Nobody knows Colombo people better than I do

For most Colombo citizens, Azath Salley is a familiar figure. Having served as councillor in the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) for more than three decades, this time he seeks a new mandate as mayoral candidate on the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) ticket.

"I'm a people’s man. Nobody knows Colombo people better than I do," Mr. Salley told The Sunday Times with the confidence of knowing people from all walks of life in the city during his 30 years in public office.

The CMC has been a stronghold of the United National Party (UNP) for the past 50 years and as UPFA mayoral candidate, Mr. Salley is committed to change, saying inefficiency and mismanagement by past UNP council administrations has prevented the city from reaching its fullest potential.

Mr. Salley says he has a masterplan to transform the city into one of the most vibrant cities South Asia.

In his brief manifesto, he set out plans for Colombo's most underprivileged communities.

Mr. Salley plans a government-funded 50,000-person housing scheme that will be constructed in land belonging to the CMC within the city area to accommodate homeless families living scattered around the city.

"I have taken up this new journey with the blessing of President Maithripala Sirisena in order to continue the journey of corruption-free governance he commenced on January 8, 2015,” Mr. Salley said.

He encourages Colombo residents to vote for change after 50 years of one party’s rule of local government.

“The UNP, though it is an integral part of the Unity Government, is no better than the corrupt politicians in the previous regime,” he argued. “As the Bond Commission report reveals, the UNP leadership, with the assistance of its cronies, swindled Rs. 12 billion in just five months of governance of the Central Bank.”

Eradicating the drug menace and effective garbage management are other key campaign areas especially since the Meethotamulla dump site collapse last year that took lives of 26 people.

"If you look at the current scenario, there are no clear plans put forward on how the garbage issue will be tackled with the city producing 750 metric tonnes of garbage daily,” Mr. Salley said.

“Also, since the garbage management system is outsourced to third party companies, there are problems for people as collecting times vary and there is no proper coordination. We have a comprehensive plan to address this issue effectively," the UPFA mayoral hopeful declared.

"I would request Colombo voters not to waste their votes but to cast their ballots and not wait to vote until last minute," a confident Azath Salley said, claiming his victory was imminent that that he was looking forward to continuing his public service in the new office.