Travels on Reconciliation work 121

I continue with the letters I wrote in 2014 to try to get some action from Ministries that were simply not concerned with our rural populations. The best I should note was the Ministry of Health, and I note in the letter here a positive response to an earlier letter. This was one reason I looked favourably upon Maithripala Sirisena when he became the common candidate, and it was sad that a relatively competent Minister turned into an utterly incompetent President.

It is also so sad that it is only now that the Rajapaksas have identified water supply as a major problem. I wrote about it constantly and said that that, and elephants, were major issues, which they realize only now. I still cannot understand how they continued to rely on scoundrels such as Rishard and Hisbullah who were simply feathering their own nests – and encouraging extremism in the process, without any consideration for the poor peasantry who had been placed in their charge.

But they simply did not care about providing essential services, or ensuring coordination amongst those responsible for these.

The pictures are of two ministers who never ever responded. The third, Dullas Alahapperuma did and tried to be helpful but he could get no action from his Ministry.

A schedule of recurring problems

Dr Nihal Jayatilleka

Secretary, Ministry of Health

Dear Secretary

Thank you for responding swiftly with regard to problems I raised recently about services in the North. I hope the action you mentioned has proved successful.

I write now about questions raised at the recent Reconcliation meeting in Madhu. I was told that there is a hospital with excellent facilities recently built at Periyamadhu, but there are no doctors. Whilst appreciating the difficulties about getting doctors to serve in such areas, I hope you will be able to fill the gap swiftly.

I was told too that the well equipped Health Centre at Palampitty has not had the required personnel working there, though it seems that recently a doctor had visited for a day. Again I hope you will be able to look into this and provide a remedy.

It may be an idea to request all Provincial Directors of Health to monitor the situation closely and send you a schedule each month of gaps in the system. This will also help you to ensure that at least some facilities are working at full strength in all areas.

I wrote amongst others to the Minister of Youth Affairs and Skills Development about the lack of Vocational Training and the need for higher level qualifications that would facilitate lucrative international employment too; to the Minister of Justice about preventive measures with regard to alcoholism; to the Minister of Agriculture about the compulsory insurance levy imposed by the Agrarian Services Department in providing fertilizer; to the Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources as well as the Minister of Economic Development about repairs that were needed to irrigation schemes, support with digging of wells in particular for domestic consumption for which must time and energy is now spent for bowsering at times of drought; and the need to restore the catchment area of the Arugampuleliya Tank using the waters of the Van Ela which now run uselessly to the sea, and also about the problems new settlements would cause. I should note that these problems were brought to my attention by the villagers themselves. What is sad is that I was about the only one available to listen to them, given the callousness of those government had put in charge of the areas.