President stresses the need to abolish 18th & 19th amendments

COLOMBO (News 1st): The 40th-anniversary celebrations of the National Housing Development Authority was held in Colombo today. The event was presided by President Maithripala Sirisena. The event coincided with the 95th birth anniversary of the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa who was the founder of the National Housing Development Authority. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Deputy Leader of the United National Party, Minister of Housing and Construction Sajith Premadasa were also present at the event. Addressing the event, the President said that it is now time for the post mortem after a government of four years as they are only four months away from an election. President Sirisena further claimed that the main reason for the government to be disrupted during this period was the 19th constitutional amendment. Speaking about the indifferences between the Prime Minister and himself, he said that the people of the country suggest that both of them are pulling the country in two different directions and he also attributed this situation to be brought about because of the 19th amendment. President Sirisena continued to say that with the 18th constitutional amendment put forward by Mahinda Rajapaksa that monarchism was introduced. He also said that the main purpose of the good governance government was to abolish the 18th amendment but said that the new amendment gave rise to political instability. He also said that if the country needs to move in a more positive direction that both the 18th and 19th amendments have to be abolished while also saying that these past four years would have been prosperous if not for the 19th amendment. The President added that the parliament must accept the mistakes made by them by agreeing to this amendment by foreseeing the destruction that it would cause to the country. Also commenting on Minister Sajith Premadasa, the President said that they value the leadership provided by Minister Sajith Premadasa and that he respects him because of two reasons; first one being his motivation, dedication and honesty for the work he does and the second being that he is a politician free from corruption and injustice unlike many other politicians. The President also added that although people may accuse him for praising Sajith Premadasa, that he will not for a minute hesitate to speak highly of some one as him who is free of corruption and added that this characteristic posessed by him should be followed by the others as well. Also addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that when the government was initially formed in 2015 that the Ministry was given over to Sajith Premadasa and that he re-commenced the building of villages and houses. The Prime Minister while stressing on the fact that more houses have to be built for the younger generation of the country he also praised Minister Sajith Premadasa for continuing the revolutionary activity introduced by his late father Ranasinghe Premadasa. Speaking at the event, Sajith Premadasa said that 441 people who were granted with appointments during the previous government, 76 who were recruited to work on a daily basis, 2827 who are currently serving on a contract basis and 180 trained employees will be granted with permanent employment in the coming month. He further said that they hope to construct 20,000 villages by 2025 and vest them with the public while also adding that after the construction activities of the 2500 villages are completed that the remaining 17,500 villages will be constructed as storied housing complexes in rural areas. Officials at the National Housing Development Authority who rendered an invaluable service to the authority were also felicitated at the event.