Development Drive An Asset To The Nation — Basil Rajapaksa

By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema _ Photo by Asanka Brendon Ratnayake

In the months following the end of the war the government has launched what has been described as the largest development drive in the country’s history.

In every part of the country new roads, power plants, ports and airports are rising out of the dust. The cost of these projects is also rising and the debts the government has accrued in order to fund these projects now run into hundreds of billions of rupees.

Speaking to The Sunday Leader, the architect of the administration’s massive infrastructure development programme, former parliamentarian and Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa, insisted the government’s huge expenditure would reap ‘massive dividends’ in the future.

The government has been widely criticized for taking massive commercial loans to fund these programmes, but Rajapaksa insisted that the government had not taken any commercial loans to fund development projects in the north and east.

He explained that the loans that have been taken to fund eastern development were taken out on a government-to-government basis and at internationally-accepted rates of interest, which are very low. “A technical committee and a finance committee appointed by the Cabinet decide even the loans that are taken by the government and the rates. Sri Lanka has also received grants from several countries.”

Rajapaksa observed that the loans taken during President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s term in office have been taken to build infrastructure and that therefore these loans will ultimately add to the wealth of the country.
“These loans have not been taken to buy items like food for the country. They are all for development expenditure which adds to the nation’s assets,” he said.

He further noted that if the development programmes initiated had been completed at the earliest, costs could have been reduced. “The cost keeps increasing with time. If projects like Upper Kotmale, Norochcholai were done earlier the country would have saved money. Delays also change the benefits. If certain projects were done earlier we may not have had to spend so much on fuel during the fuel crisis.”

Speaking of the development programmes initiated by the government in the north and east, Rajapaksa said that they had to be considered separately. Development work in the east commenced after clearing the LTTE from the area and continued even during the war in the north, he said.

“We identified that the road network needed to be developed since there had been no development since British rule. Although the British had built bridges in most parts of the country, they did not build much-needed bridges in the east. There were 17 ferries that operated between Arugambay and Pulmudai. Attention was first paid to build a good road network and bridges” he said.

As part of its development programme, the government has also looked at reconstructing the rural and provincial road networks in the east. Rural roads are being developed through Gama Neguma while the development of provincial roads is in the pipeline.

During the war there were also large amounts of uncultivated paddy land in the east. The government encouraged farmers to make maximum use of the land during the last Maha harvest and cultivated 135,000 acres of paddy land.

“Along with the cultivation of land we had to look at irrigation projects. We had to look at projects like Gal Oya and Alla-Kanthale. Drainage systems also had to be built. Projects to install water services had to be built as well.”

Rajapaksa explained that the government’s work in the east fell into two categories: mega projects in areas that need to be developed, effectively from scratch, and smaller scale projects in areas where existing infrastructure only needs to be upgraded.

“When you take electricity, we had to improve the existing grids and uplift the rural distribution network. We are continuing on this aspect,” he said.

“In the fisheries sector we have developed fisheries harbours in Trincomalee and Valachchenai. In other parts of the east the government has constructed anchoring facilities with cold rooms, ice plants, fish markets, etc. Schools and hospitals have also been developed under the programme. The government has also initiated various livelihood development programmes,” he added.

As for funding for the projects in the east, Rajapaksa said several countries have funded them. Many countries and donors have come forward to assist with road construction. They include Saudi Arabia, the US, Japan, the European Community (Moneragala-Karaitivu road), Spain (bridges between Trincomalee an Pulmudai), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and France (five bridges between Batticaloa and Trincomalee).

Australia and the ADB have funded the projects to establish water systems, while the World Bank has provided funds for irrigation projects. Local funds have also been used.

As for the progress of projects in the east, Rajapaksa said that most of the projects have been completed while others are nearing completion. He accepted, however, that there were a handful of projects that were ‘slightly behind schedule.’

Referring to the development work in the north, Rajapaksa pointed out that it has to be carried out in two distinct areas with different needs. He explained that while some areas have long been government-controlled, like Jaffna, other areas such as Kilinochchi were under LTTE control until a year ago.

“The development drive in the north therefore was approached in two ways,” he said. The first was to develop the living standards of the people in areas that were under government control before the war. The other was to approach the former LTTE areas, where a large number of people have been displaced, and which is heavily mined. The key requirement then was to de-mine the area.

“We therefore had to engage in battlefield de-mining. We first de-mined areas to gain access to the key buildings like schools and hospitals. Repair work on the buildings commenced soon after de-mining the access route to them.

“We decided to do both the rebuilding and de-mining together as it would have otherwise taken time. Many believed that there would not be any resettlements during the monsoon and that is why I decided to do both together,” Rajapaksa said. In the north, work related to expanding the road network and improving electricity, irrigation and drinking water systems is currently underway.

However, in relation to the former LTTE-controlled areas, everything from the bus stations to the hospitals has to be reconstructed. “Although the government initially funded most of the projects in the north, the World Bank and the ADB have now given funds for some projects,” he said.

Rajapaksa observed that de-mining was done entirely with government funds due to the time factor. “It takes about one and a half to two months to import the equipment needed for de-mining. Had the government waited till it received funds, the resettlement programme would have taken time. The delay in resettling people in the north would have become an even bigger problem among the people in the south.”

When asked about the involvement of the Chinese in the eastern and northern development drive, Rajapaksa observed that there was no Chinese involvement in projects in the east. However, he said that the Chinese government would fund the northern road network development project, which is still in the pipeline.

• Basil Dismisses Corruption Allegations

‘Total Lies!’

Basil Rajapaksa dismissed allegations of corruption leveled against the government and himself as “total lies.”

He said that he had never bothered to respond to these false allegations, “but the people believed in us.”

“Even professionals and members of the clergy explained to the people about the lies about corruption. We were encouraged by these acts. The share market is open and any one can see the portfolio of any listed company. If one needs to look at the owners of Lanka Hospitals, they could do so through the share market,” he observed.

According to Rajapaksa, most of those who have spread these stories have been businessmen. “The Company Registrar would have the necessary information to say if we are company owners. I think we are the only family that doesn’t have its name in the Company Registrar’s list.

“The Defence Secretary and I have avoided friendships with businessmen for this reason. It is those who have approached us and failed who make these allegations.”

As for allegations of corruption directed at other members of the government, Rajapaksa said, “When you compare what this government has done in comparison to past governments you can see that it has spent on the war, paid subsidies, increased salaries and increased employment. The government did not engage in any privatization. Yet, the government also launched a lot of new mega projects. It has to be said that most of the projects have a component of local funds as well. This is why I say there is no corruption in the government. All the money has been used for the work I mentioned earlier.”

Rajapaksa asked how the government would have the necessary funds to carry out development projects if some foreign countries did not help Sri Lanka as claimed by the opposition.

“It could be because we have used the monies that were robbed earlier by former governments. It is they who have taken monies and that is why they are accusing the present government of being corrupt and taking money. They feel that the current government members were also taking the same amounts of money earlier taken by them,” he said.