Dr. Amunugama calls for technical training for rural population

In order to develop the village, the rural population must be provided with land, capital and technical training, Minister for Special Assignments Dr. Sarath Amunugama said.

The Minister made these comments while addressing the 26th Annual Session of the Women’s Development Federation ( Kantha Sanwardhana Maha Sangamaya) recently.

Dr. Amunugama was representing President Maithripala Sirisena as the chief guest of this event that took place on 29 December at the Singapore Community Centre in Hambantota . About 5000 representatives of rural women volunteers of the Hambantota and Moneragala districts took part in the event. 

Members of the organisation displayed their skills and talents while the Minister made presentations of prizes, certificates and other awards to the volunteers to further motivate them. This particular women’s development association is engaged in the economic and social empowerment of 72,000 poor families in the Hambantota and Moneragala districts. 

A large gathering including Prof. Carlo Fonseka and former Government Agent Mithrapala who was the initiator of this movement were also present.

Speaking further the Minister said: “Three things are essential for the development of the village. Firstly the rural people must be given land. Secondly they must be provided with the necessary capital. The third thing is technical training. Without these you cannot develop the village.

The land laws must be amended to make it possible for land to be provided easily to people who genuinely engage themselves in some industry or a trade benefitting the country. Such people should be given land for free. We cannot develop a country without doing so.  Our special attention should be directed not at large scale investors but the small and medium investors. The traditional lending program of the state banks in Sri Lanka have failed. 

It is the Sri Lankan woman who has contributed most to the economy. It is women who contribute to the three principal sources of income of the country. It is the women who are employed in the Middle East, the women who are engaged in the garment industry and the women who are employed in the tea industry who bring in the biggest income to the country. We must now start a venture to make women the providers of the fourth biggest source of income also. In all likelihood women’s volunteer services like this can be made partners in such a venture.

Whatever economic analysis we may engage ourselves in, whatever strategies we may adopt, unless we succeed in raising the level of income of the rural family, no government will survive for long. That is the reality. Today many people are searching for solutions to this problem. Those solutions must be practical. In 1947 and 1948 the population of Sri Lanka was 6 million, today it has risen to 21. In our own lifetime the population has increased fourfold.

The welfare programs initiated by the state are now facing a problem due to the increase in population. We will not curtail the welfare measures, whatever problem we may have to face. In order to provide welfare, we must increase the national income. The population increases but the resources are limited. In order to overcome this contradiction we must strengthen the rural economy of our country. It is the government’s endeavour to develop the country, including the rural economy and thereby  provide the people with a better standard of living, enhancing  their incomes, while refraining from curtailing the present welfare measures.”