Honourable Speaker, Honourable

Prime Minister,
Honourable Leader of the Opposition,
Honourable Ministers, Honourable State Ministers,
Honourable Members of Parliament,

I have this opportunity to address you as the Head of State of the

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka consequent to the historic
victory granted to me by the people of this country on the 16th of
November.
I express my gratitude to all citizens, institutions and all political parties
who were committed to a peaceful, free and fair election.

Irrespective of the political party you, the Honourable members in this

august Assembly belong to, together all of us have as our prime
responsibility to work for the betterment of the people of this country.

I have served this nation as an Army Officer for twenty years,

and as Secretary of Defence for nearly another ten years.

Even though I was not actively engaged in politics, I have

experienced what service to the people is, from an early age.

My father’s elder brother, D. M. Rajapaksa, began his political

journey in the State Council in 1936, representing the Hambantota
electorate. After his demise in 1945, the people of Hambantota elected
my father, D. A. Rajapaksa, to the State Council. Later, he was elected
through the popular vote as a Member of the country’s first Parliament.

From that time until now, many members of the Rajapaksa family,
hailing from the rural village of Medamulana in Giruvapaththuwa,
Ruhuna, have served as elected public representatives. There have not
only been Members of Parliament, Deputy Ministers, Cabinet Ministers,
a Deputy Speaker of Parliament, a Speaker of Parliament, a Leader of
the Opposition and a Prime Minister, but also two Presidents elected to
office by the people, who reposed their trust in us.
1
 From the first day the honourable D. M. Rajapaksa, known as the Lion
of Ruhuna, appeared in the State Council, he wore a maroon coloured
shawl.

What he symbolized through this maroon shawl were the millet farmers
of Giruvapaththuwa.

Following D. M. Rajapaksa, my father D. A. Rajapaksa and each

member of the Rajapaksa family who was elected to Parliament wore the
maroon shawl.

Even though I do not wear this shawl, I stand for the same profound
philosophy of constant dedication to the poor that is symbolized by the
maroon shawl.

It is this same philosophy that is embodied in the Policy Statement I

presented during my Presidential election campaign.

Honourable Speaker, I now take this opportunity to table the “Visions

of Prosperity and Splendour” Policy Statement.

The people of this country gave me a clear mandate at the Presidential

election held on 16th November 2019. That mandate was granted because
of the trust the people had in me. I, together with my Government, stand
committed to honour the trust of the people and implement the
programme of developing a prosperous nation that we promised to them.

The people who elected me to office desired a profound change in the

political culture of this country. They rejected political agendas founded
on race. The majority of the people proved that it is no longer possible for
anyone to manipulate and control the politics of this country by playing
the role of king maker.

2
 I invite the politicians concerned to understand this reality. I call upon
all to join together in the national undertaking to develop this country,
and to reject the politics based on petty agendas that have sown division
in our society in the past.
We must always respect the aspirations of the majority of the people. It
is only then that the sovereignty of the people will be safeguarded.
In accordance with our Constitution, I pledge that during my term of
office, I will always defend the unitary status of our country, and protect
and nurture the Buddha Sasana whilst safeguarding the right of all citizens
to practice a religion of their choice.
I remember my father being at this Parliament, during my childhood.
I often used to watch Parliamentary proceedings from the public gallery.
The Parliament we had then was exemplary. The discourse that took
place in it was of great importance. The debates were replete with logic
and rich arguments. School children and adults were eager to come to
Parliament to listen to those debates. Members of Parliament always
behaved in a way that upheld the dignity of the Parliament and the office
they held. The people then had great respect for the Parliament. They
respected people’s representatives. Unfortunately, latterly, that respect
gradually waned.
This Parliament should once again become an exemplary institution
where the real issues of the people are discussed, where matters concerned
with national policy are subjected to debate, and where the responsibilities
of the legislature are duly fulfilled. The responsibility of ensuring that the
Parliament once again becomes an institution winning the respect of the
people lies with the Members who are in this House.
There is a social, economic and political crisis in the country today.
Even after 70 years of Independence, we cannot be satisfied with the
country’s development. We all have a responsibility to change this
situation. We must be prepared to make the sacrifices required for this.
The primary responsibility of a people’s representative is service to
the people. We should all remember that the offices we hold are not
privileges, but responsibilities.
3
 To develop the country, the right vision and plans are needed. The
Policy statement, “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour”, placed before
the people at the Presidential Election by me contains a national
programme that was crafted during a period of nearly four years by
incorporating my vision with the ideas and recommendations of
national organisations such as Viyathmaga, the findings of the
“Conversation with the Village” programme conducted by the Sri Lanka
Podujana Peramuna, the discussions held with other political parties,
and the ideas contributed by the general public.

