• Motorcycles at concessionary rate
• A 1,500 housing complex in Diyagama, Homagama

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By Charumini de Silva

The Government yesterday said that it has planned a program to upgrade the welfare of media personnel to provide motorcycles and houses at concessionary rates.

Mass Media Minister Gayantha Karunathilleke said instead of white vans, the good governance Government would certainly look into the wellbeing of media personnel. 

“As the first step, we have decided to provide motorcycles at a concessionary rate to media personnel,” he told the media at a press briefing held at the Finance Ministry yesterday.

The applicant should fulfil the following criteria: a citizen of Sri Lanka, five years of experience in the industry (minimum), registered member of the Department of Government Information and a valid motor bicycle license.

Karunathilleke said that during the discussion held with Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, he suggested designing a scheme for his Ministry to allocate funds. The suitable applications will be reviewed by a committee appointed by the Ministry of Mass Media Secretary where the Secretary’s decision would be considered as the final approval. 

“One of the suggestions that we often get from the journalists was to create an environment that would enable freedom of expression. Without limiting ourselves to providing freedom for journalists to carry out their duties, the Government will always look at ways to upgrade the lives of the media personnel. We, as a Government that recognises the importance of media freedom, have reassured media freedom in this country after many years,” he noted.

He also said that a 1,500 housing complex dedicated for media personnel would be constructed in a land which belonged to the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC).

“We have acquired a 100 acre land which belonged to SLBC in Diyagama, Homagama. The survey of land was commenced yesterday and we hope to build around 1,500 houses in an environmentally-friendly manner,” he told the Daily FT. The Minister added that they would call for cost-effective constructors from both the private and public sectors.

However, he failed to provide any financial details on the proposed project as it is still in its preliminary stages. 

“When I took over as the Mass Media Minister, I made a promise to media personnel that I would consider their welfare. A house of their own was a dream for most of them. Therefore, the completion of this project would greatly benefit them,” he added.

The Minister promised that more welfare benefits related to media personnel would be revealed by next week.

Ravi K urges media to exercise caution and precision

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake yesterday urged media personnel to be more cautious and precise in reporting about the country’s economy.  

He charged that instead of highlighting the pertinent, the media has been highlighting what is irrelevant lately.

“There have been a few baseless, adverse reports about my Ministry as well as on the state of the economy. These are being read by the international community and it creates a bad image for the country. Thus I humbly suggest my media friends be more accurate and cautious in bringing it before the public,” the Minister told at a media briefing held at his Ministry yesterday.

Further clarifying his point, Karunanayake said, “We were handed over an economy that was bankrupt and we are trying our best to rebound the economy without putting the burden on the general public.”

He said the entire burden was taken over by the Finance Ministry and the Government, but adverse reports were tarnishing the goodwill of the country.

“I do not care about adverse reports on myself, but they cannot compromise the economy that we are rebuilding,” he added.

Karunanayake explained that it took no time to tarnish goodwill, but took a lot of toil to build it.