Overall development program for Ratnapura - New Mayor

By Jaliya WIJEYEKOON

The 2011 LG polls ended in October 8 and the UPFA received a clear mandate from the public to continue its development activities unabated.

The UPFA secured victory in all the municipal councils in the island except the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) and Councils in the Northern and Eastern provinces where over 90 percent of voters are Tamil.

The Ratnapura Municipal Council (RMC) is the only MC in the Sabaragamuwa province and is about 100 km away from the capital city.

It has a great significance, being associated with the gem industry in Sri Lanka.

The Ratnapura Local body was upgraded to a Municipal Council in 1967. There had been 12 Mayors since its inception and the 2011 LG polls elected its 13th Mayor. It had been under both the SLFP and UNP in the past and both parties had served an equal number of terms upto 2011.

The newly elected Mayor Kapil Abayaratne, a lawyer by profession, had stepped into politics as a member of the Ratnapura MC in 1979 and was elected as the Mayor in 1983. he continued till 1989 when he entered parliament from the Ratnapura district.

The Sunday Observer had an extensive interview with Kapil Abeyratne. Excerpts are given below:

Q: After an illustrious political career of nearly two decades, you had been virtually hibernating for a long time. What made you resume your political career?

A: Yes, after completing the parliamentary term, I thought I had done enough for the Ratnapura people and got myself fully involved in my professional activities. But after Mahinda Rajapaksa became President for the second term and observing the development work carried out all over the country, I felt that our area has not been adequately benefited. The previous administrators had not coordinated with the authorities to obtain facilities for the council, depriving the city folk of their legitimate rights requirements.

Therefore, I thought of coming forward again to serve the people here in Ratnapura.

In addition, various representations were made to me by different organisations, requesting me to contest the 2011 LG polls. The UPFA district leader, Minister W.D.J. Seneviratne and all other stalwarts of the party readily approved my candidature since they too felt that there should be a professionally qualified person to head the Council.

Q: The Ratnapura Municipal Council had been under UPFA rule during the last two terms. Do you mean to say that the former mayor had not done anything for the area?

A: I didn't say that he had not done anything for the area. What I say is that he had not been successful in running the Council efficiently due to lack of knowledge in administrative affairs. I am in the process of putting the house in order right now. Worker discipline had deteriorated to deplorable levels, Council procedures had not been followed in some transactions, transparency in tender procedures not complied with and a variety of shortcomings and lapses had occurred in important development activities.

We have over 32,500 registered voters in the RMC area and a total population of over 55,000 people whose interests and requirements the council has to meet regularly. It is doubtful whether the necessary services were rendered during the past few years.

Q: You had been Mayor way back in 1983. Were you able to provide a satisfactory service to the RMC area people during your tenure?

A: I have proved it to the world by making the RMC the best MC in the island when the Central Government was under the UNP, headed by former President J.R. Jayewardene and the Local government Minister was Ranasinghe Premadasa. The Ratnapura Municipal Council was the only Municipal Council won by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party then, under my stewardship, I am proud of my achievements and now feel sorry when I see the status of the Council.

During my tenure, we were the best in the island and according to present ratings we are one before the last. This is the main reason why I re-entered politics, to resurrect the Council from its pathetic position. Many of my professional friends and people from all walks of life, irrespective of party differences, wanted me to come forward and take over the reins to re-establish an effective Municipal Council in Ratnapura.

Q: You are a practising lawyer working at the Court house most of the time . Do you think you would be able to devote sufficient time to Council matters?

A: I am completing nearly 40 years as a practising lawyer. During my previous mayoralty too, I practised at the Courts. I am available at the Council everyday in the afternoon till late evening, attending to administrative matters. The city folk can see me for anything during the second half of the day. I think I am very good at time management.

Q: How was the last election campaign? Did you encounter any negative incidents during the run-up to the election?

A: It was very peaceful and I didn't have any problem with anybody. No UPFA member had any problem even with the Opposition camp members.

Q: Do you think that the ex-Mayor Chandradasa jayasinghe and others will support you in your strict administrative work?

A: They have already agreed to render their fullest cooperation to me in all administrative functions and UPFA promotional activities.

I am sure that even the UNP members will extend their cooperation to me since they know that I won't venture into malpractices at any cost.

Q: What are your immediate plans to develop the Ratnapura Municipal Council area?

A: I have already drawn up a comprehensive development program to uplift the standard of the RMC area and the benefits to rate payers. I have spelt out some of this in my election manifesto. To briefly explain, it's under a few main areas or sections such as health, education, construction and engineering, tourism, social welfare, security and public protection and employment. For example, health covers clearing of garbage, maintenance of sewerage systems and drains, maintenance of maternity clinics and regular upkeep of public latrines and toilets.

Similarly, under all the above main sections, I have prepared the work that I hope to carry out to bring back the Council to some respectable standard as early as possible.

Q: Do you think that you have sufficient financial strength in the Council to attend to all this work?

A: Our annual revenue is Rs.200 million and annual expenditure is also in the same region. We have to find finances from other funding agencies to attend to the projected program of work. I have already coordinated with the authorities and hope to negotiate with overseas agencies also, to obtain whatever aid with the help of the Central Government.

I would like to state that I have a program to attract foreigners to Ratnapura in future, based on the gem industry, by which we can earn a lot of money for the Council while promoting other industries such as the hotel industry tour operators and so on.