Shelter for Integrity,legal arm of the Transparency International Sri Lanka held the first Public Platform in Vavuniya in the post-war era at the Royal Garden on August 8th, 2014. The hall was packed to capacity with over 450 participants including residents and CBO leaders from Vavuniya, Mannar, Kilinochchi, and Jaffna Districts.
Public Platform provided the public with the opportunity to communicate directly with the government officials of their issues like land, water, military involvement in land acquisition, security, road development, health care for kidney patients, illegal drugs, and elephant attacks. The platform created a space for the government officials to identify the issues and give solutions to common problems.
This event was accomplished with concerted efforts from the government representatives, including Additional Govt. agent S. Mohanathan, Vavuniya South DS Divisional Secretary M.S. Janaka, Vavuniya DS Asst. Divisional Secretary S. Karanan, Assistant Director of Planning S. Sunmugananthan, and the DIG of Vavuniya.TISL was represented by Executive Director S. Ranugge, Legal Manager Jagath Liyana Arachchi, Local Governance Projects Manager Ananda Jayasekera, and the Regional Coordinator Ravindra De Silva.
Shelter for Integrity, Vavuniya branch has received requests from several DS in Vavuniya to conduct similar platforms in their areas after this event.