(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – “Let’s create a knowledgeable society with a strong economy that can run forward together with the world” President Ranil Wickramasinghe said delivering the interim budget speech Tuesday in Parliament.
The President, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policy, presented the inaugural speech (interim budget speech) of the second reading of the Appropriation (Amendment) Bill to Parliament today (30).
Explaining the causes of the economic crisis, President Wickremesinghe said due to the short-sighted economic practices, the country’s progress has been hampered from time to time. Many of the setbacks occurred in the name of the citizens who also accepted those policies without any criticism.
“We have not been following appropriate policies, not only in relation to state enterprises, but also in attracting foreign investments. Continuously there has been no proper use of the nation’s resources, that too in the guise of seeking to protect state assets,” he said.
In order to solve this economic crisis, one of the basic tasks that need to be done is to “extricate from our traditional political perspectives and impartially appraise the reality of the ground situation in the context of the global environment.”
The President also pointed out that “if we can nourish our minds with creative thoughts, according to the current trends of the modern world, then we can solve the economic crisis.”
Presenting the short term measures to solve the economic crisis, the President said negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have successfully reached its final stage and the process of providing daily needs like gas, electricity and fuel without a shortage has been initiated. The United Nations in collaboration with leading international organizations, is launching a program to ensure food security.
