PARLIAMENT

‘President increases concessions to tea small-holders by Rs 50,000’

Sandasen MARASINGHE, Irangika RANGE and Disna MUDALIGE

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa presided when Parliament met at 9.30 am yesterday. After the presentation of papers and oral questions, the House took up the Committee Stage debate of Budget 2013. The Finance Heads of 14 Ministries referred to the Select Committee were taken up for debate.

Tissa Attanayake (UNP): Today people hold different views concerning the PSC on the impeachment motion. There were organized protests yesterday near the Parliamentary complex. These were bad trends.

The media should become the 4th pillar which strengthens the democracy of the country.

The one sided reporting by certain media is not a good example. The media should not be biased.

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa (in Chair): I have observed that at the time 14 ministries were taken up, only a very few ministers holding those ministerial portfolios were present at the well. Only about 4 are present. I request the relevant ministers and deputy ministers to come in and listen to views expressed during the debate.

Tissa Attanayake continues.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. I am glad that you noted it.

In the recent past, several journalists had gone missing while some had been attacked.

There is controversy over the Supreme Sat Satellite. The government should clarify its stance on this issue. It should state clearly whether the government has any involvement with this move or was it entirely a move of a private company? If the government had no involvement, then it should state how the space belonging to Sri Lanka had been leased out to a private company.

Deputy Chairman of Committees Chandrakumar Murugesu takes the Chair.

Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe: I must thank the President for the keen interest shown towards the plantation sector. He has further increased concessions given to tea small-holders by another Rs 50,000. He has now thrice increased the concession.

As proposed, the concession for tea small-holders would be Rs 350,000 in 2013. This is a clear incentive to them. The fertilizer subsidy had also been continued for the plantation sector. This is another great relief to them.

We also have challenges ahead of us. The foremost challenge is that we have to reduce production costs, while increasing production.

When one considers rubber cultivation, the President has given incentives for small, medium and large-scale estate owners. Even though we have increased rubber production, the demand is still high as 17,500 metric tonnes.

We have started cultivating rubber in non traditional areas. In Moneragala, we have plans to cultivate 7,500 hectare of rubber and another 5,250 hectare had also been cultivated. The rest would be cultivated next year.

In areas such as Ampara, Mahaoya and Padiyathalawa, we have plans to cultivate another 10,000 hectare. Nobody thought that we would be able to cultivate rubber in the Northern Province. But today, we have carried out feasibility studies and according reports, rubber could be cultivated in Mullaitivu, Vavuniya and certain other areas in Killinochchi. In 2013, we hope to cultivate 300 hectare in Mullaitivu and Vavuniya. I also want to stress that we always respect media freedom and we are committed to safeguard it.

Gayantha Karunathilake (UNP): We appreciate the provisions of Rs 250,000 for recultivation of plantation areas. But this money is not adequate. A greater amount of money than this is needed for recultivation of plantation estates.

A debate concerning the media should have been debated on a separate day. In last year's Budget, the President proposed an interest free loan for journalists to purchase vehicles. This promise has been fulfilled recently, but now they are wondering as to what vehicle they could buy with just Rs 1.2 million. It takes about 12 years to repay the loan. There are journalists who do not have a house. The journalists must be able to enjoy the benefits given to them. Think about more urgent needs they have rather than vehicles.

Land and Land Development Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon: We have a duty of distributing land in a balanced manner, considering that the country is multi ethnic. The total extent of land in Sri Lanka is 6.5 million hectare. This land should be utilized effectively. The lands we have are limited and those should be distributed properly.

So far we have given one million blocks of lands to farmers.

We hope to amend the Land Act in 2013, to update the existing laws and regulations and remove outdated laws. The ownership of land will be equally distributed among all children, according to the amendment. Presently, the ownership will pass on to the elder child only. This would be a great relief to about 3 million farmers in the country.

We hope to recruit about 100 surveyors to put an end to the shortage of surveyors.

Our ministry is vested with a greater responsibility in implementing the recommendations of the LLRC report. We have allocated Rs 400 million for the year 2013 for this purpose. The land ownership of the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim community in the North and the East, will be ensured.

We also propose to set up a fourth land commission with the experience gained from land commissions established in 1926, 1956 and 1985. The Commission would be able to provide expert knowledge and valuable proposals for land management.

Labour and Labour Relations Minister Gamini Lokuge: A large number of workers in the SLTB are waiting for their gratuity payments. Measures have been taken to pay their gratuity. However, a section of them had gone to courts and obtained an interim order. Therefore, we were not able to proceed with the payment of gratuity. If the interim order was lifted tomorrow, then we are ready to settle these payments. The EPF money of several workers of the CPC have been cheated. A police investigation is on.

