A white elephant turned into a pro-people institution - WPC Chief Minister

by Ranil Wijayapala

There were times the Provincial Council system was considered a white elephant and played no significant role in local politics excepting during the election period. But the recently concluded provincial council elections proved otherwise. News of Western Provincial Council(WPC) elections in April being held next year is rife. We spoke to the Chief Minister of the Western Provincial Council, Prasanna Ranathunga at Sravasthi in Colombo about the preparation for these elections and the challenges expected.

Excerpts of the interview

Q:The media is agog that the Western Provincial Council will be dissolved and elections will be held in April. What is the basis for these media reports ?

A:The term of the present Council ends in May next year. Elections for the WPC is due to be held after May 2014. However, there is no final decision. Although the media is rife that WPC elections are to be held in April next year, we have not discussed it at official level.

Q: You became the Chief Minister of the WPC in May 2009. Are you happy with the progress the Council has made in the past four and a half years ?

A: As a person who has represented this Council for 20 years, I am glad, about the progress we have made. During this period we made changes in the Council. I got the support of all members to make changes in the province. We have turned this Council which was considered a white elephant into a pro-people institution. If the budgets of the past four years are compared with previous budgets, we have maintained capital expenditure of the Council above 15 per cent. This is a huge achievement.

Q:What is the achievement as far as education in the province is concerned?

A:When I was appointed Chief Minister only Rs.800 million was allocated for education. That was increased to Rs.1600 million by 2012. The teacher- student ratio that was maintained at one teacher for 25 students was reduced to one teacher for 20 students during my tenure. Human and physical resources were increased. Now, there are no closure of schools. Instead we opened schools that were closed. The number of students in the classroom were limited to 42. Teachers were given training as we had the lowest percentage of trained teachers in the primary sections. Only 51 per cent were trained teachers. In other provinces it was over 68 percent. In the Eastern province it was above 70 percent. We obtained Rs. 100 million from President Mahinda Rajapaksa and began a program to train primary section teachers. By the end of this year 100 percent were trained. Qualitative education under the concept of 'Best things for children' was formulated. Dhamma school education was improved at an unprecedented level.

Q:What is the progress in the road development sector and infrastructure ?

A: Road development is on a high. Nearly 75 percent of the roads are carpeted. By the end of this year we will increase that to 80 percent.

Q: What is the progress of the Provincial State service ?

A:During the past four years we have recruited over 9400 graduates as teachers. More than 12,000 recruitments have been made to the other sectors . Those serving in the provincial state service was increased from 56,000 to 86,000 . We expect to give an efficient and effective service to the people as expected by President Mahinda Rajapaksa from state employees.

Q:Do you believe that the numerical increase in the provincial state service can have qualitative improvement in the service ?

A:An attitudinal change is paramount at this point of time. That is why we launched target- oriented programs to improve the quality of our service. In the past few years we achieved financial progress and physical development. The WP had the highest number of admissions to universities from the Science and Maths streams .

Q: there is a quantum leap in the education sector. Change of primary sections of the schools and over the establishment of Mahindodaya schools at provincial level. What steps have you taken to resolve such issues ?

A: People are disoriented when systems are changed. When the primary section of the school was shifted to Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Pannipitiyathere were protests. This school was in a small location and was congested because there were a large number of students. We combined the two sections and relocated the primary section , that primary section is functioning well. Journalists should see the difference.

Q:But there were incidents relating to the shifting of the primary section ?

A: We cannot change decisions when people threaten suicide over the issue. We i kept one class with the main school on a request made by a Nayaka Thera. This created more divisions in the school. We decided to take that class also to the new premises .

This school now has two playgrounds and primary section students can now involve in extra curricular activities .

The Mahindodaya School system is the only solution to reduce congestion in Colombo schools. These facilities should not be given to national schools and schools which have resources. President Mahinda Rajapaksa expects to provide facilities available in popular schools to rural schools. Schools in the rural areas lack facilities compared to better schools in the cities.

Q:The Western province represents two extreme ends of society. What are the programs it has launched for low income groups ?

