{"id":41878,"date":"2015-06-29T01:12:32","date_gmt":"2015-06-29T05:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=41878"},"modified":"2015-06-29T01:12:32","modified_gmt":"2015-06-29T05:12:32","slug":"the-ten-years-i-worked-with-president-chandrika-kumaratunga-was-an-enjoyable-period","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=41878","title":{"rendered":"“The Ten Years I Worked with President Chandrika Kumaratunga was an Enjoyable Period”."},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/p>\n

Chandra Wickramasinghe<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Former Prime Minister and President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga who was born on June 29th 2015 Celebrates her 70th Birthday today)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

My very first encounter with President Chandrika Kumaratunga, (which was somewhat fortuitous) goes back to the early 1970s when she was functioning as Additional Director, Youth Employment.<\/p>\n

Fresh from her studies at Science Po at Sorbonne, her mother who was the Prime Minister at the time, may have thought it best to initially put her daughter through her paces in the public service by getting her to work with a veteran administrator like K.H.J.Wijeyadasa who was functioning during this period as Land Reform Commission chairman.<\/p>\n

I happened to drop in to see my good friend Wije and could not help noticing this vivacious young lady occupying a table in a corner of his room.<\/p>\n

While chatting with me Wije, asked me slyly, whether I knew who the nice looking lady was. I said that although I had not met her before, I could guess who she was.<\/p>\n

I enquired from Wije whether it caused him any embarrassment to have the Prime Minister\u2019s daughter sitting and working in a corner of his room. While replying in the negative,Wije said that she never attempted to throw her weight around but was on the other hand shy and self \u2013effacing in her demeanour.<\/p>\n

Wije said she was a real busy body, always on the move visiting the numerous youth camps islandwide. He said she leaves early in the morning and returns late in the evening looking quite tired and worn out. She goes home and gets her sleep and is off again, like a prayer, the next morning on her islandwide circuits.<\/p>\n

Wije asked me whether I had noticed the out sized satchel which was on her table. It was of course there, for all to see. He said it was a rather cavernous bag where she put all her knick-knacks and paraphernalia and had it slung on her shoulder whenever she went out. I looked at her closely and thought that she looked demure and composed, answering exactly to Wije\u2019s description of her.<\/p>\n

Wije then asked me whether he should introduce me to her, but before he could get up, I stood up and left receiving from her a dazzling smile,while passing her table. My first impressions of her could not have therefore, possibly been anything other than, most favourable!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

President Kumaratunga was extremely careful in the selection of officers to work for her. It was natural that she should pick officers who were dependable and in whom she could repose the utmost trust and confidence. In point of fact, I myself was not sure whether I would continue to remain in the Presidential Secretariat once she assumed duties as President, as she hardly knew me.<\/p>\n

I remember clearly the President summoning me the very next day to her room for a good one hour \u2018chat\u2019 as she called it, in the course of which she elicited from me a detailed account of my career in the public service and some basic details about my family background. As it was a frank and open discussion, I was quite candid in expressing my views on the Secretaries and the three Presidents I had worked for earlier.<\/p>\n

Inescapable impression<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the end of the meeting, I was left with the inescapable impression that the interview was a veritable litmus test to find out for herself whether I would be an asset to her in the onerous tasks that lay before her.<\/p>\n

This was her way of gauging officers and satisfying herself that they would live up to her expectations without going on hearsay or on what others say about them. She terminated the interview by wishing me well and hoping that I would be happy working for her.<\/p>\n

In the conversations she had with me subsequently, she spoke about her student days in Paris where she had taken part in some of the spontaneous popular demonstrations against oppressive and unjust legislation impinging on the day to day lives of the common people. In a matter of fact manner, she used to recount how she spent hours behind hurriedly erected barricades with students and others registering their strong protest. She had been quite dismayed by the violence that was taking place in Sri Lanka, following the second phase of the JVP revolt and the simultaneous eruption of terrorism unleashed by the LTTE.<\/p>\n

