He was speaking at the launch of a five-year plan to uplift the lives of the plantation community.

Some people in Jaffna do not have houses of their own, while others in the south are without outright ownership of their properties, he noted.

Under the five-year plan, land ownership, construction of houses, health and education facilities would be given to the plantation people, he said.

The former regime waste public money, said the PM, adding that the 211 million dollars that had gone to buy eight aircraft could have been used to build houses for Tamils in the north and the upcountry, Sinhalese in the south and Muslims in the east.

The government will ensure all rights of the plantation community that contributes to economic development, he added.