Family bandyism in sports to end - Minister Lokuge

Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge, in an interview with the ‘Sunday
Observer’ spelt out a wide ranging action plan to uplift the lot of
sportsmen like focusing on rural youth; and as much creating better incentives.He also outlined action to eliminate monopolies in sports
bodies which have become virtual family affairs.
On the running of cricket which is a core issue relating to
malpractices by previous regimes, the minister said he would take tough
action against errant officials.
***************************
*The UNP is badly in need of a change in the
leadership.
*Today the UNP is controlled by a few people to
achieve their own targets.
*The UNP should assist the President Mahinda
Rajapaksa to eradicate terrorism.
*No transparency in the UNP decisions.
* The UNP needs to change its constitution.
* Ranil Wickremesinghe has failed to reach the
people.
*UNP (D group) will go for polls under UPFA.
*The UNP needs a new leader who can support the
Mahinda Rajapaksa government.
****************************

Pix: Chaminda Hittatiya |
Q: Don’t you see a decline in the overall standard of Sri
Lanka sports? What are the remedial steps taken to resurrect Sri Lanka
sports?
A: No, I don’t agree that there is any decline in the
standards. Here people always measure standards when our sportsmen keep
records. In the history there were periods where we had good sportsmen
and there were periods, the country did not have good sportsmen. Then we
cannot get an overall judgement saying that Lankan sports is not in a
good standard.
However, our athletes have reached Olympic levels though they could
not secure medals. The best example is boxing and then badminton and
shooting. If there is a decline in standards they would not have reached
those levels.
Therefore, we can be proud of the country’s standard in sports. But
we have to do more to tap talented young sportsmen.
Q: Besides cricket, athletics is one of the major sports in
which Sri Lanka has won honours at international level. Unfortunately we
have not built a good second string to take over. What is the reason for
that?
A: The need of the hour as I said earlier is to identify the
talented young sportsmen and women in the country. The Ministry of
Sports has drawn two plans for that. One is through sports clubs and the
other is through schools.
The ministry has asked all the sports clubs to submit details about
sportsmen who have good track records. Sports pools will be held to
select the best ones to represent the country at the South Asian Games.
They will be given further training under qualified coaches and if
necessary they will be given foreign training too. They will be selected
to represent the country at Asian Games. Then the best out of this lot
will be selected for the Commonwealth Games.
So what we intend is to have first, second and third line ups for
sports.
From there we can decide who should go for Olympics. Those who are
getting good records at other games will also be considered for the
Olympics.The main reason is that there was no such line up for the next
generation once the existing athletes quit the field. I want to change
this situation and that is why I am trying to implement the two programs
to tap the talented sportsmen at two levels -the club and school levels.
The main objective of the school level program is to bring the young
sportsmen and women up. This will be done through sports schools that
will be set up soon. We have decided to open three sports schools in the
country.
The locations will be Madampe Senanayake Maha Vidyalaya, Dikwella
Maha Vidyalaya and Piliyandala Maha Vidyalaya.
Most of these youth who excel in sports winning, will just end their
careers as there are less opportunities for them to pursue their
talents. I want to bring these talents to the limelight and I want to
have a group of talented sportsmen and women in the country. The best
place is to tap that talent at school level. My target is to open these
schools before end of next January.
The Sports School in Piliyandala is nearing completion and all these
three schools will get 400 metre tracks, swimming pools and all other
facilities including residential facilities for 600 school children.Our
target is to produce 600 sportsmen annually. There are 21 sports schools
in Sri Lanka and those who are at these schools will also be trained.
Those who have good records will be selected for further training under
foreign trainers if required. Under this program we can assure we can
produce highly talented sportsmen within the next six to eight
years.Many of these youth from rural areas are coming from poor
financial backgrounds and the ministry will pay an allowance to each of
these school children so they will not be a burden to their parents.
This allowance will be enough to cover the cost for the basic
requirements in sports like buying shoes.
My main intention is to create a background for the young sportsmen
to continue their sports without burdening their parents who lack money.
This way we can create a good mental situation among them too.
Q: Don’t you think our athletes are not recognised enough? For
example, when a cricketer performs against ten countries he gets
promotions and big bonanza. But when an athlete qualifies for the
Olympics among 200 odd countries that goes unnoticed?
A: The Ministry has taken all the necessary steps to look
after them. We will help them when they need our assistance.
But we cannot offer cash awards like in cricket. But if somebody gets
a gold medal, the Ministry will give a good allowance of Rs. 500,000.
Like in cricket athletes will not get cash rewards. Cricket has been
developed around the world to that level. Not only cricket but tennis
players will get more cash rewards. But there are events where the
athletes can get cash rewards. When they are selected to compete in
events like Grand Prixs, the Ministry will sponsor the air ticket.
Q: What are your plans to produce an Olympic medallist at
least within the next decade or so?