In accordance with that programme, we have already taken several

steps including the easing of taxes that were unduly burdening the
public, introducing a high degree of transparency and efficiency to the
government administration, and curtailing unnecessary government
expenditure.

In our policy, National Security occupies the foremost place.

We have already taken steps to strengthen the national security

apparatus. Talented officers have been given appropriate responsibilities
again. We have taken steps to ensure proper coordination between the
Armed Forces and the Police, who are collectively responsible for
maintaining national security. The network of national intelligence
agencies has been reorganized and strengthened.

We will take all necessary steps to make our motherland a safe country
free of terrorism, extremism, underworld activities, theft and robbery,
extortionists, the drug menace, disruptors of public order, and the abuse
of women and children.

Our primary purpose is to create a productive citizen, a happy family,

a disciplined society and a prosperous nation.

The Government must take the initiative to make every healthy citizen
of employable age a useful and productive citizen. What we need is for
all of them to contribute to the nation’s economy.

4
 We must ensure that the benefits of development reach every group of
people. We must employ modern methodologies and indicators to gauge
whether the needs of the people are truly being met, and whether they
are happy. It is no longer necessary to wait for elections to find out how
people feel about the work programme of the Government.

We need everyone’s support for our efforts to reduce the cost of living
of the people. The corporate sector must ensure that some percentage of
the benefits of the tax concessions recently provided to them are passed
onto the public as well. Accordingly, we expect a reduction in the price of
all goods and services on which taxes have been reduced.

Eliminating poverty is a priority of our Government. We must

understand the causes of poverty and find solutions to eliminate such
causes. We will be able to alleviate poverty by finding practical
approaches to issues such as the lack of proper education or skills, the
lack of land for cultivation, or the lack of capital for self-employment.

We have made plans to find employment opportunities for 100,000

young men and women from low income families within the next month.
My government is prepared to present practical solutions to resolve
unemployment, with the public sector and the private sector working
together.

One of our main themes during the last election was the development
of a virtuous, law abiding and disciplined society. The public has given
us a mandate for this purpose.

Ours is a country with an ancient history, and a society nurtured by

Buddhist teachings and the teachings of other world faiths. We must
always safeguard our culture and our values.

Our target is to make Sri Lanka a developed country. It must be a

sovereign, independent nation. Also, it must be a safe, and a peaceful
country. Sri Lanka will be a prosperous nation only when all of these are
achieved.

5
 We have introduced a people-centric economic policy through the
“Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour” manifesto.

Its main aims are to ensure economic stability for all citizens, provide
equal opportunities to all who seek to improve themselves, to establish a
clean and efficient state sector that is committed to public service, and to
protect and empower local entrepreneurs.

In order to successfully establish a people-centric economy it is

important that every official from the highest to the lowest level of
government becomes aware of our vision and aims. That will enable
them to perform their duties more productively.
We must also implement a special programme to combat corruption
and fraud. Legal action must be taken promptly against all who engage in
corrupt practices, irrespective of their status.
Today, most countries have employed technology as a means of
enhancing the efficiency of the state sector. Through this, it will also
be possible to provide equal opportunities for all. As such, we will pay
special attention to increasing the use of technology in government
institutions.
We must plan for the future, based on the geographic location, natural
resources and human resources of our country.

Sri Lanka has been an international trading hub for merchants from
Greece, Rome, Arabia, China and various other nations for thousands of
years. One of the main reasons for Sri Lanka’s renowned standing was
our country’s unique location in the ocean connecting the east and west.
We can benefit from this advantage in the same way today.

During the period from 2005 to 2014, the government of President

Mahinda Rajapaksa planned to develop Sri Lanka into the commercial
hub of South Asia.

The Mattala Airport was built adjacent to the Hambantota Port with
the aim of establishing an industrial city in the south.
6
 The decision to develop the Colombo Port City was taken with the aim
of making Sri Lanka a hub for finance and commerce in Asia. We must
carry forward these projects that were designed according to achieve
long term objectives.

If we work according to a proper plan, we will be able to encourage

international businesses to locate themselves in Sri Lanka and supply
goods and services to regional neigbouring countries. To encourage such
investors, we must be prepared to swiftly provide all the facilities they
require within Sri Lanka.

For economic development to occur, it is important that we accelerate

improvements to the road network, including the expressways, so that
travel from any one part of the country to another in a few hours becomes
possible. The development of the train service is an integral part of this
programme. We can also help alleviate the grave problem of heavy road
congestion through an efficient and comfortable train service.