She said she ruminated hours on end, on the basic causes of such widespread violence and why they assumed such virulent forms. She was of the view that violence manifested in the face of grievances, imagined or real. Where grievances were real and legitimate, there was the imperative need to have frank and open discussions with a view to negotiating reasonable and mutually acceptable solutions which were reasonable and just and therefore likely to be durable and enduring. Where grievances were imaginary and grossly unreasonable, the party was likely to be intransigent and unyielding, with a marked proclivity to resort to violence to achieve its objectives.<\/p>\n

She abjured the use of arms except as the very last alternative where the opposing party spurned a negotiated settlement and unilaterally had recourse to violence.<\/p>\n

She was deeply conscious of the fact that with the donning of the mantle of the Executive Presidency following the overwhelming popular mandate she had received, there were the corresponding duties and heavy responsibilities cast on her, to do her utmost to work for the well being of the people and the economic development of the country.Her major concerns,at that stage appeared to be centred on curbing widespread lawlessness, poverty alleviation and the problem of landlessness both among the urban poor living in slums owned by slum landlords as well as the debt ridden rural poor, whose little allotments had been acquired by mudalalis and rich landowners, following their being mortgaged to them.<\/p>\n

In the ebullience of youth, combined with her decidedly socialistic leanings, she had the wider vision of narrowing income disparities and the resultant economic inequalities, which she firmly believed were the principal causes of political instability and social disharmony in the country.<\/p>\n

Her vision encompassed a country devoid of racial and religious tensions, where all it\u2019s citizens could live in harmony and peace. She firmly believed that the enforcement of the law of the land, justly and equitably, was paramount in creating a stable political,economic and social environment in which all citizens would be able to live in peace and dignity.<\/p>\n

She held the firm conviction that unless the Tamil minority problem was settled on a reasonable and lasting basis, LTTE terrorism would continue unabated.<\/p>\n

She felt this would delay unduly, the realisation of the broader vision she had for the accelerated development of the country. This was what made the urgent resolution of the ethnic issue, one of her first priorities, by addressing frontally, the key problem of LTTE terrorism, which was holding the entire country in it\u2019s paralyzing thrall.<\/p>\n

Determination<\/strong><\/p>\n

Her determination was to settle the problem once and for all,by negotiating an abiding settlement with the progenitors of terrorism \u2013 the LTTE. In her determined endeavour to see a finality to the conflict, she perhaps,over-reached herself in offering overly generous terms of settlement to the wily and die-hard terrorist, Prabhakaran , which the latter had the temerity to turn down in his over bearing arrogance!<\/p>\n

With the realisation that there was little hope of a settlement being negotiated with the incorrigibly intransigent terrorist Prabhakaran, she had no alternative other than to resolve to meet force with force till LTTE terrorism was eradicated and a mutually acceptable settlement of the Tamil minority problem negotiated with the civilian Tamil population who were suffering as much as the Sinhala people ,under the jackboot of LTTE terrorism.<\/p>\n

She was acutely conscious of the fact that the plans she had for national development on an accelerated programme, would suffer by the diversion of scarce resources and funds for fighting terrorism over an extended period. In her desperation she saw some hope when the Norwegians volunteered to intercede on her behalf to persuade the LTTE to end their seemingly interminable terrorist activities which were only enervating the national economy of the country and increasing the misery of it\u2019s citizens.<\/p>\n

The ministers, as well as the officials who worked closely with her were amazed at the energy, the capacity and will displayed by her as well as the focused attention she gave the several major issues that had to be addressed by her concurrently. I have personally watched her displaying this astounding ability where she read an exhaustive report submitted by me, questioning me on certain issues I had raised and making her own marginal comments on them, while giving her rulings at the same time on certain urgent matters brought to her attention by others who came into her room.<\/p>\n

