By: Isuru Parakrama
Colombo (LNW): The government’s domestic debt optimisation (DDO) strategy recently approved in Parliament should be carried out in a manner in which it affects both the ordinary working people and the rich people alike, emphasised Chairman of the Committee on Public Finances (CoPF) and SJB MP Dr. Harsha De Silva.
In the government’s failure to comply with this necessity, the Opposition had opposed the DDO plan, Silva said, reminding that the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), which the ordinary working people will resort to following their retirement for the rest of their lives, has been affected by the DDO plan.
To justify this disparity the DDO strategy should affect both the working people and the rich and the bank owners alike, he pointed out.
“We as the Opposition strongly opposed the DDO strategy because the entire burden of it was to be placed on the EPF and the ETF. If the burden is shared among everyone else as a whole, it may be justified in some way,” Silva added.