Urbanisation brings both good and bad results to a country. We need a

restructuring programme to ensure that the benefits of development reach
every region of the country. This will help us reduce congestion, pollution
and the cost of living. People dispersed throughout Sri Lanka should
have access to facilities for education and healthcare, and opportunities
for employment, within their own area. The development of the roads
and rail network together with the provision of high-speed internet and
telecommunication facilities throughout the country is essential for this.
The cost of electricity is an important factor in economic development.
It particularly affects the attracting of investors to the industry sector.
We need short-term and long-term solutions to generate power at a
reasonable price. In looking at long term solutions, our principle is to
pay special attention to the use of eco-friendly renewable energy sources
such as solar, wind and hydro-power.
Although our country is rich in gem and mineral resources, relevant
value-added industries have not yet developed to international standards.
Each year, the country is deprived of significant foreign exchange earnings

7
 through the export of these natural resources without value addition. We
should establish a world class marketplace in which gems from not only
Sri Lanka but even from African nations can be sold after value addition.
While we should provide new technological facilities for conducting
oceanic and geological surveys, we must provide special incentives to
encourage investments in industries that will provide value addition to
Sri Lanka’s mineral resources.
We will not allow various laws, permits and restrictions to impose
unnecessary and unfair limitations on some of Sri Lanka’s traditional
livelihoods, including the gem industry, tile industry, brick industry,
carpentry and handicrafts.
When planning for the future, more attention than at present must be
given to the agriculture, plantation and fisheries sectors. As a country that
possesses a large oceanic economic zone in temperate waters, we can
develop these industries much further.
We need to increase earnings from agricultural produce such as spices,
fruits, vegetables, grains, meat and fish, for which there is export potential.

One third of the country’s population is engaged in agriculture,

plantation industries and the fisheries sector. We must raise their standard
of living.
There is a need for new technology-based approaches that can develop
these industries beyond traditional farming methods.
Encouraging the production of food free of pesticides and chemicals,
by increasing the use of organic fertilizer for agriculture is part of our
policy. We must prepare plans to encourage Sri Lanka’s entire agriculture
sector to shift to using only organic fertilizer within the next decade.
Increasing domestic production of organic fertilizer should be included
in these plans.
The problems that had been caused to growers of export-oriented crops
through the allowing of unlimited reexports were addressed by the new
Government soon after its assumption of office. Instructions have already
8
been issued to completely stop the reexport of agricultural products.
More attention has to be paid to the ocean economy. We will introduce
a systematic programme to improve the fisheries sector through the
introduction of new technologies and equipment. Existing harbours will
be improved and new harbours developed to cater to the requirements of
multi day vessels that engage in deep water fishing.
Introducing new technologies to further develop the inland fisheries
sector is also part of our plan. Protecting the natural environment for our
future generations is one of our fundamental responsibilities. We will
pay special attention to environmental protection in the formulation and
implementation of government policies.
We hope to make Sri Lanka one of the world’s leading nations in
achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Our most valuable resource as a nation is our future generation. As
such, we have identified the development of our human capital as one of
the primary responsibilities of the government.

We have to pay special attention to ensuring that our future generation

will become productive citizens by nurturing them with the required
knowledge, skills and abilities. The opportunities young people have to
pursue higher education and technical education should be broadened.
The infrastructure facilities needed for this must be developed within a
short time frame. The number of students entering tertiary education can
be increased through more effective utilization of the capacities of state
universities and other higher educational institutions.

Some of the courses taught in universities today are not in consonance

with market requirements. In the near future, we intend to introduce
short-term courses to equip our university students to meet the needs
of the modern job market, which they can opt to attend whilst pursuing
their current courses of study. Universities and other higher education
institutions should be given more freedom in the enrollment of students
and in the restructuring of their syllabi to meet the needs of the marketplace.

9
 Institutions inthecountrythatcurrentlyteach diploma level programmes
must be gradually enhanced to the level of degree awarding institutions.
As a preliminary step, we look forward to upgrading teacher training
schools and nursing schools to degree awarding level. The shortage of
trained graduate teachers continues to be a problem in the education
sector. Further, by upgrading the existing 3-year diploma programme in
Nursing into a 4-year degree, and by improving the English knowledge
of nurses, we will create opportunities for them to even seek work abroad
by providing services that meet international quality standards.
Colleges which provide technical and industrial training need to be
strengthened to cater to more students who have studied up to the Ordinary
Level examinations but not progressed beyond the Advanced Level
examinations. The funding and facilities provided to these institutions
need to be increased. This will not only enable us to create a workforce
that has received vocational training in line with global standards, but
also enable such trained personnel to seek high wage employment in the
fast-evolving marketplace both here and abroad.
Many young people are currently deprived of employment opportunities
due to their lack of proficiency in English. We will introduce a special
programme to improve the facilities provided for English education in all
schools, and to recruit the required teaching staff.