We soon realised that despite the impression conveyed of seeming desultoriness in her handling of problems, she was nevertheless acutely aware of and deeply conscious of what she said and did!<\/p>\n

Unauthorised occupation of state land<\/strong><\/p>\n

The problem of widespread landlessness which was particularly acute in urban areas and which was beginning to be felt even in rural areas, made her first identify the problem and its magnitude, before attempting to work out feasible solutions. This was an eminently practical approach she learnt to adopt when faced with major national problems. She was informed of vast extents of state land, some comprising prime land in the city and in the suburbs, which had been leased out to people, who had in turn leased them out to others who had over the years, become landlords collecting extortionate rentals from their tenants, but paying only the paltry lease rentals fixed several decades ago or not paying even that to the State.<\/p>\n

This was particularly the case with regard to road and railway reservations leased out years ago to politically favoured people who were working in collusion with clerks handling land matters in the Departments concerned.<\/p>\n

The magnitude of the problem was such that she realised the urgent need, even at that late stage, was to set up a representative Presidential Committee to examine the current basis of alienation of state land with a view to identifying the weaknesses that inhered in the land alienation policies in operation and to recommend a new set of policies which would,whilst not lending themselves to abuse by lessees acting in collusion with unscrupulous clerical staff, would follow practical guidelines to meet the felt needs of the landless poor, both in the urban and rural areas.<\/p>\n

She was shocked to discover that the alienation of state land was being carried out in an ad hoc manner by ministries, departments and corporations in open violation of the laws and regulations laid down for such alienation.<\/p>\n

This was happening particularly, where certain ministers had some leeway available to them, in relation to the alienation of land, falling within the purview of their ministries. They had at times, exploited to the maximum, the latitude available to them under the relevant regulations, to alienate land coming within the purview of their ministries, in an arbitrary manner.<\/p>\n

Review of Land Alienation policies<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the first tasks she addressed her mind to was the need for a total review of the extant policies of the alienation of state land in the possession of government departments as well as state corporations and statutory bodies. With this objective in view she appointed a high level Presidential Committee chaired by the writer and comprising as members, six ministry secretaries, a representative of the Attorney General,the Chief Valuer, the Deputy Legal Draftsman and the Deputy Surveyor General.<\/p>\n

This committee was given clear terms of reference empowering it to access documents in ministries and departments which the committee deemed necessary for it\u2019s purposes.The committee had several sittings at which matters needing clarification and further elucidation were examined in depth.<\/p>\n

I must say that all members of the Presidential Committee participated actively in the exhaustive discussions, contributing valuable inputs with the knowledge and the wide experience they possessed. I am sure they were all deeply conscious of the fact that the proposals made by the Committee would constitute a veritable landmark in Land Alienation Policy, that would stand the test of time.<\/p>\n

As the report covered virtually every aspect of the alienation of state land, President Kumaratunga showed a personal interest in ensuring that there were no loose ends that would enable interested parties to circumvent the regulations laid down, by sitting down with me for a good two hours and going through the report while questioning me all the time and making amendments to proposals, where such revisions were deemed necessary by her.<\/p>\n

The Report and it\u2019s recommendations were approved by Cabinet and were issued as circular instructions which I must say, are operative even today,with a few amendments made to adjust to changing times and circumstances.<\/p>\n

Wherever there were weaknesses in existing land policies, she did not hesitate to set up a Presidential Committee under my Chairmanship to investigate such weaknesses and recommend remedial action. She astutely kept a close tab on these investigations by obtaining regular progress reports on how things were progressing. As for me, it was a pleasure to work for her as she maintained a cordial and easy relationship with officers, unlike President Premadasa who drove officers very hard by giving them near impossible deadlines to finish their assignments.<\/p>\n

I remember how early in her tenure in office, she summoned me and said the Railway Department had acres and acres of land that had been leased to private parties at nominal rates years ago, and where the clerks in charge of the subject were routinely extending these leases annually at the same old lease rents while collecting a lot of money from the lessees and pocketing it.<\/p>\n

