government falls in March, we will form a Government and go for a Presidential Election by the end of 2005. Q. Are you dreaming because the first reading of the budget was passed by a majority of 34 votes? A. Ha.. ha.. ha.... (laughing) don't go by the number of votes in the House for the Government. We made no effort to defeat this Budget. We want the people to boot out this Government in March next year when the Government fails to fulfill the unrealistic budget proposals. The prices are still going up. Last week fertiliser prices went up by Rs. 150 even before the final voting on the Budget. The Government cannot control inflation. By March-April people will send these liars home. We are not bothered about the number of votes for the Government in Parliament. We know how to get the majority votes to our side in March. We are negotiating with the UPFA coalition parties and even with the individuals in the SLFP. Q. Though you are highly critical of the Budget, this is the first time we have seen a home grown budget. Even the World Bank, IMF and ADB representatives here confirmed that they had no involvement in preparation of this Budget. Your Finance Minister first consulted these representatives and prepared the budgets according to their advices. It is an open secret. Am I wrong? A. Are you joking? The mentor of this budget, Dr. P. B. Jayasundara himself admitted that once the budget is passed, the Finance Ministry is going to canvass, to obtain Rs. 10 billion as aid and Rs. 48 billions as loans. We were expecting only Rs. 24 billions as loans from our last budget. But the UPFA Government is expecting Rs. 48 billion. They are going to totally depend on international lending agencies. Therefore, on what basis are you arguing that this is a home grown budget. You see what a danger this Government has put the country into. Most of the proposals are welfare proposals. Do you think that lending agencies will fund this budget? If you take Prof. Gaspapnic's document on 'Poverty of Sri Lanka', you can see that certain sections of this report have been reproduced in the budget. There is no point arguing this is a home grown budget. They have put the country at grave risk. What is better, to consult them first and get their assurance of funding or prepare our proposals and take the risk of refusal. The Government can not fool the economists in the lending agencies. They even refused to fund her in 2000. The international community promised to lend our Government Rs.4.5 billion but now they refuse to lend that money because of the unclear policies of this Government. Q. You wound up the Budget debate but your leader did not speak a word on it. I believe this is the first time an Opposition Leader failed to speak on a Budget in the history of Sri Lankan politics. Am I correct? A. Unlike other leaders, our leader does not like to waste time. Every minute is useful for him. You first tell me what is there in this budget to argue. This is an empty budget targeting an election. Q. Your plan to hold a massive protest against the nine-hour work proposal was foiled because there was not much support within your own party. Ultimately you had to hold it on the Parliament road with a limited crowd. What do you have to say about that? A. Who said it was a failure. Most of the trade unions participated in the protest. It was one of the most successful protests organised by the UNP in the recent past. Q. Though you are critical of the Budget the working class believes that this is a historic budget because no budget in the history of Sri Lanka had given them such benefits? A. The pay hike is the most attractive proposal in this budget for workers. But they don't understand that if the UPFA Government goes ahead with our proposals they could have got Rs. 5950 in three years. If I give a break down - Rs. 1250 for three years - Rs. 3750 + Rs. 2200 allowance. By reducing one hour overtime (no overtime for the ninth working hour) workers are deprived of 24 hours a month which is Rs. 1250. Therefore, the Government servants have not got a pay hike. Even the Insurance scheme is the same. Workers have to pay Rs. 75 per month for a Rs. 150,000 policy. The Government collects Rs. 900 million from the Government servants. This policy does not even cost Rs. 500 million for the Government to pay for the Insurance Corporation. The balance Rs. 400 million goes to the Government coffers. But I have negotiated an insurance scheme for UNP trade unions just for Rs. 15. Our Union members are going to get benefits such as Rs. 100,000 for an accidental death, Rs. 100,000 for total disability, Rs. 50,000 for natural death and Rs. 50,000 for partial disability. If a worker is on no pay leave for illness, he will be paid Rs. 250 a day. Political victims will be paid Rs. 7500 for three months. They get all these benefits paying only Rs. 15. Therefore, I call upon every Government servant to join our insurance scheme. Q. Are you against bribery and corruption? A. Certainly. We have to control this menace. Most of the funds for development work go to the pockets of politicians and others. But no Government should use corruption charges to harass politicians in the opposition. There are enough charges against Ministers. I call upon the President to investigate such charges. Q. Why only the Government Ministers. Members of the UNP also have very serious corruption charges?. A. Yes if the charges are proved we will sack them from the party. Even members who crossed over face such charges. That is good in one way because the President is cleaning our party by getting them to her side. |
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| Produced by Lake House |
Dr. Rajitha
Senaratne, Minister of Lands in the previous United
National Front Government in an interview with the Sunday Observer staffer
Jayantha Sri Nissanka predicts that the UNP will form a Government in
March 2005 and says the UNP is now negotiating with the UPFA, Government's
coalition parties and also with individuals in the SLFP. Excerpts of the
interview.
