Only a month since Gota has come ... Here's what he did -- President's office announces

Only a month since Gota has come ... Here's what he did -- President's office announces

President's media unit has issued an announcement about decisions arrived at by Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa during the past month after having assumed presidentship. According to the manifesto "Vision of prosperity" brought forward during the presidential era, the announcement further says that the following duties were achieved by him:

- Loans obtained for small and middle-scaled enterprises not exceeding Rs. 300 million to be
suspended from being paid back. 

- Draft to be prepared for advanced courses on national security after a national defence institute is established. 

- A competent corps on education be established and to take steps to carry out an educational reform in a well-designed and transparent manner.

- To develop a thousand national schools and to establish one tri-lingual school for each district. 

- Preparation of carrying out basic duties by providing opportunities for students who passed the advanced level to obtain admittance to universities but who are deprived of it. 

- Instructing educational authorities to admit students who passed G.C.E. advanced level to gain access to universities without delay.  

- To appoint a committee to turn national educational faculties into universities. To take steps to start training courses suitable for the international employment market and to direct the youth generation with skills to the employment market.

- To create a lakh of government jobs for youth of both sexes selected suffering from families undergoing utter poverty with the objective of dispelling poverty. 

- To introduce a thousand information technology diploma certificates targeting the employment market. 

- A draft bill to be prepared to bring control over productions introduced from abroad such as kites and lanterns. 

- To establish a national policy and planning bureau for state imports, national development planning projects for analysis and to make management sections more productive. 

- To establish an inter ministerial effective corps with participation of hon. president for industrial and development of enterprises. 

- System of issuing licenses for transporting sand, sil and clay to be abolished with the view of controlling prices on local industries and the construction field. 

- To introduce relevant amendments in order to prevent those in the field of industry in the traditional minor industries in securing raw material. 

- To transfer the agriculture ministry for which a rent of Rs. 21 million per mensem was paid ... to a 'govi mandiraya'.  

- To prepare a committee to instal a one lakh kilometres inter alternative network of roads as an alternative for traffic congestion.

- Engaging in surveillance tours to check efficiency in state institutions. 

- To carry out a detailed study on MMC agreement and to appoint a recommendation committee for the purpose.

- To regulate over a thousand non-governmental organisations in operation against the country and to take steps in that direction.

- To begin paying royalty to singers of songs being relayed in the media, from January 1st.

- To refrain from criticising previous governments and to take forward the agenda of the new government. 

- Revision of the salary scale of chiefs of state institutions. 

- To bring down the salary of Rs. 20 lakhs of telecom chairman to two and a half lakhs. 

- To issue instructions to carry out the restructuring process of state institutions with total transparency. 

- To issue instructions to bring the curtain down on unnecessary celebrations conducted in state institutions. 

- Implementing plans to make appointments to those suitably selected covering all districts and to recruit them to service. 

- To make state media independent.

- To provide authority to police special task force to carry out raids on the underground and narcotics. 

- Providing an opportunity to import other importers to bring wheat flour in order to release the public from the wheat monopoly. 

- To limit president's staff and ancillary vehicles and to choose the president's residence as his official residence. 

- To invite India, China and super powers of the world to visit our country, to pin faith on us and to invest with us by respecting our identity. 

- To issue a gazette notification to armed forces targeting the security of the nine provinces by handing them over a special responsibility in that connection.

- The emergency role of duties started in order to draw attention of the police and other groups in connection with environment. 

- The pledge given to the masses that the cabinet of the custodian government would be limited to 16 and the number of ministers of the proposed government would be limited.  

- To display the state logo at state institutions instead of photographs of the president and ministers in charge of their ministry. 

- To issue instructions to display name-boards for roads with the relevant rod-name and the state logo instead of the image of the politician concerned for roads that are being developed with public funds.

- To obtain recommendations of a committee comprising a special team of scholars in the instance of the appointment of heads of state institutions. 

- Taxes levied on telephone charges to be brought down by 25%.

- The vat tax of 15% to be brought down to 8%. 

- To bring the curtain down on export products inclusive of pepper, cinnamon.