May 15, 2020 (LBO) - President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that irrational laws should not obstruct the policies formulated to achieve the economic objectives of the people.
The President stated this during a discussion with officials and ministry secretaries attached to the Plantation Industry sector at the Presidential Secretariat on May 14.The meeting was called to find solutions to a number of issues rooted in the Plantation Industry.
President Rajapaksa stressed that the state and affiliated institutions should not resort to legal measures and instead resolve their issues through discussion. Long rooted legal issues between the State Timber Corporation and the Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation were discussed in depth.
The President also emphasized the importance of removing the plantations that are not suitable to the country or harmful to environmental conservation of Sri Lanka and planting the crops most suitable to the country.
"State
institutions should be maintained without burdening the treasury. It should not
take long to present these strategies. Mutual understanding among state
institutions and proper awareness about state policies will ensure that there
would not be any conflicts among institutions. When a government makes the
right decision with regard to a state policy, all state institutions should
comply. There should be no room to withhold carrying out the right thing.
The state official who could not execute the right thing is a burden to this nation. The state official is an individual who resolves issues and not neglects them." President Rajapaksa stressed.
The President noted that a decision was taken to cease the importation of Ethanol which had been traumatizing the economy for a long time and he added that he would not withdraw his decision due to any influence from businessmen.
It was revealed during the meeting that state institutions had to resort to legal action as the affiliated institutions had not properly discussed their issues with each other. It came to light that the Land Reforms Commission has filed over 800 cases and 300 out of them were against the Plantation Corporation.
Minister Romesh Pathirana and Secretary to the President J.B Jayasundera were also present at the discussion.