A: I have seen how those athletes from 240 countries perform.
What I felt was that Sri Lanka needs to go ahead in sports to tap the
talented youth from four corners of the country. That is why I have
decided to implement the two programs which I mentioned earlier.
Q: You directed the National Sports Council to scan
performances of national sports associations before gaving the
greenlight to go ahead with their respective AGMs and annual elections
for 2008. When the NSC, headed by Dr. Maiya Gunasekera, has given
clearance to go ahead with the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) AGM,
why is the Ministry blocking it?
A: No, what I highlighted was that there should be a big
change in these sports associations. A sports club represents the whole
country. What I found was that there are sports clubs where there are no
sportsmen to the clubs and the membership is limited to less than six
people. But they represent the country. Mostly the members are their
uncles, aunts and sisters and brothers. So I directed that the
membership be given to all the sportsmen in these clubs before the next
AGMs. No sportsmen represent most of these sports clubs.
The SLTA has only 10 or 12 sports clubs. I asked the SLTA to allow
the sports clubs in rural areas to represent the SLTA. At the moment the
membership of the Tennis Association is basically limited to Colombo and
main cities. But rural players won’t get a chance to play tennis. I
expect a change and want them to reach the village level.
Swimming is also facing a similar phenomena. The talented swimmers in
Chilaw, Ambalangoda and other areas do not have a chance to represent
these clubs. Few clubs operate in Colombo and control everything. The
trainers are the same members and if a child does not train under them
he will not get a chance of going further.
I have received lots of such complaints. Those who are trained under
these club members will get the chance of representing the international
tournaments. I firmly believe that this situation should be changed and
the opportunities would be equally distributed among all talented
sportsmen.
Q: The Ministry removed Thilanga Sumathipala on the grounds of
corruption and has on those reasons not permitted elections there. But
even in the last Jayantha Dharmadasa interim committee administration
massive financial corruption has been reported. What action has been
taken by you to bring the culprits to book?
A: No one has been removed for corruption during my tenure.
The main problem is that those who talk much about corruption have not
legally complained against any of these people. There is no Auditor
General’s Report showing any corrupt deals either. If there are charges
which could be legally proved I can take prompt action.
But I can reply to this question soon as the Auditor General’s Report
questioning the activities of some of the clubs have been submitted to
the Public Accounts Committee.
What I can assure is that if somebody is found guilty they cannot
easily escape from me. I will take tough action against them.
Q: Does the Sports Ministry look politically when appointing
officials to sports bodies?
A: No. There is no room for politicization of any of these
committees under my purview. The reality is that politicians who have
been appointed to some of these committees are sportsmen even before
they come to Parliament.And they were members or officials of the those
committees for years. I cannot stop them being appointed through their
AGMs.But I am not going to appoint any politician to any of these
committees. I can say I made such an appointment only once and that was
Arjuna Ranatunge to the Cricket Board.
Q: Are you at loggerheads with Arjuna Ranatunga because most
of his decisions are blocked by you?
A: How can one say that we have clashes? We discuss matters
that arise and we take decisions after discussions. The other point is
why should I block the decisions taken by him? I will never do that and
I do not want to interfere as such.
Q: Will the long overdue national sports policy be ever
implemented? Are you serious to bring legislation to change the aging
National Sports Law of 1973 which does not suit the modern world of
sport?
A: There are amendments to the Act. Several proposals have
been submitted and the need for a change highlighted. But meantime there
is some opposition to some of these amendments. I have asked the
committee to look into these matters and advice about the possible
actions to bring about the amendments.
Q: The UNP is in a dilemma over the leadership. How do you
think that the UNP can go back to its glorious past?
A: I think the UNP is badly in need of a change in the
leadership. The leader should be able to take firm decisions and he
should be a leader who can think about the national interest.
When the UNP D group was with the UNP we tried our best to bring
these changes. We highlighted the need of working towards the national
importance.
But we failed to achieve our target as the UNP in the recent past is
controlled by a few people to achieve their own targets.
At the beginning we informed this to the Opposition Leader Ranil
Wickremesinghe and he agreed with us. We told him that the President
Mahinda Rajapaksa is taking the country in the correct direction and the
UNP should help him to free the country from terrorism. We also told him
that we should not run behind petty political agendas but need to give
priority to maintain the unity. That therefore, we should help the
government unconditionally to combat terrorism in this important
juncture. Ranil Wickremesinghe agreed and signed an agreement with the
government.
But later he was talking about forming of a separate government.
We realised that there is no transparency now in the UNP leadership
and we have decided to give our fullest support to the government to
maintain the majority in the Parliament.
We had also proposed the UNP to change its constitution to
accommodate these proposals to help the government. But all our efforts
were not fruitful and we took a firm decision to support the government.
Today people of this country have approved our decision.
