Government pick-pocketing people’s wallets in its struggle for survival – UNP

(April 18, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Addressing a media briefing at the UNP media unit yesterday, (17Apr) , UNP M.P. Ravi Karunanayake said , the Govt. is riding on the backs of the famished nation only for it to be in power and win foul elections . He said , the Govt. ‘s preoccupation now after driving itself and the country into the worst economic precipice is searching for hidden and crafty ways of burdening the people with taxes, tariff hikes and levies over and above those already imposed.

In the last budget , the President said the Nation development tax of 1 % was introduced, to be used for the benefit of the Forces and their families who are grieving from losses of their children’s lives in the battle field. But, now the Govt. is raising this tax to 3 % to be effective from May 1st ,explaining that the Govt. needs funds and therefore these monies are for its consolidated fund.

The Govt.’s backstreet politics and policies using its cronies and stooges in the Central Bank and Ministry to tell all the lies on earth presenting a rosy picture of the country ‘s economy to the people has led the country into this abysmal economic mess ,he pinpointed. The Govt. to cover up its monumental fiscal blunders , it made its hangers on and selected stooges to bluff to the country. A few months ago the Central bank Governor Cabraal , another of the Govt.’s cronies ,said the Mahinda Chintana is so magical that the world recession will not affect SL’s economy.. But, now, he contradicts his own utterance . He gives a most dismal picture after the worst has happened to the economy , only to further burden the people and extract taxes to keep only this moribund Govt., its lackeys , cronies and stooges alive and kicking at the expense of the people and the country,. he asserted.

Why cant the Govt. reduce the number of Ministers in the Govt. who are now idling with no work as the Govt. has no money to do anything ? Why cant it withdraw the budget allocation of Rs. 6000 million to Mihin Air , which is a proven whit elephant ? Why cant the Govt. make cut backs on its wasteful expenditures ? he asked. If these monies are there the Govt. could provide relief to the people instead of being parasitic on them , he exhorted.

The Govt. is having a colossal program of huge taxes and hikes to be imposed on the people without which it cannot survive. But, it is holding these up until after the upcoming elections , he warned.

If the Govt. has heeded the warnings of the UNP when it was going for high interest loans from Institutions like HSBC , the Govt. need not trample the people this mercilessly with hardships . Now , the problem is , the Govt. has no room even to breathe with the colossal debt burdens. It has only one choice ,borrow and borrow to pay loans and loans, he regretted.

-Sri Lanka Guardian