By Chamodi Gunawardana

The United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) yesterday charged the United National Party’s (UNP) manifesto would pave the path for the death of the country’s free health service.

Pointing to a section of the UNP manifesto, UPFA Colombo District candidate and former Minister Bandula Gunawardena charged that the UNP expected to convert the Health Department into a Health Authority. 

“The UNP has mentioned that they would establish a National Health Service Authority which would come under the control of a Director General on behalf of the Health Department. It expects to generate a number of boards to work on each health sector issue. We believe that this new proposal will definitely push Sri Lanka’s free health service towards its end,” Gunawardena alleged.

He added that health sector employees should take to the streets against this matter without keeping their mouths shut. 

“Sri Lanka has 601 State hospitals, 7,903 doctors, 1,055 assistant doctors, 33,967 nurses and 8,215 attendants to provide a good health service. The UNP’s proposal would place them at risk. If this proposal is implemented, those employees’ pensions will be removed. Therefore those parties should stand against this and urge the UNP to withdraw the proposal,” Gunawardena charged.

Meanwhile, UPFA Matara District Group Leader Dallas Alahapperuma alleged that five new universities which the former Government expected to open last January had been halted due to the new Government’s political agenda.

“We hoped to open five new universities in Jaffna, Kurunegala, Kuliyapitiya, Ratmalana, Matara and Kegalle. Around 40,000 students have applied to them. We were expected to conduct 32 new subjects through those campuses. However, the UNP Government did not pay much attention to start them and those students who applied are in trouble because of it,” Alahapperuma asserted.

Dilan claims Harin can’t hide faults

Attacking the statement made by Uva Chief Minister Harin Fernando, UPFA Media Committee Chairman and former Minister Dilan Perera claimed that Fernando could not cover his own faults by offering him a can of poison.

“Fernando has offered poison for me to drink. I would like to say that he cannot hide his misconduct by offering poison to me. In the same way, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and the Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran cannot cover their faults either,” Perera asserted.