She convened a meeting with Srimani Athulathmudali where the latter was informed that she was appointing me to examine these malpractices and to ensure that the co-operation of all ministry and department officials was extended to me in probing into this fraud, which had been successfully carried on by the clerks in charge of the subject over several years.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, I had a series of discussions in the President\u2019s Office, the Ministry and the Railway Department, along with some field visits to some of the sites concerned, to check on the facts, first hand.<\/p>\n

The exhaustive investigations made were most revealing. It transpired that there were about 13,000 acres of Crown land which had been encroached on. These encroachments were for the most part on railway reservations on either side of the railtrack that had been encroached on illegally, by squatters. The balance land belonging to the department comprised sizeable extents that had been acquired decades earlier for the proposed extension of the narrow gauge railway beyond Avissawella.<\/p>\n

As this project had been abandoned, people had been given annual leases of the land by the Department. The lessees had planted permanent standing crops on some of these lands. It was revealed that in the case of lands that had been leased out in this manner, rentals had not been revised for years while the original lessees had sold the land to others without obtaining permission to do so.<\/p>\n

It also turned out that some of these new lessees had become virtual land owners collecting monthly rentals from their sub-tenants. On submission of the report to the President the following decisions were taken by her.<\/p>\n

1)To get a comprehensive survey done by the Surveyor General of the 13,000 acres.<\/p>\n

2) To cancel all leases given to private parties and to take immediate disciplinary action against the Railway employees who had defaulted in renewing the annual rentals.<\/p>\n

3)To clear the railway reservations on either side of the railtrack of squatters and to re-settle them in the substantial extents of railway land available, by allotting six to 10 perches of land to each person so evicted.<\/p>\n

4) To utilise the balance railway land in the suburbs and in the districts to settle eligible landless people.<\/p>\n

5)To utilise the prime railway land available in the city, to start hotel and housing development projects with the active participation of the private sector.<\/p>\n

The President\u2019s involvement in land development matters could well be gauged from the number of Presidential Committees I was appointed to Chair, relating to important aspects of land policy- viz.<\/p>\n

1) The felling and transportation of state timber.<\/p>\n

2) The alienation of lands by the Land Reform Commission during the period- 2002- 2004.<\/p>\n

3) Committee to draft a policy and set out procedures in regard to the alienation of properties belonging to the Urban Development Authority (UDA) and the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLR&DC).<\/p>\n

4) Committee to review land alienation carried out by the Janatha Estate Development Board (JEDB)and the Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation during the period 2002 – 2004.<\/p>\n

5) Committee to examine the setting up of a Property Development and Management Company to manage and develop properties belonging to government departments, corporations and Statutory Boards.<\/p>\n

6) Co-chaired the Committee to inquire into the allocation of lands from Pool Bank Estate in Hatton .<\/p>\n

7) Committee to identify the problems relating to land purchases by foreigners and recommend the policy to be followed in the future.<\/p>\n

8) Committee to examine and report on the powers of Divisional Secretaries to alienate state land.<\/p>\n

Once these reports and the recommendations were submitted to the President, she never failed to go through each report personally and examine in detail, the recommendations made, raising questions and making amendments, where she thought such amendments were necessary. I still remember, how she scrutinised these, at times exhaustive reports closely, whilst simultaneously attending to other urgent files brought in by others.<\/p>\n

I used to marvel at the agility of mind she possessed, in moving from one important subject to a totally extraneous subject area and having disposed of the latter, revert back to the former subject, with remarkable facility! Once she was satisfied with the recommendations made in the reports, Cabinet approval was obtained to implement them. The President possessed an impish sense of humour which reflected the self- effacing side of her personality.<\/p>\n

There were times I found it extremely difficult to meet her to discuss and get directions on certain urgent matters. Once, having made an appointment to meet her in the morning, I made sure to be at Temple Trees well in time, before the others could come. To my dismay, I found several others including a couple of ministers, seated outside waiting to be called in.On being told that she was about to leave her residential quarters, I quickly walked up the corridor hoping to \u2018way lay\u2019 her and get quick directions at least on a couple of the more urgent matters. Accordingly, I met her coming down the long corridor and accosted her and started to brief her quickly on a few important matters requiring her urgent attention.<\/p>\n

When she turned into her office room I continued my briefing session, quite unmindful of the fact that she had reached the very corner of her office room and was standing outside a door which I imagined led to an ante room which served as an office. Observing my anxiety to continue my conversation with her, she looked at me quite unfazed but with a glint of mischief in her eyes and quietly said: \u201cThis is the washroom, would you like to come in\u201d ? I just turned on my heels and fled, joining those waiting patiently outside, till they were called in!<\/p>\n

I must also say that she did have an impulsive streak which made her go off at a tangent sometimes. She was however, quick to relent and convey her remorse graciously, when she realised that she had not been fair in doing, what she did.<\/p>\n

This certainly was an admirable side of her character which endeared her, to the officials who worked closely with her.<\/p>\n

Although I have worked quite closely with three other Presidents, I must say here, that rarely did any of the others, show the patience and the absorbing interest shown by her, in scrutinizing reports personally, the way she did.<\/p>\n

I must state here that the subject of land which the President felt was a critical area that tied up integrally with the national welfare of the people island-wide,was coincidentally a subject close to my heart. The President may have known this predilection of mine to deal with land matters and this was probably the reason why I was entrusted with this particular subject area. Land was however, only one of the subjects falling within the broad category of Economic Infrastructure. Some major policy programmes relating to infrastructure projects, were also assigned to me by her. This wider category covered certain key developmental programmes and individual projects having a major impact on the economic welfare and the living standards of both the urban and the rural people, across the country.<\/p>\n

I shall pick a few major development programmes handled during her tenure in office as President to show her abiding concern with the improvement of the living standards of the people.<\/p>\n

1) When she assumed Office as President only 33 percent of the country\u2019s population had access to electricity. By the end of her tenure the percentage of the population having access to electricity had almost doubled, viz. 66 percent.<\/p>\n

2) In the area of telecommunications, the progress made was equally remarkable. When she came into office, the country had only 100,000 fixed telephones and an equal number of mobile phones. By the end of 2005, at the end of which year she relinquished office, the number of fixed telephones had increased to 700,000 while the number of mobile telephones had jumped to two and a half million!<\/p>\n

She had the foresight to think at that stage, of modernising the existing net-work of roads, as she knew this would help immeasurably in reducing the time taken for travel and the transportation of goods, islandwide. The first express roadways were accordingly, conceived and begun during this period. She also initiated the first major port development programme undertaken since the time the island gained independence. The new airport, with the most modern facilities in the South Asian region, was also developed during this period. The Nelum Pokuna Complex was first conceived by her as a theatre, auditorium cum recreational complex, replete with restaurant facilities where ordinary people could go in and relax, free of any charge.<\/p>\n

At the initial stages I was involved with the project, particularly where I had to meet with the Chinese authorities to negotiate a reduction in the proportionate cost that had to be borne by Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

I have cited these examples picked by me at random, as they fell within the infrastructure development category which came under my purview, at that time. I am sure the other contributors who were in charge of other major areas like education, health care, transport etc. at the time, will deal with the substantial progress achieved during her tenure, in these critically important areas as well.<\/p>\n

The President did not hanker after publicity in the media for the numerous new projects she planned and implemented. She wanted to successfully implement these projects in the shortest possible time, her prime concern being, the major uplifting impact the projects would have on the economic welfare and the livelihoods of the lower middle class and the rural poor, who were eking out a living, at subsistence level.<\/p>\n

These were accomplished by the President unobtrusively, without giving any vaunting publicity to them. This was indeed, a facet of her personality and character. The officials placed in charge of the projects too, likewise, shunned publicity adopting a low profile attitude, devoting themselves towards working purposefully and single-mindedly to accomplish the tasks entrusted to them.<\/p>\n

