Hon. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said last evening (07) that the new project ‘Wada Samaga Yali Gamata’, which identifies the real needs and priorities of the country’s rural people will be launched on the 14th December 2020
The Prime Minister, while presiding the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Finance, emphasized that the political authorities should identify the real needs of the people in the rural and semi-urban areas and launch the project.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said so in response to a proposal made by MP Prof. Ranjith Bandara,that priority should be given to the vital priorities of the people and not to bureaucracy to bring about a positive change in the living standards of 72% of Sri Lankans, both rural and semi-urban.
Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and Treasury Mr. S. R. Attygalle said that there should be good coordination among government institutions regarding the relevant places. Accordingly, the Secretary to the Ministry agreed to prepare a list of priorities with the assistance of State Ministers Ajith Nivard Cabraal and Shehan Semasinghe.
Meanwhile, Minister Gamini Lokuge said that the Ministry of Finance should provide assistance as soon as possible as the tourism industry in the country is facing difficulties due to the current COVID pandemic situation. The Secretary to the Ministry explained to the committee a number of steps taken by the Ministry of Finance in this regard.
Member of Parliament Jagath Kumara, pointed out the problematic situation regarding the pension anomalies and the issuance of nomination to Samadhi officers for elections. Responding to this, Minister Shehan Semasinghe said that a cabinet paper will be submitted in collaboration with the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Agriculture regarding the issuance of nomination to Samurdhi officers for the election and that the issue will be resolved soon.
Responding to a question raised by MP Jagath Kumara regarding pension anomalies, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance S. R. Attygalle said that the government spends Rs. 1.1 trillion on salaries and pensions alone. According to the budget proposal, 50,000 new graduates will be recruited to the public service and 100,000 youths for the salary of Rs. 35,000 from low-income families are also being recruited and their salaries should be added to this.
Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said that this was a difficult time for any government to manage its finances. Furthermore, he informed the committee that his two State Ministers and officials of the Ministry of Finance are performing well.
State Minister of Samurdhi, Household Economy, Micro Finance, Self-Employment, Business Development Shehan Semasinghe , State Minister of Money & Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Minister Gamini Lokuge, Members of Parliament Jagath Kumara, Prof. Ranjith Bandara, Gunapala Ratnasekera, S. Viyalendran, Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon, W.D Weerasinghe and Mohomed Muzammil were also present.
In addition, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and Treasury S.R Attygalle and other senior officials of the Ministry of Finance were also present at the occasion.
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