CWC pledges support to President

by P.Krishnaswamy

Under President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration, the plantation community benefited immensely in the spheres of health, education, employment, vocational training, housing and infrastructure and the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) would stand by him in all future elections including the Presidential Polls that is round the corner, said CWC President and Deputy Minister of Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development Muthu Sivalingam.

Many long and short-term plans and projects of an unprecedented level for the social and economic uplift of the community were implemented by the UPFA Government and the most significant among them is the 10-year National Plan of Action (NPA) at a cost of Rs.106 billion, he said.

Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa MP has already completed the project proposals for seeking funds from the UNDP and other aid agencies for the future implementation of the project, Deputy Minister Sivalingam said.

The overall goal of the NPA is poverty reduction and social and economic development of the plantation community in terms of the Millennium Development Goals and Mahinda Chintana. The NPA that came into effect in 2007 is now progressing satisfactorily towards a wider social change of the community.

When the NPA runs its course in the next eight years, dramatic changes in the living standards of the impoverished community would be seen, the Deputy Minister said. The living standards will be brought on par with those of the rest of the population and the life and environment of the estate community would be much improved under the envisaged plans.