- Former CB Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal says the present Govt and the Central Bank have “outsourced” the economic management of the country to the IMF: laments that the the most important macro-fundamental indicator of “Growth” is blatantly ignored by the present Govt at the behest of the IMF, and the people are seriously affected by the contracting economy.
- NPP & JVP Leader Anura Kumar Dissanayake says SL is now in the clutches of the IMF which functions under the USA, just as it was under British colonial rule where SL had no freedom or sovereignty to decide on its taxation or fiscal policies: asserts that when professionals questioned about the PAYE tax, the President and CB Governor admitted they couldn’t do anything about it and that the matter should be dealt with the IMF.
- Netherlands Ambassador Bonnie Horbach says around 3,000 items which were “collected” during the colonial period may be in museum vaults in the Netherlands: says that as a part of the recent policy of the Dutch Govt to return the stolen artefacts to their rightful owners, researchers from former colonies will be granted access to those collections: more than 13,000 items of value have been documented as being pillaged & stolen by Western Colonial Powers during 443 years of Colonial rule from 1505 to 1948.
- Karapitiya Teaching Hospital Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Rumi Ruban says there’s a risk of memory loss among children due to severe addiction to mobile phones and the internet.
- Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera says the poultry association has reduced the price of chicken by Rs.100 per kg: also says the import tax of Rs.75 per kg of maize has been reduced to Rs.25 by the Govt and that can be considered as the reason for the reduction.
- Ministry of Health says 50 more types of drugs that are in short supply will be imported within the next 2 weeks: currently, there is a shortage of 230 medicines in the medical supply sector.
- Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya says the review of the budget proposals will start from August 28: asserts the next budget will provide the necessary facilities to move the country’s economy from bankruptcy to positive: certain officials of the Govt & CB announced the country’s debt default on 12April’22.
- Asian Development Bank Country Director Takafumi Kadano reaffirms the ADB’s commitment to bolster the recovery of stressed SMEs: praises Sri Lanka’s dedication to rebound from the economic crisis: analysts point out that the Govt’s and IMF’s contractionary economic policies & debt default have severely crippled SMEs & more than 60% of the SMEs have already closed down or are facing imminent closure.
- State Minister for Primary Industries Chamara Sampath Dasanayake says gem and jewellery exports have recorded an income of USD 315 mn year-to-date, & recorded a growth of 34%, reaffirming its vital role in strengthening the economy.
- Tourism Development Authority says 109,954 tourists visited SL during the first 23 days of August’23, 191% higher than in August 22, in the immediate aftermath of the Aragalaya.