Establishing the social security of labourers, is our responsibility. We have been taking measures to strengthen the labour sector with necessary coordination of stakeholders.

The EPF Act was amended recently, enabling them to get a certain amount money in their accounts during needy times. The fingerprints will be used hereafter instead of an account number.

Kabir Hashim (UNP): The statement made by UNP MP Ranjan Ramanayake on the Sharia Law is an insult to the Muslim community. The Sharia Law is a divine law. We have to abide by the laws of those countries when we visit those countries.

The government should take appropriate steps to ensure the protection of Sri Lankan migrant workers, especially the domestic helpers. It is reported that a number of female domestic helpers working abroad have been subjected to sexual harassment. Several countries have already banned sending housemaids abroad. Why don’t we follow that method? The productivity of the country is reducing. We have spent US$ 4,500 million to import food items which was earlier grown here. Though the government has given a number of promises to increase the national productivity, through seven previous budgets, our productivity was still very low. Our import expenditure has been very high compared to export earnings.

Public Relations and Public Affairs Minister Dr. Mervyn Silva: Both, people and animals are living free in harmony today after the eradication of terrorism from the motherland. We have been able to accomplish a number of goals during President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime. It was President Mahinda Rajapaksa who came forward to liberate the country when the entire country was in trouble. He faced numours challenges nationally and internationally.

Today the country is marching towards prosperity. Today several elements are trying to put this government into trouble by demonstrations and protests with the use of diaspora funds.

Thalatha Athukorala (UNP): The plantation sector has contributed immensely to the national economy. But today, the entire sector is at a risk. The plantation sector has also been badly affected by negative impacts of the climatic changes. Twenty one percentage of people out of the total population, is engaged in the plantation sector. It is reported that 32 percent of foreign exchange out of a total foreign exchange earnings, had been from the plantation sector. In order to increase the productivity of the plantation sector, it is necessary to diversify products and change of brands.

Gayantha Karunathilake takes the Chair

Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera: Our Ministry has become the talking point owing to the escalating number of natural disasters. The best experience is the Tsunami in 2004.

We have paid our concentration on all types of natural catastrophes.

With the setting up of this ministry, the government has been able to provide relief to victims of natural disasters, since the ministry was set up.

We have taken measures to educate officials of senior as well as Grama Seva Niladharis on matters of natural disasters.

The people have not been able to receive the benefits of our allocations since there had been no proper co-ordination among the public servants.

So we have taken measures to create a better co-ordination among public servants with the assistance of the Public Administration Ministry.

Sunil Handunnetti (DNA): There had been a severe collapse in the State Media. Officials are being paid from public funds and they have to act with a sense of responsibility.

Mihin Lanka has incurred a loss of Rs 8 billion during the last 5 years. But the directors have been paid large salaries from public funds.

When we consider the estate sector, employees are not paid a monthly salary. So it should be paid to them.

P Rajathurei (UPFA): President Mahinda Rajapaksa stated in 2011, that 25,000 acres of uncultivated land had been identified in the hill country estates. He said that next year they would be divided among 12,500 people for cultivation. So I request that this idea be implemented.

The Indian government has promised to build 5,000 housing units to the upcountry estate sector. The government has to give its permission for that.

Minister Janaka Bandara takes the Chair

Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella: The TNA member stated that we have not given media freedom. But the media freedom is not using it arbitrarily without control. So it cannot be done.

During the time of LTTE terrorism, all rights had been violated. There was no freedom during those days. But now it has changed. The media people have freedom today and it is an accepted fact by the entire world.

In budget 2011, a large number of facilities had been given to the media people. They were given laptops. We implemented it knowing that it would be criticized.The second phase also will provide the media people with more laptops.

Certain politicians are trying to boost their ego by criticizing the government and politicians from the government. They know they are not accepted by the people.

Minister Lakshman Seneviratne: The Education Ministry has opened a Productivity Promotion Division in its ministry. The Education Ministry hopes to introduce a separate subject on productivity in 2014. This is a good move.

Being in a multi ethic country, we have to work in harmony without being concerned about language barriers.

Palitha Thewarapperuma (UNP): My party membership had been cancelled. But I would like to speak a few words representing the ‘United Bikkhu Front’.

Even though many speak about the plantation sector, nobody pays any attention to the living conditions of the plantation workers. They are facing many hardships.They are at the bottom line of poverty.

Minor Export Crop Promotion Minister Reginald Coorey: Sri Lanka had been a world renowned country since history, due to the minor export crops, such as pepper, cinnamon, cloves, etc. However, the attention paid to this sector has not been sufficient.

