Commendable development effort

'I am the President of those who voted for me and of those who did not.' So stated President Mahinda Rajapaksa on winning his second Presidential election on January 27, 2010. He had garnered a remarkable 57.9 percent of the popular vote and proved conclusively that he is the undisputed people's choice.

Whereas the President could have been complacent over this victory and remained assured that the majority of the voters are with him, he chose instead to remind the country that he would be of service to those who voted for him as well as for those who did not. This is a rare statement and it marks out the President as having the makings of a statesman. By being a friend to all and proving a very approachable, people-friendly President, Mahinda Rajapaksa has established that the people voted right.

Yet, there is a substantial quantum of work waiting to be achieved. There is, for instance, the task of national reconciliation. To be sure, the President is sparing no pains to address the needs of the North-East and has achieved much in the area of infrastructure development in the region but much remains to be secured and our hope is that not only would the government-TNA talks continue but the long awaited Parliamentary Select Committee process be put in motion and taken to its logical conclusion. That is, a peaceful, practicable solution should be evolved to the outstanding issues of the North-East.

There are also the LLRC report recommendations that need to be seriously addressed for the sake of speeding-up national reconciliation. Here too, a substantial amount of work is awaiting the state's attention and the wish of the majority of the people is likely to be that what needs to be done will be achieved swiftly.

However, in the area of economic growth much has been achieved and the indications are that, provided the required factors are present, Sri Lanka's economy would prove a robust one as we go along. As it is, we have stuck to a minimum eight percent growth rate and this promising trend could continue in the wake of the notable infrastructure development that is taking place.

When we say this we do not only have in mind the Hambantota Port project, Mattala airport, Norochchiolai and Kerawalapitiya power plants, the Kotmale hydro power tunnel, the Southern Expressway, the emerging Colombo-Katunayake Expressway, the major bridge-building projects in the East and the revival of scores of lakes and waterways in the country's Rice Bowl and numerous other such mega development projects of note, but also the acceleration of the development process in the North.

We have just learnt that plans are afoot to assign international status to the Palaly Airport and there is no doubt that this venture, if effectively implemented, would prove a boon to the people of the North.

Growth with equity is the ideal and the state needs to be steady with this task if development in the real sense is to systematically materialize. But on this score too favourable trends are evident because over the past couple of years the GNP per capita has risen remarkably, enabling Sri Lanka to be categorized as a Middle Income Country. It is the duty of the state to ensure that our national income is evenly distributed and the indications are that this has been achieved to some extent but we cannot be complacent on this score.

All round development is what the President is aiming at and the aesthete in the President has ensured that the Arts of this country are being steadily developed too.

The best proof of this is Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre in the heart of Colombo, which, if effectively utilized, could push local Fine Arts to great heights. Sports too are being steadily developed with some fine sports infrastructure coming-up in provincial Sri Lanka.

All this and more proves that the people must unite behind the state to give stability and prosperity a greater chance.