The successful implementation of all the major projects and programmes was immensely facilitated by the informal and naturally easy manner in which she interacted with her officials.
\n
\nThe President\u2019s Fund \u2013 its munificence to the poor and the the needy<\/strong><\/p>\n

On assumption of office as President, she decided to have a close look at the activities of the President\u2019s Fund with a view to seeing whether such a facility could be utilised to greater advantage in the service of the people. The President\u2019s Fund had laid down certain principles of operation which covered a wide area of social welfare activities. These included assisting patients with life threatening illnesses, alleviation of poverty, financially assisting places of religious worship and engaging in and assisting any other welfare activity which in the opinion of the President and the Board, warranted such assistance.<\/p>\n

When she took office as President, she found the Fund had been seriously hampered in widening the scope of its on going activities by the limited funds at its disposal. She therefore, lost no time in ensuring that the Fund was assured of regular financial inflows, replenishing it constantly, by arranging for a certain percentage of the profits made by the Development Lotteries Fund to be channeled regularly to the President\u2019s Fund.<\/p>\n

She was keen on making the Fund viable and eventually self sustaining. She ensured this by investing prudently, the capital funds available, in both state and commercial banks, which guaranteed the best returns on the investments. These measures, I am happy to say, made the Fund gain substantially, thereby enabling its activities to be further expanded in the manner contemplated by her.
\n
\nGranting the required financial assistance to patients suffering from life-threatening illnesses<\/strong><\/p>\n

It had also occurred to her, right at the beginning, that the Fund could have a greater impact if certain modern diagnostic equipment not available even in the major hospitals, were given to these hospitals to enable patients to have expensive scans etc. done conveniently and free of charge, instead of their relying on private hospitals for such diagnostic reports, at enormous cost.<\/p>\n

Further, on being informed that poor patients suffering from life threatening heart and kidney ailments which required specialised treatment in India, could not obtain such specialised surgical treatment within the limited allocations granted by the President\u2019s Fund, she promptly instructed that all such cases be examined individually by the Health Ministry on the basis of the cost estimates obtained from Indian hospitals concerned to recommend enhanced grants from the President\u2019s Fund for such cases.<\/p>\n

This proved to be a great boon to poor patients who had no choice but to undergo specialised cardiac surgery, cancer treatment or kidney transplantation at reputed Indian or Singaporean hospitals.<\/p>\n

As some of these highly specialised surgical procedures were complicated, requiring pre and post surgical care and treatment, the cost involved was often prohibitive and was often far beyond the reach of poor patients.<\/p>\n

In such cases, special allocations going up to rupees one million for the treatment especially of cancer patients, were granted. It was indeed gratifying to receive many letters from grateful patients for the timely and generous assistance received by them from the President\u2019s Fund without which a good many would certainly have succumbed to these grave illnesses.<\/p>\n

In the case of the Armed Services and Police personnel and their family members, it was decided that the full cost of heart surgery, kidney transplantation and cancer treatment should be met by the President\u2019s Fund.<\/p>\n

The steep rise in the incidence of kidney failure and the assistance given by the Fund to combat the disease<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was a matter of grave concern that the numbers of patients suffering from kidney failure were showing a phenomenal increase across the island. Despite extensive research and investigation into the causes of the alarming increase in the numbers suffering from kidney disease, most research studies conducted came up with inconclusive evidence attributing it to bad water, the indiscriminate use of fertilizer, pesticides etc.<\/p>\n

As these research investigations failed to point to any definitive cause\/causes, one was constrained to surmise that the disease may be due to multifactorial causes endemic in the physical environment of these regions. The alarming increase of the victims afflicted with kidney failure and in the absence of any positive research findings as to its cause\/causes which would have helped in planning out and implementing effective preventive strategies, the President\u2019s Fund was compelled to focus on the curative side mostly by providing dialysis equipment to state hospitals and giving liberal allocations from the Fund to eventually do kidney transplantations.<\/p>\n

