President Ranil Wickramasinghe once again made a special request to forget the old conflicts and join a common program in order to overcome the most serious economic crisis faced by the country in recent history.

The President, who introduced a four-step strategic plan to recover from the crisis, said that the first step has been successful and the foundation for the second step is being prepared.

President Ranil Wickramasinghe expressed these views by making a special statement yesterday (06) in Parliament regarding the current economic situation.

The President informed the parliament about the Japan-Philippines visit and said that Japan’s agreement to play a leading role as a mediator in the debt restructuring work is a good sign and he hopes to request Japan to hold the position of co-chairman of the conference held with the countries that have given loans.

Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe also pointed out that the progress of the negotiations with the major lenders such as India, China, and Japan, as well as the other lenders, is expected to reach a multilateral agreement with them as soon as possible.

Also, the President, who briefed the parliament on the talks held with the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Shenlong, stated that the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement, which had been abandoned last season, should be revived.

Through that, the President pointed out the possibility of establishing a stable economic approach with Singapore as well as the possibility of strengthening the country’s economic relations with Southeast Asia.

Ranil Wickramasinghe further said that due to the quick measures taken in the agriculture sector, it was possible to get a higher than expected yield in the yala season, and that the seeds and fertilizers needed to make the next season successful without any hindrance have been prepared sufficiently.

Although an urgent food production program has been prepared to ensure food security, the President emphasized the need to prevent the contraction of the economy and inflation and informed the Parliament about the measures to be taken to prevent the situation.

The President mentioned that the Buddha has shown the points followed by King Maha Vijita in rebuilding a fallen country through the Kutadanta Sutra and added that he is following the method shown by the Buddha.

Responding to the UN resolution, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office Minister of State for the Middle East, South Asia and the United Nations Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon said:

We welcome the result of today’s vote on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR). This resolution will support progress on human rights, justice, and accountability. It has renewed the mandate of the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to report on Sri Lanka and to protect and preserve evidence of past human rights abuses to use in future accountability processes. This is integral to establish truth and achieve lasting justice and reconciliation, as well as to improve human rights in the country.

Our focus should now turn to our collective and renewed ability to work with the new Government of Sri Lanka to take forward their commitments to the Council. We call on UNHRC members to support this effort, and to work together to address the economic challenges faced by the people of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka has embarked on an ambitious agriculture revival initiative waking up to reality after failed organic farming dream, Agriculture Ministry sources said

The implementation of this initiative has been expedited following the pledge given by United States Permanent Representative to the UN Food and Agriculture Agencies in Rome, Ambassador Cindy McCain to support the country’s agriculture-led economic growth and revitalize vital agricultural production.

However conventional agricultural extension approaches are insufficient to assist farmers in dealing with increasingly complex challenges in the agriculture sector, the agriculture ministry study revealed.

The economic contribution of paddy farmers numbering over 600000 or 9 percent of the total work force was 0.9 percent of GDP and the main issue is to prevent the wastage of their labour while identifying challenges among farmers.

According to this study paddy farmer is working 31 man days per year wasting 334 days without engaging in any productive work or activity.

The gross national income from agriculture was around Rs 698 billion per annum and the revenue from paddy cultivation was Rs 70 billion.

Of the country’s approximately 2.3 million hectares of agricultural land, 80 percent is used for non-plantation food crops, comprising rice, maize, fruits, vegetables and other crops primarily grown on smallholder farms.

About 1.65 million smallholder farmers operate on average less than 2 hectares and contribute 80 percent of the total annual food production.

Under this set up, it is essential to support farmers by developing high-quality technologies and mechanisms through the community development process, the short term plan of the ministry disclosed.

Agriculture Ministry’s current initiative contains short-term, medium-term and long-term remedies based on long-term research data on measures to be taken in relation to main food crop production

Further the Ministry is ready to establish a Dollar Account for the development of the agriculture sector on Sri Lanka’s food security.

Chairman of the Presidential Committee on National Food Security Dr. Suren Batagoda noted that if Sri Lanka’s food security is not established, the people will have to face severe food shortages next year.

This agriculture modernization initiative is aimed at achieving food security, ensure higher and sustainable incomes for farmers, improve production and productivity, and sustainably manage the environment, he added.

Within this policy framework, agricultural programmes and projects will promote deep involvement of the private sector, related to the agriculture, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said.

He noted that it will help farmers increase their productivity sustainably by reducing degradation of natural resources (mainly land), improving agricultural technologies and creating off-farm opportunities, while recognizing the growing links between urban and rural growth and employment creation.

