New challenges before 14th Parliament

The main focus of the 14th Parliament which met for the first time on April 22, will be to take up the task of constitutional change which is vital for the progress of politics and good governance in the country, especially in charting a course for national reconciliation and inclusive development; face up to the issues of Human Rights and the reforms necessary in the area of Fundamental Rights to make democracy more meaningful to the people, seek new paths of progress for the media, while protecting the right of free expression as required to serve the needs of a democratic society, and also move towards making Sri Lanka a more humane society

[Challenges before new Parliament]
* Making constitutional change
* Reconciliation, reconstruction through national unity.
* Making rural economy the driving force
* Taking country to a new era of development

With the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) gaining a landslide victory with 144 seats of the total of 225, the Government will work on gaining a two third’s majority through persuasion and consensus to make constitutional amendments possible.

The 14th Parliament convened after widely accepted free and fair elections held island-wide after the defeat of terrorism that held nearly one -third of the country under its brutal control for nearly 30 years, thereby making the Writ of the Parliament by the Diyavanna Oya at Kotte, apply throughout the country after that prolonged period of separatist terror.

The new Parliament will need to face up to the challenges of reconciliation and reconstruction, and economic progress through equality and national unity. The greatest builder of roads since the British Governor Edward Barnes (1824 - 1831) and the leader who has built most bridges in Sri Lanka in the short span of four years as Head of State and Government, President Rajapaksa, will seek through the new Parliament to take the people of Sri Lanka on new roads and bridges of unity, that will bind them in the years to come; putting aside the decades of mistrust and disunity caused by terrorist violence, and the failure of leaders past to address the pressing issues of social and economic inequality in the country.

The 14th Parliament is at a crucial point in the Sri Lankan history tasked with realizing the new potentials of the country apparent with the end to the obstacle of terrorism. The Parliament’s vision for the country will be for a united commitment to progress, ready to eschew all differences of ethnicity, faith and caste that have divided Sri Lankan society for so long, especially through 60 years and more of independence.

With new blood that has entered this Parliament, people have kept faith in the new generations that are emerging. Parliament will need to give emphasis on a future where the rural economy will be the driving force behind the growth of Sri Lanka, supported by the service sector, especially Tourism and related activities that will properly use both the natural and cultural assets the country has been endowed with by nature and history.

The new Parliament will be expected to take Sri Lanka to a new era of development in peace and through peace. Industrial growth will be necessary, but in keeping with the new thinking of sustainable development, with zero or the least damage to the environment, where industry will be both sustainable and the emphasis will be on renewable sources of energy. Under the President’s leadership, Sri Lanka will also not shy away from the use of nuclear energy, where necessary, with the emphasis on the least pollution, with a minimal carbon footprint through lesser dependence on imported fossil fuel for the county’s energy needs.

These are some of the challenges that the new Parliament will be charged with.

It will be required to bring Sri Lanka to new heights of progress, using the advantages it already has in widespread literacy and health services that surpass many other lands with similar socio-economic backgrounds.

The country will need to be moved towards the rapid rise of IT literacy which was 25 percent in the past four years, and emphasize the use of both Sinhala and Tamil in the public services, and expand the teaching of English, to make it a life skill, especially for the youth from the rural and economically less advantaged layers of urban society.

The future trends in the economic policy are already evident in the success being recorded in many indices.

Despite a worldwide economic crisis Sri Lanka achieved 3.5 percent growth in 2009 with it rising to 6.2 percent in the final quarter after the defeat of terrorism.

Inflation declined to 4.8 percent by the end of 2009. GDP per capita for 2009 increased to eight percent while the per capita income reached USD 2053 in 2009 indicating an overall improvement in living standards.

The number of tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka went up 2.1 percent in 2009 with the end to decades of terrorism.

There are welcome indications that this trend is continuing with a substantial increase in arrivals in the First Quarter this year, and the selection of Sri Lanka as the venue for international events of repute such as the International Indian Film Awards (IIFA) 2010.