These patients have often to undergo costly dialysis treatment prior to their undergoing kidney trans- plantation.Accordingly, 392 patients requiring kidney transplantation during the period 1995 \u2013 1998 alone, were granted Rs. 107,500,000 by way of financial assistance from the President’s Fund.<\/p>\n

As the number of patients requiring kidney transplantation increased sharply in the subsequent years, the President\u2019s Fund had to meet the corresponding increases in expenditure.<\/p>\n

Additionally, it was also decided to grant assistance to provide dialysis machines to hospitals where there was a severe shortage of such life \u2013saving equipment.<\/p>\n

It was also decided by her to establish a Nephrology Dialysis and Transplantation Unit at Maligawatta which could serve kidney patients in the city as well as in the outlying districts. In pursuance of this the President\u2019s Fund granted Rs. 50 million towards the establishment of this Unit. Further, to assist people in the central and outlying provinces to have convenient access to these modern facilities, Rs. 50 million was released from the President\u2019s Fund for the establishment of a Nephrology (Kidney ) Unit in the new Kandy Hospital complex.<\/p>\n

Rs.10.3 million was also granted to the Health Ministry for the purchase of six dialysis machines to meet the needs of the patients who were in need of dialysis in Colombo, Kandy and Karapitiya Hospitals. All these measures proved to be of immense benefit to people in and around Colombo, Kandy and Galle to obtain costly treatment, free of charge. Rs. 5 million was also given to the Sri Jayewardenapura Hospital to set up the nucleus for a Renal Transplant Unit.<\/p>\n

As the need for modern diagnostic equipment was felt acutely by the National Hospital, it was decided by the President to grant Rs. 45 million from the President\u2019s Fund for the purchase of two MRI Scanners for the purpose. This sophisticated equipment was to facilitate the quick and accurate diagnosis of illnesses, which would in turn lead to the prompt and effective treatment of the afflicted patients.<\/p>\n

Improvement of cardio-thoracic facilities at the Colombo General Hospital and the Karapitiya Hospital<\/strong><\/p>\n

To effectively treat the increasing numbers of patients suffering from heart disease in the island, it was decided by the President to grant generous assistance from the Fund towards the improvement of cardio-thoracic facilities at the Colombo General Hospital and the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital. Rs. 110 million was granted to equip the new Cardiology wing of the General Hospital in Colombo while Rs. 65 million was released to improve the facilities at the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital.<\/p>\n

These new facilities for cardio \u2013thoracic treatment at Karapitiya Hospital proved a great boon particularly to poor patients suffering from heart ailments in the Southern Province.<\/p>\n

She also decided to assist in the setting up of a bone Marrow Cell Transplant Unit at the Cancer Institute Maharagama. Upto that time, cancer patients requiring such bone marrow cell transplants had to proceed to Indian Hospitals to go through this procedure. As the cost of the procedure was around Rs. six million only those in a position to raise such a large sum were able to avail of this high cost treatment. The setting up of this new Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Maharagama was indeed a significant breakthrough in specialised cancer treatment, as the procedure performed locally, cost only Rs. 268,000 per patient,which amount was met in full, by the President\u2019s Fund.<\/p>\n

In addition, patients suffering from cancer were assisted by the Fund to obtain expensive drugs required for treatment.<\/p>\n

Treatment of mental illness<\/strong><\/p>\n

The President who was alarmed by the rapidly increasing numbers of mental patients island wide, directed that Rs. 12 million be granted to the Health Ministry from the President\u2019s Fund, to improve and upgrade the facilities for the treatment of mentally ill patients, at state hospitals.<\/p>\n