A: The WPC carried out programs parallel to national level programs. The Government launched ‘Divi Neguma’ for rural uplift. When these were implemented at District and Divisional secretariat level, officers attached to the Provincial Councils were the officers in charge of these programmes at village level as well.

We have commenced a program to provide assistance for self- employed people in the province in the Divulapitiya area as a pilot project.

Q:Waste management is a big issue in the WPC. The Waste Management Authority (WMA) is finding a solution . How do you see this situation ?

A:The WMA is implementing a number of measures. The talking point is about the cleanliness of cities and roads. It is true that Local Government authorities are doing a major part .Who is taking care of al garbage collected by the Local Government bodies., it is the WMA of the Western Provincial Council.

Q: The waste to energy project that was due to start in Kaduwela is delayed. What is the reason?

A: Investors have come and the project can start. But there is a request from the political authority not to implement the project. Investors are ready to start the project once we get the land.

In Karadiyana also a waste to energy project has been initiated and a composting plant.

Though there is a delay in implementing waste to energy project the composting plant is above to start. The composting plant will begin by the end of November. We are doing a silent service.

Q:Some local Authorities face difficulties regarding garbage, as they are lack resources. What program has the Provincial Council have for them ?

A:We have provided whatever assistance we could . Some Local Government bodies use vehicles provided by us for garbage transportation for other work. These vehicles and equipment must be used to keep cities and roads clean.

Q:Environmental hazards have arisen because of some factories . What action has the Council taken to avoid such incidents ?

A: There are national level bodies to the handle those issues. In the Rathupaswala incident, the factory was established more than 20 years ago. Initially when waste water was released to the nearby paddy field people protested. At that time my father was the Environment Minister and he gave directives to take precautionary measures. The closure of the factory was not demanded because they benefited. There are internal issues. Even today sections believe that they can settle this issues through discussions. Basil Rajapaksa as the leader of the district and President Mahinda Rajapaksa have directed to shift the chemical based factories to Industrial Zones and to establish only the small industries in rural areas.

Q:There was an incident at the Colombo Muncipal Council over the destroying of important documents. What action has the Provincial Council taken to resolve the issue ?

A:An inquiry has been held. There is no huge damage. Certain documents have been destroyed without following stipulated procedure. After the initial inquiry the secondary investigations are also going on. Police are conducting a separate investigation.

Q:In 2009, you faced the Provincial Council election at the brink of ending the three decade long war. What political challenges are expected at this juncture if you contest at this juncture ?

A:Yes the last PC election was when the war on terrorism was in its final days. At that time people supported us. Elections for the North Western and Central provinces were held last month and people reassured the confidence on President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Elections in the North taught us a good lesson. The Northern Provincial Council was elected on a communal basis. We know how they are going to act in the future. The Tamil diaspora is active at international level. I know, if not for President Mahinda Rajapaksa no one would face those challenges posed to us internationally. People realised that they should strengthen the hands of the President. I know that the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslims in the WP will support the President to maintain the peace and face international challenges. The people will give a higher percentage of votes at the next election.

Q:As a person representing the Gampaha district do you think that you made a change in the district during your tenure?

A:There were huge changes in the district during the past few years. It will be reflected in the election results.

Q:Do you think you will become the Chief Minister again ?

A:When I was appointed as Chief Minister, I never expected it. That was a decision made by the leadership of the party. I am ready to follow any decision taken by the party. I never protested when I was not given a single Ministerial portfolio even after I did my duty to the Council as the Acting Chief Minister during President Chandrika Kumrathunga's period. Then I was given the Health Ministry and I did my best. I was then appointed as the Chief Minister. I think I have done my best as the Chief Minister too. I will adhere to party decisions.

Q:Provincial politics has become so popular these days and some MPs and even Ministers resign and contest Provincial Council elections. Do you think this will happen in the WPC elections also ?

A:It is good to have national level leaders at PC elections. The dignity of the Provincial Council will be maintained if such leaders contest PC elections. At the last PC election some candidates from the Colombo district spent lavishly. I did not have that much of money to spend for the election. People in the Gamapha district elevated me to the highest position in the province through their vote.

I don't have any problem contesting the election. I am glad if popular and national level politicians contest the elections. That will strengthen our vote base.