19th amendment is a hindrance to public service - President

Colombo (News 1st) - President Gotabaya Rajapaksa says the 19th amendment to the constitution is a hindrance in fulfilling the aspirations of the people. The Head of State added that he is expecting to obtain a 2/3rd majority to establish a government that can serve the people. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa expressed these views when he met with heads of electronic and print media at the Presidential Secretariat this morning. President Rajapaksa noted that he does not understand the meaning of a constitution that obstructs the policy implementation of a President who has been elected to fulfill the expectations of the people. While noting that there has to be a clear division of power between the executive, legislature and the judiciary, the President stated that an issue arises if the executive is not capable of executing his duties freely. The president also expressed his stance on independent commissions, ".. If we think the Inspector General of Police cannot be independent, instead of addressing that issue, we appoint an independent commission. But can we really expect that commission to be independent? The independent commission is also appointed by the government. If we can't trust an IGP with 38 years of service, how can we believe that a commission appointed by the same government is independent? When looking at the manner in which certain members of the Election Commission acted during the previous presidential election, can we actually call the commission independent? .." - President The Head of State added that he will join the election as a member of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. When questioned if he intends to abolish the 19th amendment and implement the 18th amendment to the constitution, the President noted that a single term is sufficient for him but added that he needs to be allowed to work during his tenure in office. When questioned whether he was satisfied with the performance of the administration during the first 100 days, the President said he is not satisfied as it was not up to his standard. Addressing media heads, the President said that the wage of estate workers will be increased to 1000 rupees from the 10th of April. He added that discussions were held with the relevant authorities. The President also spoke about the steps taken by the National Election Commission with regard to enrolling graduates to the training program. "..Appointments have been given. And this was not done because of the election. I mentioned this in my manifesto. These were not given to specially chosen ones. The appointments were given to those qualified. These were not given based parties and where they came from. These were given to everyone. This was not done with a political motive....What the Commissioner said didn't make sense. I don't understand on what basis he said not to train the graduates after being recruited. We will write to the Commissioner because if the training stops, it will impact the entire public service.." - President