The World Bank funded Agriculture Sector Modernization Project is also aligned with the new initiative of improving agricultural productivity and competitiveness to strengthen the links between rural and urban areas and facilitate Sri Lanka’s structural transformation.

However the major issue in the agriculture sector which should be addressed at present was the providing and strengthening rural livelihood sources, employment opportunities in agriculture and along agriculture value chains, as well as market access for the poor, bottom 40 percent, and vulnerable people, thereby improving income sources and livelihood security in lagging rural areas.

TOKYO, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Japan has not yet reached an agreement to co-chair a debt summit with Sri Lanka’s creditors, a government official in Tokyo said on Thursday, as the island nation struggles to find a way out of a crippling economic crisis.

Sri Lanka has to renegotiate around $30 billion of foreign debt, including with bilateral creditors such as China, Japan and India, with one of them likely to co-chair the talks.

“We have not reached such an agreement. It might be their wishful thinking but the situation remains unchanged,” a senior Japanese government official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The denial from Tokyo came after less than an hour after Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office said on Thursday that Japan had agreed to co-chair the meeting with negotiators.

Wickremesinghe’s office later issued a clarification saying Sri Lanka had requested Japan to co-chair the summit. Japan would also help Sri Lanka in its credit restructuring process, Wickremesinghe’s office said.

“Japan will stand ready to provide full support for Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring providing that necessary conditions are met,” the Japanese government official said.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis in decades, with severely depleted foreign exchanges reserves leading to prolonged shortages of essentials, including fuel and food.

Out of Sri Lanka’s total bilateral debt of $10 billion, Japan holds around $3.5 billion worth, amounting to 4.4% of Sri Lanka’s GDP, according to government and IMF data.

REUTERS

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed to expedite the programme to provide welfare benefits to 3.1 million low-income families in Sri Lanka.

This program has been planned to cover all the districts of the country under the theme ‘Don’t Leave Anyone Behind’. State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe revealed this while attending a media briefing held this afternoon (06) at the Government Information Department Auditorium.

Under this programme the benefits will be available for the families or individuals receiving benefits under Samurdhi, Elderly Person, Disabled Person and Kidney Disease Assistance Program. Also, people who are on the waiting list expecting subsidies as well as people who are affected by the current economic crisis and who are expecting government welfare benefits will also receive this benefit, the Minister revealed.

Minister also said that calling for applications have already started and the closing date has been extended to October 15.

The relevant application form can be downloaded via the www.wbb.gov.lk

By calling for new applications, the government hope to include all eligible beneficiaries and to provide benefits to all those who deserve benefits through the Social Welfare Benefit Board, the Minister further said.

Denying on the rumour that been circulating among the public regarding the cut-down of the allowances according to the agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he said the government needs organise the data in a correct system. It needs to include the group who are currently receiving welfare benefits as well as the group who are not receiving welfare benefits but are expecting. It is our expectation to gather all the information and give the allowance to the necessary, appropriate and correct individual.

We are united in the national responsibility that no one should be left behind. Currently there is a group receiving public assistance, welfare allowances and disability allowances. It is mandatory for them to be registered at the Divisional Secretariat. At present, only a small group of beneficiaries have been registered. Therefore, we have extended the registration. Extending this date further means that the date of receiving the benefits will also be delayed. This should be done quickly.

For that, we need a data system. By receiving these applications, the data system is prepared. It is mandatory for the people who are currently receiving benefits to register for this. We have prepared a data system to do this transparently. The young people of the village have a great responsibility in this regard.

It is also possible to find out about the needy people of the rural level and educate them about them. Elderly people, people with disabilities, kidney patients, and destitute families are in some rural areas. All those people are included in this data system and taken care of by the welfare benefit board.

After the application is submitted, the officers of the Divisional Secretariat will go and investigate the families and take further action. There is a scoring system. Accordingly, they are included in the data system. In this process, if they are not selected, they can file an appeal, and if an ineligible person has entered the system, they can file an objection. This process is done to provide benefits in a transparent manner and not to cut down the allowances.

Chairman of the Welfare Benefit Board B. Wijayaratne, Director of the General Secretariat for the Disabled, Anuradha Herath, Director of the Elderly Secretariat, KG Lanarole and other officials were present at this occasion.

President Media Division
06.10.2022

Professor Ranjith Bandara has been appointed as the Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE).

Professor Ranjith Bandara is a Member of Parliament of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna.