Govt.Valuers Threaten Strike Which Will Cripple Ongoing Projects.

The Government Valuer’s Association (GVA) has threatened to go on strike,demanding implementation of a cabinet decision taken in December 2014 regarding restructuring the Department to increase the number of valuers so, that the Government is able to value properties across the country in a timely manner.

”However, our Chief Valuer is not interested in solving these issues. The only thing she is interested in is promoting her henchmen. We demand that the Government implements the Cabinet proposal that has already been passed and to stop attempts to privatize the service”, alleged General Secretary of the GVA, D.M. Seneviratne. Further, he said thus ”We have already stopped all the field work that takes a lot of time. These include the valuation of State assets, local authority rates, and others. And if we do not get our demands within a week, we will leave all other duties bringing the valuation and reclamation processes to a standstill”,  he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary of the GVA, Neville Premasiri Goluhewage, added that successive Governments had been attempting to undermine the Department of Valuation and had attempted to bring in private valuers to carry out the valuations of Government assets so that officials and politicians can earn money. If their demands are not met within a week and they struck work will bring the activities of the Central Expressway, the Uma Oya Project, the Matara-Mattala Expressway, the Ruwanpura Expressway and other special projects to a halt, he concluded.