Minister Basil outlines the Economic Plan
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- Published on Friday, 27 January 2012 10:27
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The government is committed to empower the people of the villages and divert the benefit of the development for the consumption of the masses of the village that form the majority in this country. Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa said that the President had been given a mandate to implement Mahinda Chintana and it is this policy that the government is following.
The Minister made these comments at a Media Conference held at his Ministry on Wednesday to outline the future economic plans of the government. He pointed out that the Divi Neguma, Gama Neguma, Maga Neguma and Pura Saviya programmes are being implemented to improve the living standards and facilities to the people, particularly to those in the villages.
The Minister said that the Divi Neguma covers three phases and the first phase is dedicated to increase food production and thereby help people to save their day to day expenses as well as to earn an additional income by selling their excess produce. Under the second phase fisheries, livestock and poultry will be developed. The third phase, the Minister said, is dedicated to encourage development of cottage, small and medium industries. He further added that the Divi Neguma scheme has been very successful and as a result although the country had to import chicken and many other products during the festive season in the year 2010, in the last festive season prices were very much low compared to the previous year. He also said that the Divi Neguma programme targets to save the money being spent on many items that can be grown locally.
The Minister also said that the people have all the right to criticize the government or highlight the shortcomings if the government is deviating from the policies of Mahinda Chintana, and the government is duty bounds to rectify such shortcomings.
Minister Rajapaksa said that the government does not follow the economic policies adopted by former President J. R. Jayewardene or former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and those who are seeing through these economic perspectives may not like the present economic policy, and criticism from such people cannot be accepted. He said that contrary to the criticism the World Bank has predicted that Sri Lanka would remain as the second best performing economy in the world next year, after China and even India is behind Sri Lanka in this ranking.
Referring to the North and East problems, the Minister said that as a persons who has continuously worked in these areas he is well aware of the fact that the people in this part of the country is asking was not land powers but land for cultivation and similarly not Police powers but Police protection. He said that the living standards of the people in these areas have immensely increased after liberation, and Vavuniya district has become the fastest growing district in the country and the district of Mannar is also getting developed rapidly. All parties should extend their fullest support to the Parliamentary Select Committee to amicably solve the issues related to these areas, the Minister emphasized.
Speaking on the Tourist Industry, the Minister said that the objective of the government is not only to increase the revenue of the large hotels who are now earning profits after several years but also to divert the income being derived from tourism to people living in the villages through various means. He showed newspaper reports with tourists partaking food at roadside restaurants and villagers transporting tourists in bullock carts. He noted that Sri Lanka is the only country in the world that the tourists could enjoy many tourist products in a short period of time. (niz+).