We intend to entrust our foreign Missions with special responsibilities

to seek new employment opportunities for our youth. We can enhance Sri
Lanka’s image in the global job market and earn more foreign income by
sending trained and qualified workers in all fields to work abroad, instead
of untrained workers.

The education sector can be a significant foreign exchange earner. A

large number of Sri Lankan students presently study at higher educational
institutes in Asia. Instead of sending our students abroad for higher
education at a high cost, we should introduce a programme to attract
foreign students to Sri Lanka. We must prepare short term and long term
programmes to improve the global ranking of our universities.

10
 Sri Lanka is still referred to as a developing country even after 70
years of our achieving independence. We must identify the opportunities
that would allow us to move away from this situation and to become a
developed country.

With a population of over 5 billion, Asia is undergoing an economic

boom and the center of gravity of the global economy is moving towards
it.

The fastest growing middle class with high purchasing power is in this
region.
That is why we must encourage our local entrepreneurs to seek new
markets in Asia.

The 21st Century is known as the Knowledge-centric Century.

New technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, biotechnology,
robotics, 3D printing, and the Internet of Things, amongst others, are
continually changing the world.

Most developing nations have grasped this reality. They are spending
substantially to attract technology centric investments.

We must pay attention to this in the formulation of our investment

policies. We must understand what type of investments we need to spur
future economic development. We must provide special incentives and
concessions to encourage investors who are capable of introducing new
technologies to the country.
It is also very important to direct our youth to learn these new
technologies and undertake research relevant to them. We must assist
our education system to speedily prepare to facilitate this change without
delay. We must also take steps to promote English education as well as
Information Technology usage amongst our youth.
It is important to understand that we have market opportunities beyond
technology heavy sectors. One sector we can very swiftly develop is
11
the tourism industry. This sector, which earned 4.4 billion US Dollars
in 2018, has space to grow to one that can earn revenue in excess of
10 billion US dollars within the next few years. We will introduce a
systematic programme to achieve this.
For us to reap the full benefits of democracy, the government
administration must function in an exemplary way.
As we noted in our Policy Statement, we will appoint persons
with subject knowledge and suitable qualifications to discharge their
responsibilities to govern state institutions efficiently and profitably.
After the formation of the new Government, we established a committee
to evaluate and recommend suitable persons for the governance of state
institutions.
We saw the rapid development of the Sri Lankan economy during the
2005 to 2014 period. Infrastructure such as the road network, housing,
electricity, water, and communications and spheres such as garbage
management and urban beautification all saw rapid development. We can
recreate this momentum by establishing a skillful administration.
Honourable Speaker,
The success of a democracy rests upon the Constitution. The 1978
Constitution, which has since been amended on 19 occasions, has
given rise to many problems at the present time because of its inherent
ambiguities and confusions.

In order to safeguard the security, sovereignty, stability and integrity

of our country, it is essential that changes be made to the existing
constitution.

Whilst preserving the positive characteristics of the proportional

representation system, electoral reforms are needed to ensure the stability
of the Parliament and to ensure the direct representation of the people.

Even though elections can be won through numbers, an unstable

Parliament that cannot take clear decisions and remains constantly under
the influence of extremism is not one that suits the country.
12
 We can solve this problem through constitutional reforms that will
establish a strong executive, legislature and an independent judiciary that
can ensure the sovereignty of the people.

Our country’s unique position has resulted in considerable attention

being given towards Sri Lanka in global geopolitics in recent times.

We follow a neutral foreign policy.

We must strive to maintain friendly relations with every country.

However, we can never give up our independence.

We must establish an honourable governance that will allow this

country to maintain its sovereignty, security, national pride, and deal
with all nations on equal terms, without demonstrating weakness in our
diplomatic or trading relationships.

We will never allow other countries to take over our economically

significant geographic regions or physical resources.

It is my aspiration to ensure that the Sri Lankan people will become a

proud people with a global standing.

We can overcome all the obstacles in our path to reaching that goal if
we unite as a nation.

I love my country. I am proud of my country. I have a vision for my

country.

I invite all of you to join and work with me to achieve the responsibility
that has been assigned through history to our present generation.

Thank you.

May the blessings of the Noble Triple Gem be with you.

13