‘We are walking on the path cleared by President’:

No challenge for UPFA in Sabaragamuwa - Mahipala Herath

By Ranil WIJAYAPALA

Mahipala Herath, who has represented both national level and provincial level politics, held the Chief Ministerial portfolio of the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council for two consecutive terms from 2004.

His entry to national level politics took place in 1994 and he later became Deputy Minister of Housing and Construction. In 1999, he was appointed Rural Industries Development Minister.

His entry to provincial level politics happened in 2004 after he resigned from Parliament. At the Provincial Council elections held in 2004 and 2008, he became Chief Minister.

At the forthcoming Provincial Council election too, he is leading the UPFA team in the Kegalle district to contest the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council election for the third consecutive time. The Sunday Observer interviewed the former Chief Minister of the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council to get an idea about his future plans for the province and the challenges he face in the forthcoming election.

Q: You have served the Sabaragamuwa Province as Chief Minister for more than eight years. What kind of changes could you effect in the province during your tenure?

A: The future of a country lies in education. An educated population is the foundation for the well-planned development process of a country. At provincial level also, we should give more priority for education because the discipline which comes through a better education enables us to guide the country towards prosperity.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has always emphasised the necessity of having an educated and disciplined future generation. That was my priority as the Chief Minister when I also served as the Education Minister in the Provincial Council.

First, I learned the systems the hard way and then created an atmosphere conducive to provide better education for the young generation. That is the first important decision I had taken. As a result we could recruit 6,000 teachers to serve in the schools in the province and improve the physical resources of all schools in the province.

I have elevated the education level of the province from the seventh to the fourth position with regard to O/L and A/L results. I aimed at providing a better education for the 364,000 students of the province. Even the remotest schools with less than 300 to 400 students were provided with Western band equipment. On that basis we improved the O/L and A/L results. Now we need to show only a 2.24 percent progress to reach the second place in the country. Our aim is to become the first in the education sector.

Q: What about the other development activities in the province?

A: We have shown remarkable progress in other development activities too. When we consider the allocations for development activities, we have used 104 percent of the budgetary allocation for the province. At the time I became the Chief Minister, only 60 to 65 percent of the budgetary allocations were being used for development activities by the Provincial Council. After we took over the Council, we got funds through supplementary estimates for the development activities. In addition, we have obtained massive amounts of funds, made available to us under the directive of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa through the Economic Development Ministry to improve the road network of the province. The province had not undergone such a massive development drive in its history. People can now see visible changes in this province.

Q:Most Chief Ministers face frequent criticism that they favour the district they represent once they become Chief Minister. If such criticism is levelled at you, how will you respond?

A: I will prove this wrong from the education sector itself.

When I became Chief Minister, there was a shortage of 4,000 teachers in the province of which more than a 3,500 shortage was in the Ratnapura district. The Nivithigala Education Zone was at 77th place according to examination results. Kegalle was in 37th place.

After I became the Education Minister, the education level of Ratnapura recorded 64 percent while Kegalle recorded 62.5 percent. No one can deny the statistical evidence. We can say anything to the media, but statistical data is collected by the Education Ministry of the Central Government. So anyone can see how the results were changed.

We made these changes by recruiting teachers and appointing them to the schools where there was a severe shortage of teachers; volunteer teachers acted as principals of some schools. If I am favouring Kegalle, how can the district level results of Ratnapura surpass that of the Kegalle district?

Improving living standards

Q: Is there anything that you could not do for the province during your tenure?

A: I am not talking about things I could not do. In my opinion there are no such things. Not only me, there is nobody on Earth who could fulfil all their goals. If somebody seeks power for another term, saying that he could not do this and that, those are all lies and is tantamount to deceiving the people. During my tenure as Chief Minister, I have worked tirelessly without even taking one or two hours of rest per day. When I was appointed by the President as the Chief Minister, his request was that I should work to uplift the living standard of the people in this province. I can’t disregard his words and the mandate given to me by the people of this province. If I am elected to this post again, I will do more new things. During my tenure I have gone beyond my targets.

Q: What is your vision for the Sabaragamuwa Province if you are re-elected?

A: I have three targets to uplift the living standard of the people in these two districts. One is the gem industry in Ratnapura. Today there is a tendency among the people engaged in the gem industry to move towards Colombo after making a good revenue from the industry. They would operate their business in Colombo.

That is one factor contributing to the poverty level of the people in the province because there are no investments made in the province. I have requested President Rajapaksa to create a gem-based industrial zone and commercial city in Ratnapura, gathering all gem-based industries scattered all over the country. That will enable even tourists to come and buy jewellery and other gem-based items from the centre.

My second focus is the Kaluganga development project. Ratnapura district is frequently affected by floods and we should use the Kaluganga for other projects such as power generation and to generate more employment opportunities for the Ratnapura district. My other focus is the tourism industry. Both Ratnapura and Kalutara districts are conducive for tourism development as the two districts are rich in natural beauty. The tourism industry has developed in the Kegalle district due to the Pinnawala elephant orphanage. We hope to attract more tourists to the district with the zoological garden that is under construction. Apart from that we can develop Kegalle as a tourist centre, making use of the places of historical and religious value. Through that, we can create more than 100,000 new job opportunities for the Kegalle district.

