Wimal foresees the end of open market system

Industries Minister Wimal Weerawamsa said Sri Lanka is facing the end of the open market economic model introduced in 1977, and it is time to mobilise people for a manufacturing, national economy.  

Addressing a seminar recently in Eheliyagoda, Ratnapura, he said the previous government led this country astray and made the way for emergence of a new form of terrorism in this country. He said the economic growth rate dropped from 6.5 percent to 2.5 percent at that time.  

“That government played with public life. That is why we worked for its defeat,” he said. He said the agreement with New Fortress Energy of Sri Lanka was against the mandate given to the current government.   

“Today, it is easy to launch a barrage of attacks on the government from outside. Yet, it is difficult to raise a voice against the government’s activities while being Cabinet Ministers. The party which I represented in the past broke ranks with the Chandrika Bandaranaike government formed in 2004 because it was difficult to be critical of its policies while being part of it. Today, we have undertaken a different path. We don’t want to topple this government enabling the pack of politicians on the other side to get back to power,” he said.  

Commenting on the fertiliser crisis, he said the introduction of organic farming was not a decision to be taken at this hour. He said the agro-chemical mafia had taken hold of the bureaucracy of this country   
He said the current predicament of the country should be converted to an opportunity to give birth to a new journey.   

•  The previous government led this country astray and made the way for emergence of a new form of terrorism in this country