CWC stands by President's bid for a third term :

Another 50,000 houses for the plantation community

By P. Krishnaswamy

The Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) which represents a majority of the plantation community with the longest history of championing their rights will firmly stand by the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the need for his third term as Executive President for the emancipation of their community, said its President Muthu Sivalingam Deputy Minister of Economic Development. In their experience they have found that he has done much more for the down-trodden community, in his capacity as Executive President, than all his predecessors put together, he said in an interview with the Sunday Observer.

The CWC has already started campaigning and working for him in the run up to the January 8 Presidential poll and is confident that the people will return him to power for a third term. Some of the present leaders of the plantation community who have the origin of their political career in the CWC have now joined the opposition bloc either for political or other benefits, he said. Although they are clamouring about independent housing units for the plantation workers in place of their line-room quarters, they have conveniently ignored the fact that the program of constructing modern housing units, both independent and twin houses, for the plantation workers was started by the UPFA government under President Rajapaksa, with 27,000 houses already completed. There was budget allocation for the construction of another 50,000 houses while more houses are also expected to be constructed under the National Action Plan (NAP), he said.

Excerpts of the interview:

Q: The opposition bloc has put forward a common candidate to run for the January 8 Presidential poll with constitutional amendment to abolish the executive presidential system as their main pledge. What is the CWC stance on that?

A: The fact that the implementation of many programs for the socio-economic benefit of the minority communities became feasible only under the executive presidential systems, especially under President Rajapaksa, should be kept in mind.

The present UNP hierarchy which is the main ally of the Opposition bloc wanting to do away with the executive presidential system never talked about it during the tenure of either President J.R. Jayewardene or President R. Premadasa. Carefully weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the system, as far as the minorities are concerned, we have to opt for the executive presidential system.

Under the former Westminster system, those returned to power as Premiers both from the UNP and the UPA, gave first priority to the implementation of development programs in their own electorates because they were primarily answerable to the people of their electorates. But under the executive presidential system, the president is answerable to the entire population of the country.

Q: Three parliamentarians belonging to other trade-union-cum-political parties of the Radhakrishnan and NUW leader and former Deputy Minister P. Digambaram, have crossed over to the opposition fold. Your comments?

Political career

A: Radhakrishnan and Rajadurai have the origin of their political career in the CWC and the same way as they betrayed the CWC they have now betrayed the government for reasons known only to them. Similarly the origin of those who started the NUW, now led by Digambaram, was also in the CWC. The CWC has a long history of 70 years fighting for the civic, political and employees rights of the plantation community.

The CWC is continuing to be a strong trade union-cum-political party among the plantation community, having an extensive vote base. As in the past, only the CWC is capable of fighting for the socio-economic welfare and rights of the workers.

Q: They say that they have entered into an agreement with the opposition bloc guaranteeing seven perches of homestead plots and independent houses with modern facilities for the community. What is the present state of the housing programs for the plantation workers started by the Government?

A: They were in the government at least for a short period and it is very unlikely that they are not aware of the housing programs of the government. But they pretend to be unaware of it for reasons obvious. The picture with regard to the housing problem of the community is now changing.

Houses with modern facilities are being built for them in place of the centuries-old line-room quarters. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has repeatedly reiterated on his commitment towards changing the line-room system. He spoke on it even in some the CWC's public meetings. He has insisted on the fact that eliminating the line-room system will pave the way for an improved socio-economic life of the workers. It is only during his rule that an amount of Rs.60,000/- was disbursed to the workers for construction of houses. The Government gave Rs.440,000/- for construction of houses.

Of this amount Rs.200,000 was an outright grant. Over 27,000 houses have already been built under this scheme.

The process of constructing houses has been moving at a slow pace because a majority of the workers have not been showing a keen interest in building their own houses. They are reluctant to come out of the line-room life although the President wants to see the change very fast.

Under the last budget the President provided for the construction of another 50,000 houses for them.

Even then the rival unions, without comprehending the significance of the decision, protested and made adverse remarks saying they should be given independent houses and not flats type of houses.

The President's idea behind providing such flats type of houses was that they live on the estates , in the hills, secluded and away from the towns, under adverse weather conditions and, therefore, the joint family system will be to their advantage.

The President spoke of eliminating the line-room system and building two-storey housing complexes.

The ancestors of the workers lived as joint families in India and even the ancestors of the Sinhalese lived as joint families. When our party leader Arumugan Thondaman was Minister of Housing some such two-storey houses were built in Vanarajah Estate, Caldonia Estate, Mt. Vernon Estate and many other estates in the Dickoya area.

Those are very convenient houses reflecting a much more civilised way of living. In any case, we are sure that there will be new thinking and new plans on providing homestead lands/new houses to the plantation workers when the President gets elected to a third term. More housing programs for the plantation workers will also come under the 15-year National Action Plan (NAP).

The work on the construction of 75 houses at Poonagalla for the land-slide-affected workers of Meeriabedde Estate, Koslanda has already been started under the joint collaboration of the Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT) and the Urban Development Authority (UDA).

Consequent to the President's decision on extending maximum assistance and facilities to the tea small holders, the CWC proposed that lands under the management of the JEDB, SPC and other ailing estates with the Regional Plantation Companies (RPGs) should be distributed among the plantation workers in extents ranging from 01 - 05 acres, depending on the number working members in a family so that they, with their experience, will tend them and get maximum productivity.

Distribution of tea lands in that manner will help towards creating plantation villages which is a goal of the Government, while also creating an abiding interest among the workers on the places of their domicile.

The other communities of the country - the North-East Tamils, the Sinhalese or the Muslims - have their permanent areas of domicile with houses, properties and an abiding interest. It is not so in the case of the Indian origin plantation community.

Q: What are the other achievement achievements of the CWC for the plantation community as the UPFA constituent?

A: Our leader, Minister Arumugan Thondaman, got Rs.195 Million released for introducing improvements to the plantation education sector. When I was Minister of Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development, I was able to appoint over 3,000 teachers exclusively from among the eligible plantation youth.

We had also held discussions with Education Minister Bandula Gunawardana on the question of shortage of teachers and the Ministry consequently obtained cabinet approval to appoint more teachers to the schools in the plantation areas.

All estate schools were taken over by the Government and they have been brought on par with other urban schools.

The total 2,500 development programs for the Nuwara Eliya district in 2014 implemented through the District Secretariat were equally divided between the estate sector and the villages on a 50-50m basis, each getting 1,250 programs.

This was achieved with Minister Arumugan Thondaman as Chairman of the District Coordinating Committee. Claims that the plantation workers are being discriminated against is totally incorrect.

Q: As a constituent of the UPFA Government what measures have been instituted by the CWC to empower the younger generation of the community in IT and other technological aspects and make them employable?

A: The CWC's Prajasakthi institution functioning under the semi-government Thondaman Foundation, has done much towards empowering the younger generation and making them employable in the IT and other technological sectors.

They never knew about the computer some years ago. Even students of leading schools in the plantation areas were not computer literate then. Now it is different scenario altogether.

The Prajashakthi centres in the plantation towns and some estates are imparting computer training and computers have been distributed to some of the students through those centres.

All plantation children, Grade I student to GCE (AL) student, are entitled to receive free training at these centres. Plans are also underway to start 10 more institutes.

Even small children in the plantations are now computer literate.