Surgical treatment of Scoliosis<\/strong><\/p>\n

As scoliosis (curvature of the spine) was a crippling disease (which could be surgically corrected) afflicting adults as well as children, it was decided by her to grant Rs. 6 million to the Jayewardenepura Hospital to set up a Scoliosis Treatment Unit to treat patients suffering from this disabling and disfiguring disease.<\/p>\n

Grants to places of religious worship<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grants were also given from the President\u2019s Fund for urgent renovations to temples, churches, mosques and kovils. Between 1995 and 1999 alone, Rs. 53.3 million was granted to places of religious worship, for the aforesaid purpose.<\/p>\n

Rs. 5 million was granted from the Fund to the Buddha Sasana Ministry for the construction of a Pilgrims Rest in New Delhi to cater to the large number of Buddhist pilgrims visiting North India. Rs.10 million was granted to the Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to provide desks and chairs to Sunday\/Dhamma schools in the island.<\/p>\n

A Fund for innovators<\/strong><\/p>\n

The President felt that such a Fund could assist talented persons to be innovative by adopting and creating new technologies with an emphasis on the development of equipment and machinery, utilising locally available raw materials which would in turn help in generating self-employment, particularly among educated youth.The scheme envisaged granting financial assistance to persons who show creativity in designing equipment e.g.agricultural equipment ,industrial machinery, which would lead to greater efficiency by enhancing productivity and greater economy and also by the creation of new employment opportunities.<\/p>\n

The Presidential Scholarship Scheme<\/strong><\/p>\n

She also inaugurated the Presidential Scholarship Scheme for granting 100 scholarships annually to public sector employees and university lecturers to follow academic programmes and training courses at reputed universities abroad, in selected specialised fields that would assist in meeting the development needs of the country. The Fund also granted Rs. 10 million for the construction of a University Student\u2019s Hostel in Colombo. Rs. 5 million was also granted to the Youth Affairs, Sports and Rural Development Ministry for the setting up of a network of libraries in all electorates, with a view to encouraging the reading habit among the youth in the island.<\/p>\n

The President\u2019s Welfare Fund for Artistes<\/strong><\/p>\n

On learning that many erstwhile artistes were living in dire economic circumstances in their old age, the President decided to set up a President\u2019s Welfare Fund for such artistes who had served the nation in their heyday but who were now living in indigent circumstances, to receive a monthly allowance of Rs. 2,000 from the newly set up Fund, to help them tide over their pressing financial problems.This allowance was welcomed by these artistes, many of whom were in fact, living in abject penury.<\/p>\n

By 1999, the President\u2019s Fund had swelled to over Rs. 4 billion due to the prudent management of the Fund. This was due the singular dedication shown by the President, the staff of the President\u2019s Fund, from the staff officers and the clerks right down to the peons and minor employees who worked conscientiously and with unswerving commitment to illumine the lives of thousands of the less fortunate people of this country.<\/p>\n

This increase in the monies available enabled the Fund to enlarge the scope of the existing projects while commencing new ones, thereby extending much needed relief to the poorer segments of the population . The afore mentioned projects and programmes were among many others for which President\u2019s Fund monies were disbursed selectively,keeping within the policy guidelines and the vision and mission of the President.<\/p>\n

In conclusion , the writer wishes to state that he enjoyed working under President Kumaratunga and considers it a singular honour and privilege to have been afforded the opportunity to do so, for an extended period of 10 years.<\/p>\n

(The writer was the Former Additional Secretary to the President, Ambassador to France and Senior Advisor to the President)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Courtesy:Daily News<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Chandra Wickramasinghe (Former Prime Minister and President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga who was born on June 29th 2015 Celebrates her 70th Birthday today) My very first encounter with President Chandrika Kumaratunga, (which was somewhat fortuitous) goes back to the early 1970s when she was functioning as Additional Director, Youth Employment. Fresh from her studies at …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘“The Ten Years I Worked with President Chandrika Kumaratunga was an Enjoyable Period”.’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41878"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41878"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41879,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41878\/revisions\/41879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}