We only contribute 0.5 percent of the GDP from our minor crops exports. We hope to double this. We receive an income of about Rs. 30,000 million and we intend to increase this up to Rs. 60,000 million.

The President made new proposals relating to Sugarcane production. We are now working to improve sugar production in the country.

We have now introduced minor export crops as a mix cultivation, together with tea, rubber and coconut. We have to provide incentives for value added products from these crops. We are planning to start new industries for this purpose.

In Kolonna, chena cultivations continued those days. But today, those people are cultivating cinnamon and pepper and making profits of about Rs. 300,000 – 400,000 from one acre.

New legislations are needed for this sector. Today even low quality products can be exported. New laws are needed to ensure quality.

Public Management Reforms Minister Navin Dissanayake: We introduce necessary changes to public departments, corporations and authorities. We have established 40 reform units so far.

We wish to consider the opinions of even lower level workers when bringing in reforms. The average salary of public servants is low in our country, compared to other countries. This amount is about Rs. 30,000 in Sri Lanka. We have to raise the quality of human resources in public offices. A proper training should be given to all public servants before they are recruited to the permanent cadre.

We are in the process of restructuring the public service. Within the next 2-3 years, we hope to bring in revolutionary changes to the public service sector.

Thalatha Athukorala takes the Chair:

Land and Land Development Deputy Minister Siripala Gamlath: One third of the land was clutched by terrorists a few years back, until President bravely put an end to it. Our officers could not enter certain areas in the North and East during those days.

About 65 percent of the killings reported in the country had been due to land disputes.

The majority of complaints have also been related to land disputes. Among the 600,000 court cases, 150,000 relate to land issues. Therefore it is clear that there are many problems to our people concerning lands.

“Bim Saviya’ has been implemented in about 42 Divisional Secretariat Divisions. From this programme, the lands are properly, measured and vested to the owners with clear and complete deeds.

Civil Aviation Deputy Minister Geethanjana Gunawardane: It is commendable for the guidance and assistance given by President Mahinda Rajapaksa for the betterment of the aviation sector. Today, both SriLankan Airlines and Mihin Lanka have been recognized as international airlines. When we speak of the aviation sector, we are unable to forget the LTTE attacks on the Katunayake Airport during the war. The attack made a severe impact on the operations of the airport.

But we were able to overcome these barriers by following correct and suitable policy decisions. Today, Mihin Lanka operates as a regional airline and owns 12 aircraft.

Our next objective is to convert Sri Lanka into an aviation hub in the world. We are currently constructing the Mattala International Airport. It would be declared open next year. We expect to develop trade affairs, the tourism industry and the export sector by strengthening our airline operations further.

Harin Fernando (UNP): The government should take measures to preserve the human rights of plantation sector workers. There are 1.5 million estate sector workers in Sri Lanka. We preserved their human rights, voting rights and fundamental rights during the UNP regime. Allocations made to the Plantation Ministry have been reduced. This is a very pathetic situation.

Estate workers face severe difficulties today. They are deprived of their basic facilities. It is necessary to uplift housing, health, education and transport facilities in areas where estate workers are living.

Plantation Industries Deputy Minister Earl Gunasekera: President Mahinda Rajapaksa has given a number of relief facilities to the plantation sector. We have increased the amount of replanting allowances paid to farmers. Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, is also assisting us by providing saplings of various crops free of charge.

We have formulated a systematic programme to streamline the quality of our agrarian products. Plans are afoot to find new markets in China and South Africa. We expect to conduct many promotional programmes in those countries. We continue to provide fertilizer subsidy for tea and rubber cultivations. We have also taken measures to provide a 7 perch plot of land for each landless estate worker. Steps will be taken to introduce rubber cultivation in the Jaffna district.

V S Radhakrishnan (UPFA): There is an improvement in the facilities provided to the estate sector. The main problem prevailing in the plantation sector is housing facilities. Therefore, it is commendable, the government’s decision to provide a plot of seven perch land to landless estate workers.

Deputy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody takes the Chair.

Chandrakumar Murugesu (UPFA): It is necessary to provide lands to over 4,000 landless families in Kilinochchi and over 1,000 landless families in Jaffna. A number of people living in the North and East have lost the deeds to their own lands during the war. Therefore, necessary action should be taken to provide them with deeds. Coconut cultivation is very important for the Northern Province. A number of coconut lands have turned barren due to the war in the North. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage coconut farmers in the North by providing necessary facilities, including saplings and fertiliser subsidy.

Deputy Chairman of Committees Murugesu Chandrakumar takes the Chair

Ravi Karunanayake (UNP): The Civil Aviation service should be maintained in a manner that the people may benefit. There should be a national plan to develop the civil aviation service. Mihin Lanka is incurring very big losses. However, the Mihin Lanka and SriLankan Airlines should be amalgamated without taxing the innocent people.

