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Tuesday, 24 March 2020 02:08 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday called on the Government to reconvene Parliament and get the necessary funds approved to deal with the situation that has arisen due to the coronavirus, saying that the President has no powers to draw money from the consolidated fund after the dissolution of Parliament.
“It is difficult to predict when a new Parliament can convene. This is a crisis and this crisis can be resolved only by reconvening the old Parliament and getting the necessary funds approved by the Legislature,” Wickremasinghe said in a statement issued yesterday.
He said funds for the first four months of this year were allocated by the Vote on Account (VOA) last October and the President has no powers to draw additional funds from the consolidated fund until Parliament reconvenes.
The UNP Leader said that the coronavirus was first reported in December last year and from then on till the time of the dissolution of Parliament in March, the Government did not seek any additional funds from Parliament for the program to control the spread of COVID-19 and instead sought funds for payments for the construction sector and other payments.
“Coronavirus has been spreading around the world over several months now and many countries took measures to curb its spread. Italy failed to do so and now we are seeing the repercussions. Unfortunately, the necessary preventive measures were not taken on time in Sri Lanka too.
“There was no proper program in place to direct people arriving from high-risk countries to quarantine centres. Because of the shortcomings in the program and the irresponsible behaviour of some, the returnees began to mingle in the community and infect many people,” Wickremesinghe said in the statement.
“I have pointed out on several earlier occasions that our health services would face many challenges in handling such an epidemic. The GMOA too pointed out the extent of this problem several times. However, the Government has so far failed to place before the country a comprehensive program to stop the spread of the coronavirus. As a result, the virus is spreading rapidly with infection numbers going up,” the UNP leader said.
He said that when the Health Minister is asked about the coronavirus, she talks about holding the election while the Government is yet to reveal to the country the comprehensive strategy it has put in place to safeguard the citizens.
He said that by giving short notice of counter COVID-19 plans the Government plans to put in place, the people have been greatly inconvenienced. One example of this, he said, was the overcrowding of trains that left Colombo last Friday before the curfew came into effect.
Wickremesinghe said that the country would face trying times ahead economically. “All sources of foreign revenue to the country has dried up due to the coronavirus. The cost of living will go up and incomes will drop. As Government revenue falls, the allocation for essential services such as health too will decline. In addition to these, several other services such as distribution of essential goods as well as in sectors such as education, essential services, law and order etc. will be affected,” he said.
The UNP Leader appealed to those celebrating the Sinhala and Tamil New Year to confine their festivities to their homes and for those commemorating the Easter Sunday attacks to do so with minimum numbers at congregations.
He also appealed to the Government to understand the gravity of this situation and reiterated his call to the Government to come forward with a comprehensive strategy together with political leaders as well as civil society, religious leaders and experts in the relevant fields.
