Sirisena backs consistent national policies

Tuesday, 23 June 2015 00:26 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Says it’s time intellectuals tell Parliamentarians how to transcend election terms

By Waruni Paranagamage

President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday threw his weight behind efforts to develop national policies that will transcend Government terms and promote good governance.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the discussions titled ‘Campaign for Sound National Policies’ organised by the Centre for Development Research and Interventions (CDRI), President Sirisena noted the educated population in the country could play a significant role by teaching Parliamentarians to work under a national policy framework, in order to establish good governance.

“The intellects in this country have a responsibility to educate the politicians about the significance of having a national policy on each sector. They should also get a pledge from the Parliamentarians to follow the national policy to achieve their set targets,” the President said.

LEAD-PIC

He asserted that there should be national policies for the country that did not depend on policies of elected Government.

“In India, they have national policies that don’t change due to the needs of the elected government. They have stable national policies,” he pointed out.

Outlining the negative impacts of frequently changing national policies, he added that it was high time Sri Lanka implemented national policies on emphasised sectors, which would assist the country to achieve one objective.

“In Sri Lanka the national policies change when the government changes. Even policies the ministers want to implement change according to ministerial positions that take place even under the same government,” he noted.

The President asserted that civil society could push the Government and Parliamentarians towards a sound national policy by way of getting the support from ministers and Parliamentarians for their campaigns.

He said the unity among political parties was also imperative to ensure sound national policies.

However, the President said that he had never seen any president who had emphasised the significance of national policies to Parliamentarians during his 25-year political career.

Focus on knowledge-based economy

Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka yesterday stressed the country should prepare its labour force to explore knowledge-based job opportunities to compete with other Asian nations.

The Minister asserted that the world’s biggest economy again had been upheld by Asian countries after five decades and Asia was now converting into a knowledge-oriented economy.

“In 2010 the world transited into a new industrial revolution and it was a knowledge-based economy. With high consumption patterns, natural energy sources such as oil, gas and coal will be no longer available in years to come. Hence, it is better to invest in knowledge-based industries than natural power resources,” the Minister added.

Champika further pointed out that research had revealed that the population growth in Sri Lanka during 1992 had been surpassed by the labour force growth speed and the structural changes and was a significant opportunity for the country to achieve economic development tasks.

“We should prepare the labour force in the country to deal with knowledge-based economy. Therefore, we need a sound national policy to lead the economy in order to find out best investment opportunities for the country,” the Minister added.