Even though the political culture of the country is neck deep in corruption and fraud at all levels and it cannot be changed for the better from the top echelons to the lowest rungs overnight, the present government is shouldering the difficult task of creating a group of honest politicians who love the motherland, President Maithripala Sirisena said.
“In the face of the all insults and accusations, my endeavour is to surmount all challenges and build a clean political culture the people desire,” the President added.
The President was speaking at a meeting held at the Talawa playground to mark the presentation of land title deeds to farmers in the Mahaweli ‘H’ Zone.
President Sirisena who noted that the government had performed a massive amount of work within a short period, unprecedented by any previous government, despite all criticism and allegations leveled against it, added that the government’s top priority was to rebuild the national economy by strengthening the farmers’ economy.
He said under the Moragahakanda project which would realise the hopes and aspirations of the farmers which form the majority population into fruition, a very large number were being simultaneously rehabilitated for the first time after the period of Sinhala kings.
“This process would soon bring progress and prosperity to farmers living in those areas,” the President said.
“The government was also in the process of finding a lasting solution to the garbage problem which past governments had miserably failed to tackle. No future government would face the garbage problem because the problem would be tackled once and for all by next year. For the first time in the country garbage will be used to generate electricity and produce carbonic fertiliser,” the President said.
He said carbonic fertiliser manufactured under this project within the first and second cycles would be distributed free of charge among farmers in the country.
Land title deeds were presented to 6,200 farmer families at this ceremony. President Sirisena symbolically presented land deeds to 100 of them. The Maha Sangha, clergy of other religious, Ministers P. Harison and Chandrani Bandara, Deputy Ministers Anuradha Jayaratne, Indika Bandaranayake and Taranath Basnayake NCP Governor P. B. Dissanayake, Parliamentarian Chandima Mahindasoma and former Minister Tissa Karaliyadda were also present on the occasion.
After the ceremony, President Sirisena visited the premises of the Eppawala Co-operative Society where he had earlier worked as a supplies officer and had a chat with its employees who had been his colleagues at the institution.
The co-operative staff who gave him a rousing welcome also presented a special memento to him. Co-operative Society president Sarath Chandrasekera too presented a special memento to President Maithripala Sirisena and handed over to him the personal file that President Sirisena maintained at the Co-operative Society during his stint as supplies officer.
The President also posed for a group photograph with the Eppawala Co-operative staff.