Thursday Nov 14, 2024
Thursday Nov 14, 2024
Friday, 23 August 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday assured that he will work to minimise conflict within the United National Party (UNP), and take forward the decision to establish a coalition to contest the upcoming Presidential Elections.
Wickremesinghe, addressing a group of UNP Local Government members representing eleven districts, including Trincomalee, Ampara, Jaffna, Batticaloa, Polonnaruwa, and Mannar, said he has already advised the top officials of the UNP to fast-track the formation of the Democratic National Front (DNF), with the inclusion of coalition parties.
“During the last few years, we have worked hard to develop the country while preserving Sri Lanka’s democracy. There is now rule of law and a judicial system that is independent. Anyone can criticise me without fearing repression. These are valuable freedoms, and we must work to always protect them.”
Wickremesinghe also outlined plans to continue providing funds to Local Government members from the UNP, to carry out projects at grassroots level. He pointed out that this would provide them with the ideal opportunity to interact with people, and update them on the development projects carried out by the UNP during the past four and a half years.
“Even though we faced many problems, we were also able to initiate many development projects. Our plan is to establish a Government with a clear majority and increase this development tenfold,” he added.
Wickremesinghe went on to say even though the Government was struggling to reduce budget deficits, it nonetheless increased public sector salaries, the number of Samurdhi recipients, and Budget allocations for education and healthcare, built roads and infrastructure, and also expanded the public sector.
