By Shamindra Ferdinando

Dissident SLPP MP and former External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris has said in Jaffna that SJB leader Sajith Premadasa does not make promises he cannot keep.Prof. Peiris emphasized that the SJB leader made pledges only after careful consideration. He was in Jaffna to promote Premadasa’s candidature at the forthcoming Presidential Poll expected to be conducted in Sept/Oct this year.

Premadasa recently declared in Kilinochchi that he would fully implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. Subsequently, Premadasa also held talks with a top TNA delegation and reiterated his assurance. President Ranil Wickremesinghe and NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, too, have made similar promises.

Premadasa won all polling divisions in the North at the last presidential election conducted in Nov. 2019, though he lost the election by a substantial margin to SLPP candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Declaring that Premadasa was the candidate who could address the grievances of the Northerners and grant them their aspirations, Prof. Peiris said that in addition to credibility, the electorate should pay attention to his assurance to tackle waste, corruption and mismanagement and two major initiatives-Sakwala (in aid of schools) and Husma (in support of hospitals) conducted for the benefit of the masses.

Prof. Peiris said that the SJB leader was determined to hold the Provincial Council elections as soon as possible. He reiterated Premadasa’s commitment to conduct the PC polls within six months following the presidential election.

Prof. Peiris said: “Sajith Premadasa has been very pragmatic, very practical in identifying his priorities. He regards the whole country as one. And diversity in ethnicity, religion, in culture to him is a great source of strength. It adds to the vitality of our nation. It is not a source of weakness. It is not a source of problems. But it is a resource to be exploited in full in carrying our country forward at a challenging time.”

Underscoring the responsibility on the part of the government, PCs and Local Government institutions all act in unison for the benefit of the people, Prof. Peiris said that approximately 40% of the funds that had been allocated to PCs weren’t utilised and returned to the Treasury due to the failure on the part of PCs to use those allocations for the benefit of people. “The money was allocated. Money was physically there. But the PCs didn’t have the capability and the capacity to spend those resources for the wellbeing of the people. So, there is a dire need to strengthen these structures. And this will be one of our priority objectives of the Sajith Premadasa administration.”

Recollecting his role in the late Ranasinghe Premadasa’s Presidential Commission on Youth, Prof. Peiris said that the new administration would address the issue of unemployment earnestly.

The former minister also dealt with the agricultural sector and Sajith Premadasa’s plans to give it a mega boost.

Prof. Peiris said that the Opposition had submitted to the Secretary General of Parliament Kushani Rohanadeera a comprehensive piece of legislation to combat corruption and bring back Sri Lanka’s stolen assets stashed away oveseas.