Apart from that, we can also improve the dairy industry in the Kegalle district as it has some areas with the highest rainfall in a year which are favourable for the development of the dairy industry. I have discussed this matter with the People’s Bank. If we can improve this as an industry and also as a home industry, we could improve the nutrition level of the people in this province too.

Provincial Council system

Q: The Provincial Council system is maturing step by step. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has announced that the elections for the Northern Provincial Council will also be held soon. As a person who has been engaged in provincial council level politics for more than eight years, how do you see this system?

A: During J.R. Jayewardene’s regime, the provincial council system was introduced to this country because of the Northern and Eastern Provinces and not because we cannot rule the country through one central government. However, this alternative has now taken a new direction. When the Northern and Eastern people suffered under the terrorism of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the other seven provinces achieved rapid development.

I saw the provincial council as a very good institution in which we can work closely with the grassroots level people in this country.

We have resources and officials to serve the people. If we work with a good plan, this will become a very good resource for us.

Those who are not willing to work hard will see this as a white elephant. I represented Parliament for more than 10 years and held ministerial portfolios in the Cabinet. I took to provincial politics after resigning from Parliament and not after being defeated in a Parliamentary Election.

I came here after I realised the importance of this institution. As a man from the village, I thought this was the best way to serve the people at the village level. We can serve thousands of people coming to us this way.

As a Cabinet Minister, my capacity was confined to one subject. I know that the Parliament is supreme and important and I respect it, but for a person who has the determination to work, this is a good place to deliver a better service for the people he represents.

Though this system was introduced as a solution to the North and East problem, today the President has united this country under one flag and we cannot deviate from or disregard this system. I am of the opinion that we should go for a system to rule all these provinces through one Constitution.

Q: Naming chief ministerial candidates for the Provincial Council Elections has become a big problem for political parties. As the former Chief Minister of the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council, how do you see this situation? What are your possibilities of becoming Chief Minister again?

A: Anyone can see what I have done to the province during my tenure as Chief Minister. I don’t have any problem in this regard. There is no doubt that the President will name me as the Chief Minister.

At the same time, the people of this province also know what I have done. If I have not provided a proper service to the people, there is no use getting that post again. President Rajapaksa supported me the last time and told me to have a people friendly rule in the province. So I have done my service to the people without leaving room for anyone in the Government or the Opposition to point fingers at me. I entered politics after becoming a businessman. I am not a person who became a businessman after entering politics.

Q:There is public criticism over the inclusion of people accused of child abuse, rape and murder cases in local government and provincial level politics. What is your opinion on this situation?

A: I am totally against this. Certain media are unnecessarily highlighting this issue against the State. Such situations prevailed even during the Buddha’s time. That is why many Jathaka stories were related so that the people could correct themselves. So how can people say that the State is responsible for this situation?

These things have happened in the past, they happen in the present and will happen in future too. Some of them are minor incidents, but are highlighted in newspaper headlines to show that the State is responsible for these situations.

How can people say things like this when there was an IGP who resigned from his post after one worker attached to a company was killed?

There are other things that should be highlighted. There had been instances in this country when convicted criminals were given Justice of Peace positions, but President Rajapaksa is different.

He has allowed the Police to take action against these wrong- doers. The President has taken steps to take legal action against those people.

Therefore, no one can point fingers at the Government for this situation. These things can happen anywhere in the world. Nobody could put a complete stop to such incidents. That is the reality.

President Rajapaksa has taken the initiative to minimise such incidents in the country by creating a well-disciplined society through the development of religious education to produce better citizens who respect values in society.

Family members contesting elections

Q:There is an ongoing dialogue with regard to nominations being given for members of the same family at elections. What is your opinion?

A: Even in the most Socialist countries, these things happen. In Cuba it was Fidel Castro’s brother, Raul Castro who became the leader. In the past, it was the kings’s brothers who became second level leaders of a country.

If we consider this election, a Pradeshiya Sabha Member and three Pradeshiya Sabha Chairmen have been given nominations.

Then things go smoothly. Someone who had been engaged in politics for two or three decades and who has not earned anything from politics has the democratic right to send his son or relative to serve the people who are closely associated with the politician for a long time.

President Rajapaksa very intelligently controlled that situation. In one statement he said he will consider such people only if they are suitable for contesting the elections. From that statement, giving nominations for the spouses of ministers and MPs was restricted.

Otherwise, there is nothing wrong if a politician, who had served the people for more than two, three decades, sends his son to politics.

It is the people who decide whether they are suitable to do politics or not. There had been instances where the sons of top level politicians were rejected by the people. Therefore, it is the people who decide the fate of those politicians; no one else can decide that.

Q:At the last Provincial Council Election your main opponent from the UNP was an actor. Who is the main opponent for you at this election?

A: At that election, the actor only acted in that film. I directed that film. Mahipala Herath, who directed that film, will be the director in the forthcoming election also. Therefore, I will be able to direct that film too.

Q:Will there be any political challenge for the UPFA at the forthcoming election?

A: I have a small doubt about the other political parties because we cannot see any other political parties in our area, whether it is the UNP, JVP or any other party.

At earlier elections, we had to contest amidst a difficult situation. We had to walk in the streets congested with elephants and bells. However, today there is no such thing. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, by ushering peace to the country, has cleared all routes for us to contest the election free of challenges.