16 November 2021 12:00 am Views - 82
By Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera
Sri Lanka has made all foreign debt payments that were due during the past two years without going into any kind of sovereign default as predicted by the opposition, Leader of the House Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said yesterday.
He told Parliament that the opposition repeatedly claimed that the country was going into sovereign default and pointed out that the Government was able to fulfil its financial obligations and win the trust of the international financial agencies.
“Sri Lanka has honoured all foreign debt payments that were due within the past two years amidst the Covid pandemic. Despite misleading false statements by the opposition, we have fulfilled our financial obligations and won the trust of the international financial agencies that we are managing without going into any kind of sovereign default amidst all these problems,” he said.
Speaking during the budget debate, he said funds have been allocated from the budget to revive the rural economy, national production and livelihoods. “Funds have been allocated to all Grama Niladhari Divisions and Local Government bodies,” he said.
The Minister said required funds have been allocated to resolve the salary anomalies of the teachers and principals in addition to funds allocated for education at provincial council level.
He said the opposition claimed that the Government was unable to manage the Covid situation and thousands of people would lose their employments. “However, we have managed to ensure job security for all. Most countries have supported us to control the Covid pandemic. India, China, Russia and the US have provided us with required vaccines,” he said.