• Premier held accountable for development promises made in 2015

By Sarah Hannan

With the ninth Parliament convening on Thursday (20), the citizens of Sri Lanka are keeping a close watch on how this Government pulls through an unstable economy and a pandemic caused by an ever-evolving virus that is still a looming threat to the entire world. With Mahinda Rajapaksa being appointed as the Prime Minister for this Government, the people, especially in the northern region, are banking on his interest to restart the stalled infrastructure development projects. During our visit to the region in July, just before the general election, many of the people in all five districts of the Northern Province repeatedly stated that they would vote for the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) because they trust that Mahinda Rajapaksa would be elected to Parliament and would once again develop the region. Already, there was some road work underway with bridges being reconstructed, railroads being upgraded from wooden sleepers to concrete sleepers, and main roads being prepared for a new carpet layer. This somewhat slowed down vehicular movement down the Medawachchiya-Talaimannar highway and then the road from Paranthan to Mullaitivu. Even the A9 highway was undergoing refurbishment in several sections. When we stopped over in Pesalai, Nirmal, a young businessman, revealed that the road from Medawachchiya to Talaimannar was reconstructed in 2010. “It’s been over a decade since any type of infrastructure development took place in this district. Thanks to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, we have this road, but that too is now in need of maintenance.” Meanwhile, the fruit and vegetable vendors of Pesalai want the Government to construct a marketplace, so they do not have to do business on the roadside. Jesmil, a vegetable vendor, said that previously, the Fisheries Department was housed in the building at the back, and since it was moved elsewhere, the building has not been used by anyone. “They can easily repurpose this building to be used as a marketplace, so that we do not have to conduct business on the road. Furthermore, given that there is a pandemic, we too want to have our permanent business premises in town, so that we can sell our produce in more hygienic conditions,” Jesmil added.

Time to keep the promise

As he assumed office, Rajapaksa stated that his first priority in development work would be to kick-start the projects that had become stagnant and that the Northern Province development will now be prioritised, as the region has not moved forward since the last time he rolled out the “Uthuru Wasanthaya” programme which saw much infrastructure development work taking shape. On the second day of January in 2015, during the last leg of the campaign trail for a third term in office, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was President at the time, addressing the intellectuals and business owners of the North, promised to develop the Northern Province as a knowledge hub. Sharing his vision for the region, he noted that the northern region needs to be recognised as a knowledge hub and stated that the 96 Mahindodaya laboratories that were established in the region will fuel that vision. However, with the presidential election taking a turn, appointing Maithripala Sirisena as the Yahapalana Government President, Prime Minister Rajapaksa’s promise to the region had to be set aside. Once again, being appointed the Prime Minister through a historic election where he secured a record number of preferential votes from the Kurunegala District this August, the Premier got a chance to revisit the projects that were put on hold for the past five years. Another area that the Prime Minister was interested in developing was extending the Government’s support to the business community in the North to set up high-tech industries equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, which will open up information and communication technology (ITC)-related jobs for the youth. At the time, special emphasis was given to the development of the Northern Province since the end of war, to rehabilitate and restore infrastructure, improve connectivity, and uplift the lifestyles of the people in the North.

Awaiting budgetary allocations

The Sunday Morning contacted the Planning Division of the Governor’s Office for the Northern Province to inquire whether they have been given instructions on any new projects or any projects to be restarted that were on hold since 2014. “We are yet to receive any fresh instructions on the type of development work that the Prime Minister or President has planned out to execute in the province. At the moment, the province has run out of its budgetary allocations to continue the routine maintenance work as well. The contractors are dragging the projects as there are some pending payments that need to be cleared,” Northern Provincial Council Director of Planning E. Johnson explained. With the present Government’s Vote on Account (VoA) now taken up and the debate scheduled to take place on 27 and 28 August, the Provincial Council will hopefully be able to get some allocations and pay the outstanding to the contactors, so that the maintenance work can continue.

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