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an allowance of Rs.3,500, fuel prices were brought down, Samurdhi allowances were increased, a bag with items amounting to Rs.20,000 was presented to pregnant mothers, essential food item prices were reduced, gas prices were reduced, we provided an attractive benchmark for paddy purchases, we discontinued importing inferior fertilizer and agricultural produce including tea and rubber, and established free WiFi zones.
The list is long. We discontinued the reload tax, interest payable on pawned jewellery was written off from this month and we also increased the Mahapola allowance.”
Giving hope to private sector employees, Wickremesinghe revealed that discussions were now being conducted with private sector employers to increase the salaries of workers. Drawing parallels between the benefits provided by the current Government and the extreme taxation followed by the Rajapaksa regime, Wickremesinghe said that the cost of living was reducing. Blaming the previous Government for corruption, he praised the current regime and President Maithripala Sirisena for improving the living conditions of all Sri Lankans.
According to Wickremesinghe, the election system will soon be changed to where MPs will be responsible for their electorates.
“The Executive Council has come to an agreement in principle. We are in the process of formulating the draft, making use of a select committee. We passed the National Drug Policy in Parliament. After the passage of the 19th Amendment, we are planning to move the National Audit Act and the Right to Information Act. Law and order is no longer only capable of capturing flies but is strong enough to capture hawks and much larger eagles in the days to come.
“We have commenced investigating bribery and corruption with the training and assistance received from the US Judiciary, World Bank and the UK’s mass-scale corruption investigators. We no longer follow the King Kakille legal system of the Rajapakse regime. The GSP + will be ours in the days to come. We have shown an improvement in human rights. We will establish firm laws to prevent harassment against women and children. Gone are the days that we saw large hoardings and cut-outs of Rajapaksa. We have the freedom to criticise, which was not there before. Nobody listens to our telephone conversations. We don’t keep separate files for Ministers. Recently a Facebook post identified me as a garbage cleaner and called for my death. We all know what would have happened to the owner of this Facebook profile if such a post had been made during the previous regime,” he said amidst protests from the Opposition.
Leader of the Opposition Nimal Siripala de Silva requested a two-day debate on the progress of the 100-day program to which Prime Minister Wickremesinghe willingly agreed.
