UNNECESSARY LAWS SHOULD NOT OBSTRUCT POLICIES

The President said State institutions should not resort to legal measures but resolve issues through discussion

State institutions must not be a burden to the treasury

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said that irrational laws should not obstruct the policies formulated to achieve economic objectives of the country.

President Rajapaksa made these comments during a discussion with officials and ministry secretaries related to the Plantation Industrial sector at the Presidential Secretariat.

The meeting had been called to find solutions to a number of issues pressing the Plantation Industry.

President Rajapaksa stressed that the state and affiliated institutions should not resort to legal measures and instead should 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.

He emphasised the importance of removing the plantations that are not suitable for Sri Lanka or harmful to environmental conservation of the country and added that crops most suitable had to be cultivated in the country.

“State institutions must not be a burden to the treasury. 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 an accurate decision with regard to a state policy, all the state institutions should comply.

There should be no room to withhold carrying out the right thing. The state official who could not execute the morally right thing is a burden to this nation.the state official is an individual who resolves issues and not neglects them,” the President stressed.

The President noted that a decision was taken to cease the importation of Ethanol which had been traumatising 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 Reformation Commission has lodged over 800 cases and 300 out of them were against Plantation Corporations.

Plantation Industries and Agricultural Exports Minister Ramesh Pathirana and Secretary to the President P. B. Jayasundera were present at the discussion.