No one can say that the government rigged the polls in Sabaragamuwa
and North Central Provincial Councils. People honestly approved the
government’s efforts to eradicate terrorism and they voted for the
government.
First, the Opposition Leader should love the country and its people.
Today, Ranil Wickremesinghe had failed to reach the people.
People have lost faith in him. The UNP constitution should be changed
to give more powers to the party members.
During the days of J. R. Jayewardene, D. B. Wijetunge and R.
Premadasa the UNP members had the right to select its leaders. But now
the Opposition Leader will select leaders. The whole system in the UNP
should be changed if the party intends to survive. The reality is that
one cannot swim against the tidal waves.
Q: If there is a change in the leadership will the UNP D group
re-join the UNP?
A: I cannot tell our decision now. But under whoever the
leader we will assist the government in its efforts to bring peace. If
the new leader is willing to help the government to combat terrorism we
would help him but he has to agree to help the government
unconditionally.
Q: If the government goes for an election from which party are
you going for the election?
A: We have not yet decided but under the present situation we
would join the government and go for polls.
Q: You got elected from the UNP and how confident are you that
you would be able to secure votes like earlier at a future election?
A: We have to go for an election and decide our fate. People
will decide all. But we are hopeful that the UNPers will definitely vote
for us as they have already approved our decision.
*****************************
Who is Gamini Kulawansa Lokuge
Being a famous social worker Lokuge, the wealthy businessman from
Piliyandala wanted all his nine children - six boys and three girls to
become educated one day. He gave them the best he could to pursue their
higher studies.
Lokuge wanted his second son - Gamini to be a doctor or an engineer
but he took a different turn becoming a young politician.
Lokuge Jr, who had his primary education at Batakeththara Primary
School and passed his Advanced Levels from Ananda Sastralaya, Kotte, was
a popular young politician in Madapatha who represented the UNP youth
organisation.
Determined to help those in need of help, Gamini climbed the ladder
of politics step by step following his father, who supported Somaweera
Chandrasiri to win the polls. “What my father taught me was to think
about our own people, especially the villagers of my home town”, says
Minister of Sports Lokuge, who wanted to primarily serve the villagers
to give their children a good education.
Before stepping into active politics he looked after the family
business involving hotel trade and was in the director board of their
own business institutions.
When Dharmasena Attygalla resigned from Parliament, Gamini got
nominated and he won at the General Elections. Since then he was a MP
and was the Minister of Tourism too.
Strongly following the ‘teachings’ of late President J. R.
Jayewardene, Minister Lokuge says a leader should always be ‘brave’
enough to take firm decisions. “That is what I learnt from JR and I have
seen this quality from the President Mahinda Rajapaksa too. A leader
should take decisions otherwise it is very difficult to rule a country.
The other person that I always adore is late President R. Premadasa. He
always listened to the ordinary people and they could easily reach
President Premadasa.
At any given time he would answer the phone and he was ready to
listen to them. What the country needs are those kinds of leaders”, he
says.
The most unfortunate period in his life was the days during the JVP
unrest. “During those days our lives were under threat and no one could
guarantee that we were coming back home. Today the JVP asks people to
vote for them, but how many innocent people were killed by the JVP
during those days”, questions Minister Lokuge adding that despite
threats he did not flee his home town and he looked after over 200
people whose lives were at risk due to JVP terror. “I sheltered and fed
them”, he says.
Apart from developing sports, his main target is to help people,
especially to offer more facilities for the villagers to educate their
children. Being a proud father of two educated daughters - one is a
barrister and the other is a civil engineer - Minister Lokuge wants to
introduce more educational facilities for the children of his
electorate.
“Telling the truth is the most important quality that should develop
one who wants to become a politician”, advises this matured politician
who requests politicians not to mislead the voters giving them broken
promises for jobs. “I never issue a letter if there are no jobs that I
can give them”, he says.
“The other factor”, he stresses is “no politician needs the support
of the underworld kingpins to win an election. The power of youth is
more effective than the support of the underworld goons. The magic wand
that makes one a politician is the hard work done for the people of the
country. That will bring him up the ladder”, he emphasises adding that
he knows most of the famous underworld gangs, but never used them in
political victories.No time for enjoyment, he reads books and magazines
and browses the internet whenever he has time to learn more about
sports, which he admits he did not know at all when he was sworn in as
the Minister of Sports. He believes that when a new ministerial
portfolio is offered to a politician he should not say no even if the
field is not his cup of tea. He should consider what he can do in that
particular field and identify the areas that he should work., says
Minister Lokuge who stopped doing sports after his schooling.
Minister Lokuge firmly believing his fate, says that he will surely
sit on the chair of the Prime Minister or the President if his fate
takes him there. “Who will refuse if these posts are given to somebody
accidentally like the way the former President D. B. Wijetunga got them
all. I would not mind becoming the PM or President of this country ”,
the Minister giggles. |