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| Tuesday, 13 July 2004 |
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Call to enhance lease holding to 99 years The rough time for the plantation sector is now over, said Chairman, Planters' Association Rohan Fernando. He was addressing the Regional Plantation Company (RPC) workshop organised by the Plantation Development Project of the Ministry of Plantation Institutes (MPI) recently in Colombo. Fernando called upon the government to enhance the present 53 year lease holding to 99 years so as to enable the companies to attract foreign investments and expertise which would eventually bring about overall benefits to this all important industry. Plantation Industries Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa delivering the keynote address said that the British who occupied this country created two great national assets namely the transportation network and the plantation sector. He also touched on the British Waste Land Ordinance introduced in 1887. He agreed that the bad management of the estates after nationalisation in 1975, led to the privatisation of the plantations in 1992. The Minister said that these vast extents of plantations which is a national asset has been entrusted to the private companies with great confidence in their prudent management, in reality they are the custodians of this national wealth. The people of this country expect the companies to manage these estates in the best interest of the nation, therefore, mismanagement at any level cannot be condoned. He agreed with the RPCs requirement for financial assistance to maintain and improve the viability of the plantation sector. He said that this is why it is important for the companies to join the ongoing project, and reap its benefits. Project Director of the Plantation Development Project, Raja Premadasa outlined the main objectives and the advantages of this project. He said that this project was primarily designed to help the RPCs financially so that they may refrain from seeking further external financial assistance. The project will therefore provide these companies with long term financing to meet their growing investment needs. "Another objective of this project was to counter act the looming labour shortage in the plantations caused primarily due to out migration and voluntary youth unemployment originating from the present poor living and working conditions on the estates", he said. The Secretary, MPI, J. Abeywickrema said that the Ministry was fully aware of the financial constraints faced and that is why this project has envisaged implementing the Plantation Fund which would help to obtain financial assistance other than from the local banking system. He said that a contented labour force on estates would improve productivity and thereby lead to higher profitability. He said that this project has laid great emphasis on the uplift of the living and working conditions of the estate workers and called for the unconditional support in the implementation this project, to reap its benefits and improve the plantation sector as a whole with the national interest in mind. (SS) |
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