Unpopular decisions are for long-term economic stability: Govt.

Cabinet Co-Spokesman and Plantation Industries Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana yesterday said the

Cabinet Co-Spokesman  and Plantation  Industries Minister  Dr. Ramesh Pathirana

Government is compelled to take certain unpopular measures to ensure long-term economic stability.

“We were holding on to the rupee for a longer period of time and today we can witness the repercussions of it being deprecated. As a result, the commodity prices have also skyrocketed. Historically Sri Lanka has had around $ 10 billion trade deficit, which is significant. This gap is what is causing damage to the rupee today,” he added. Following the sharp devaluation of the rupee by nearly 30% under a free-float regime, prices of several more products and services were jacked up. 

Justifying the import restrictions, he said: “This is why the Government as early as in 2020 curtailed major imports like vehicles and other goods that can be sourced within the country. We also curtailed some of the non-essential imports recently.”

However, Dr. Pathirana said those measures were not very popular. “We are reluctantly compelled to take some of the unpopular decisions with regards to the rupee and monetary conditions. But those were taken to ensure long-term economic stability,” he pointed out.