Govt. has no vision to rebuild country: SJB

• MP Kavinda Jayawardena accuses Govt. of having only focused on obtaining IMF support and not formulating a plan to rebuild the country 
• Says Govt. yet to reveal economic model or solutions to address forex crisis 
• Warns Sri Lanka will experience a worse economic situation in six months’ time due to the Govt.’s lack of a plan and varying opinions on IMF reforms 
• Samagi Youth Front Chairperson Chamathka Ratnayake says President pontificating 2048 when youth are fleeing the country

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Kavinda Jayawardena yesterday claimed the current Government has no vision or precise plans to rebuild the country. The MP accused the Government of failing to publicise its plans for economic recovery.  

“The IMF support is in fact a loan. The Government has not revealed its economic model. They have not informed the people of their solutions to address the forex crisis or how production and exports will be increased. Neither have they said how it will obtain financial support through the use of technology and human resources,” he told a media briefing.  

“In other words, the Government has no definite target. Its attempt was to merely obtain IMF support but has not thought beyond that on how to attract investments and other benefits,” he added.  Instead, the MP accused the Government of focusing on selling off assets and how to obtain commissions for those sales. “They are not bothered about restructuring loss-making ventures,” he alleged.  The MP said the country is not showing any progress. “Therefore it is evident the Government has no vision or plan,” he said. He also noted that the Government does not have one position. “Those in the Government do not have one position. One group is agreeing to restructure debt and assets while another group led by Mahinda Rajapaksa claims they oppose this move,” he noted. The MP said that the lack of a plan and varying opinions within the Government will lead the country towards yet another dark period and put the economy at risk. “We can already predict the country’s fate six months from now but there is no clarity about the steps the Government will take to avoid the situation,” he said. The MP predicted the already dire economic situation will only worsen as a result of the Government’s actions. 

Samagi Youth Front Chairperson Attorney at Law Chamathka Ratnayake extended her gratitude to those who are not being credited for their genuine and honest efforts to ensure the Government this time around fulfils the obligations under the IMF agreement. 

“We have sought IMF support 16 times. This time around I hope we will be able to obtain the entire bailout package,” she said. However, Ratnayake noted while there are many others behind the scenes, the President alone appears to be claiming the political advantage from it. 

She noted that the President is even attempting to obtain political mileage from issues faced by students even though nothing has been done to resolve their problems yet. 

“The education of children has become politicised,” she said. Ratnayake said Sri Lanka has not only become bankrupt economically but in value as well. 

“The youth are leaving the country which means that they have no faith in our education system. What is the point of speaking about 2048 when people are playing with the future of the youth,” she noted.