Govt. focusing on holistic development: PM

By Waruni Paranagamage

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday stated that the Government would focus on the development of both rural and urban areas rather than just constructing roads and buildings like the Rajapaksa regime did.

Addressing a meeting with National Youth Service Council (NYSC) members, he said that although the Rajapaksa regime had claimed that the current Government had not touched upon the development of rural areas, the fact was that it had changed the interpretation of the development concept by focusing on all the dimensions of development.  

“The previous regime got kickbacks from the tender companies and initiated infrastructure projects. The current Government has to now pay the loans. But they still demand rapid development from us. It is like telling us to light the clay lamps for the Rajapaksa regime to go to heaven,” Wickremesinghe added.

He went on to assert that the most significant aspect of development was the creation of job opportunities for the youth, thereby assuring them of a more stable future, rather than simply initiating infrastructure development projects through loans.

The Prime Minister added that the present Government had called for an early presidential election in order to re-establish power and tax the people so that they could pay off the loans taken for corrupt development projects.

Wickremesinghe said the Government was able to increase demand during the New Year and Vesak season by increasing the disposable income of consumers.

“The budget concessions aimed to increase the disposable income of the people through increasing the demand. So following the increased demand, production also increased during the festival season. This in turn led to an increase in overall revenue,” Prime Minister added.

He said that the Government aimed to borrow loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan for the construction of the Northern Highway and rural road development projects.

“We are still in discussions with the respective parties to lower the price of tenders. We can’t further load the debt burden on the people. ADB and Japan have requested the Government to issue new tender notices in order to approve the loans,” Wickremesinghe said.

Furthermore, at the meeting, when the NYSC members presented their grievances to the Prime Minister, he assured them of his commitment to solve their problems. The Prime Minister told the members of the NYSC that the Government would provide solutions to their problems and enhance the facilities available to them.