26 March 2023 09:58 pm Views - 2237
Sri Lanka could not be developed by selling state property or obtaining loans anymore as the country had practiced the same strategy for the last three to four decades without any success, NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said today.
Speaking at a rally in Panadura, Mr. Dissanayake said if President Ranil Wickremesinghe was to develop the country by obtaining loans, he could have done that during 2015 and 2019 when he obtained US$12.5 billion as loans.
“He is getting only US$2.9 billion from the IMF for four years this time. He obtained US$12.5 billion within four- and-a-half years during 2015 and 2019. He also obtained US$1 billion by selling the Hambantota Port. But, he was not able to develop the country. How can he recover the country from economic crisis by obtaining only US$ 2.9 billion for four years,” he said.
He said Sri Lanka has sold off 88 government ventures during the past and added that selling state property would no longer be a solution to the economic crisis either.
He said fraud, corruption and misuse were rampant behind selling of state resources and pointed out that such practices should be stopped to develop the country.
MP Dissanayake said a government free of fraud and corruption, efficient state service, law and order, new constitution and state resources should be fully utilized to develop the country and added that future NPP government would ensure such a government in the future.(Ajith Siriwardana)