You still have 150 foreign pilots. You have to recruit local pilots. In a democratic country, there should be a free vibrant media.

Coconut Development Minister Jagath Pushpakumara: The Sathosa was opened for 24 hours and 500 workers were removed from it. Those people who did it are now speaking in this House.

But now Sathosa has changed into a profit earning body. Now there are more than 300 branches islandwide, enabling poor people to by their commodities at cheap rates.

Now a person questions as to who turned the Paddy Marketing Board bankrupt. Sathosa presently makes a profit of Rs 78 million due to the untiring efforts of Minister Johnston Fernando, who celebrates his birthday today, under the directions of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

I am happy to say that we have been able to control the price of coconuts. We have developed coconut cultivation.

Sajin Vaas Gunawardena (UPFA): In 1987, a Rs 1.8 billion loss had been incurred by SriLankan Airlines.

Most of the airlines across the world have been given subsidies. Have we got to close these airlines just because they are running at a loss? A 60 percent cost operation is spent on fuel. However, tourist arrivals have increased. All the A340s will have to be replaced in 3 years time.

If the UNP took it over, they would sell it and say “we sold it off” as you did to Sathosa. We are not doing that.

‘Mattala’ is being developed and we are not closing Katunayake Airport. Very soon, the Katunayake Airport would be expanded.

R. Yogarajan (UNP): A wage increase for plantation workers will be in March. Some had questioned about the productivity of these workers. In large scale plantation estates, the per hectare yield is half of what the smallholders receive.

Civil Aviation Minister Priyankara Jayaratne: The aviation service celebrates its 100th anniversary on December 7.

We are proud of our aviation sector, which promotes the good name and glory of Sri Lanka. The SriLankan Airlines will be added with 5 new planes in 2013. Presently, we have 22 planes. The loss in the SriLankan Airlines had been reduced and we hope to convert it to a profit-making venture in the near future. This endeavour needs the support of all.

Mihin Lanka owns three planes. Some wanted for its merger with the Sri Lankan Airlines.

But we are unable to do so. Those instructions would operate separately. The passenger capacity of the Bandaranaike International Airport will be increased upto 18 million in 2018. This capacity is about 7 million as at present.

Deputy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody takes the Chair.

Cooperatives and Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando: Some of our old friends in the Opposition told me that there was nothing to be criticized in this budget. We thank the President for presenting an all inclusive budget.

The UNP has no right to speak about the Cooperative Movement. The UNP did not spend at least a cent to develop this sector. The President wrote off the debts of the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment which amounted to Rs. 1 billion. We have also established Cope-Cities and Mini-Coope cities and pumped a new lease of life into the Cooperative Movement. The President even from this budget spoke about the cooperative sector. The Opposition should praise the support given by the President towards this sector.

The “Guru Gedara” collects about Rs. 500 million as membership fees. It has been strengthened. We provide loans to teachers for their needs through it. The “Guru Gedara” does not belong to any trade union, but it is a people’s movement. We do not let any trade union to ruin it.

The Finance Heads were passed

The House was adjourned until 9.30 a.m today.

MP says privileges violated

Kurunegala District UPFA Parliamentarian Shantha Bandara, yesterday said that his privleges had been violated by the act of criticizing the impeachment motion moved against Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake, by a UNP Parliamentarian during a political debate in a private television channel on December 04, 2012, neglecting the Speaker’s instructions and the Opposition Leader’s emphatic request not do so. He made this observation in Parliament raising a privilege matter. He stated that he took part in a political debate in a private television channel at 10 pm on December 4.

Its topic was strikes, protests and demands. A UNP politician, Education Deputy Minister and a trade union activist too joined the debate. The UNP MP continuously stated that the impeachment motion was against democracy and said that the Opposition Leader too at a time emphatically stated that the members should refrain from speaking about the PSC.

PSC receives impeachment documents

It is reported that all bank documents pertaining to the impeachment motion against Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayake, had been received by the Parliamentary Select Committee.

According to sources, the documents had been sent by heads of respective institutions to the PSC appointed to investigate into the impeachment motion that includes 14 charges against the Chief Justice.

The PSC is meet today in Parliament and Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayake, will appear before it at 2.30 pm. According to sources, a separate secretariat has been set up in the 1st Floor of the Parliament Complex in connection with the business of the PSC.

The PSC met yesterday in Parliament Complex without the participation of the Chief Justice. It is also reported that the one month period of the PSC would expire on December 14.

The Opposition members sitting in the PSC have requested to avoid meetings during parliamentary vacation, reports said.