"Best qualification to being a candidate is not having any political experience" : General Mahesh Senanayaka

COLOMBO (News 1st):- Attending an event held yesterday (October 26), the Presidential Candidate of the National People's Party General Mahesh Senanayaka responded to the questions posed by the audience. Question: Your self and your team do not have any political experience. You are not a politician and none of your team members are politicians. To which he replied saying that he believes this is the best qualification that one should have since the so-called experienced politicians and their families ruined the country and that therefore it is better that none of them are taken in so that a new chapter can begin from here. He continues to say that the only experience he has with regard to politics is that he also has voted. General Senanayake further says that the experiences of his team come from various segments of the society, who are more or less experts in what they do. Be it professors, doctors or engineers they could be a big strength for us to run this country. He added that where this country went wrong is because we thought that it is the politicians who run this country instead it should be the government servants and the permanent secretaries of the ministries who should run the country. Question: You are saying that there are a lot of activities that are planned to bring about efficiency in the management; bring about efficiency in all aspects of governance. Where are the funds coming from or how are you planning to generate it? This question was answered by a member of the National Peoples Party, Gamini Nanda Gunawardana who said that there are a number of ways that they could extract funds. Clarifying these methods he says;

"First, if we look at the government sector, in 2008 Tissa Devendra's commission said that the required manpower for the government sector is 800,000. But if you check today it is 1.6 million after 10 years. Now, whose fault is it? The successive governments see that this is the way to give employment to the younger generation. The immense damage that is being posed by doing that is one thing for a place that needs one person there are about four or five who becomes very unproductive. Because the objective of the successive governments is that they were interested in protecting their party. This is why they have to create positions and create portfolios and make it as much as possible. "

Meanwhile issuing a special media announcement today (October 26) the media spokesperson of the National People's Party addressed the rumour that its Presidential candidate General Mahesh Senanayaka will be stepping down from his candidacy in support of another candidate. The media announcement said that these attempts are made to disrupt the political campaign of their candidate.