• Presidential task force appointed to monitor progress 

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa recently appointed a presidential task force to oversee the implementation of initiatives discussed during “Gama Samaga Pilisandara” programmes. The task force, headed by Minister Namal Rajapaksa, is set to effectively guide, pursue, and review the realisation of objectives and the needs of the people which the Government seeks to achieve through the initiative.  The Gama Samaga Pilisandara initiative, or Discussion with the Village, was launched by President Rajapaksa on 25 September last year in the Haldummulla village in the Badulla District. The core intention of the initiative is to meet the people of remote villages who have not been given due attention so far, inquire into their problems, bring them to the notice of the relevant officials, and provide solutions. The ultimate aim of the programme is to eradicate rural poverty.  Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Minister Rajapaksa stated that the President is very keen on rural economic development, which is considered the main backbone of Sri Lanka’s economy.  He explained that the villages being selected for the initiative are some of the most underdeveloped villages in the country and ones that have not received enough attention for many years.  [caption id="attachment_105597" align="alignright" width="425"] "The task force was appointed to monitor the progress and make sure things take place on the ground for the initiative. We will be implementing the decisions that have been taken during the village meetings on short, mid, and long-term bases"  Minister Namal Rajapaksa [/caption] “They are picked based on statistics,” he explained.  The President has so far visited around 17 villages under the programme, and the new taskforce is set to help bring the necessary developments to each village based on the issues discussed at each meeting.  The task force consists of 15 state ministers and parliamentarians: State Ministers Nimal Lanza, Dilum Amunugama, Kanchana Wijesekera, Dr. Seetha Arambepola, and Prof. Channa Jayasumana as well as MPs Cader Mastan, Kapila Athukorala, Sanjeeva Edirimanna, Nipuna Ranawaka, Chamara Sampath Dasanayake, Tiran Alles, Gevindu Kumaratunga, Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, Chinthaka Amal Mayadunne, and Jayantha Weerasinghe.  The task force has the primary responsibility to direct all officers at the divisional level, including the district secretary, the divisional secretary, and heads of all other institutions, based on the requirement of services in order to expedite the implementation of the President’s instructions and directives to address issues raised by the people during the programme.  “The task force was appointed to monitor the progress and make sure things take place on the ground for the initiative. We will be implementing the decisions that have been taken during the village meetings on short, mid, and long-term bases,” said Rajapaksa.  He explained that some of the decisions taken during the meetings will require amendments to the law or acts, which would require the task force’s aid. He went on to state that while some of the issues discussed can be addressed immediately, others might take a couple of months or even years.  These projects will include the development of roads, drinking water facilities, electricity, telecommunications, playgrounds, schools, hospitals, vocational educational institutions, urban universities, land transfers, banking and financial facilities, market, warehousing, and infrastructure facilities, all of which are to be implemented at the national level by government institutions in each pradeshiya sabha and divisional secretariat area under the budget provisions for 2021-2023.  Moreover, the task force is also expected to expedite all projects financed by local and foreign funds under the Public Investment Programme within the specified time frame. The task force has also been directed by the President to report to him in any instances of delay or omissions in the performance of the duties assigned by the task force to any public servant or any official of a ministry, department, corporation, or any such institution.  Minister Rajapaksa stated that the task force has only been appointed till 2023, adding that depending on the President’s discussions with the villages, however, the projects’ timeframes may vary.  “The President’s vision is to develop these rural villages into model villages that can eventually be replicated with the rest of the 33,000 villages in the country. At the moment, the programmes are pending, but we will be meeting with the President, once everything has settled, to look at a strategy on how to implement them and move forward,” he stated.