COLOMBO : Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament on Wednesday,Feb,8 that all are bound to protect the State of Sri Lanka. Any citizen has the opportunity to democratically change Governments through the elections, but no one has the right to create anarchy in Sri Lanka. Not any political party. Not any group. The country cannot be allowed to become an economic or social colony. Anarchy cannot be allowed.
The president was delivering his government’s policy statement at the 4th session of the ninth parliament,
The President, said there is a question of whether the role of the media has been properly fulfilled. Therefore, he said media reforms are needed & a national policy on mass media needs to be considered. He said that it is important for the government and the media industry to take care of a collective self-regulation system
Delivering the policy statement, Wickremesinghe stated that the children and youth are the future generation of our country. He noted, therefore, that it is the Government’s responsibility to create a better future for the youth who wish to rebuild the nation, as opposed to seeking for better opportunities in foreign countries.
The president was making the policy statement at the fourth session of the ninth parliament on Wednesday.
Speaking on the recent tax revisions, the President said the following, “Introducing new tax policies is a politically unpopular decision. I’m not here to be popular. I want to rebuild this nation from the crisis it is facing. I’m ready to make unpopular decisions for the sake of the nation. People will realize the importance of these decisions in two or three years”.
Moreover, Wickremesinghe also commented on the support extended by Sri Lanka’s migrant workers to the country’s recovery from the ongoing crisis.
The President, presenting his Government’s Policy Statement at the inauguration of the fourth session of the ninth parliament there is a question whether the role of the media has been properly fulfilled. Therefore, he said media reforms are needed & a national policy on mass media needs to be considered. He said that it is important for the government and the media industry to take care of a collective self-regulation system
“Migrant workers have been extremely supportive of the motherland at this critical juncture. By the end of 2022, their remittance reached USD 4 billion in foreign exchange”, he said in this regard, adding that entrepreneurs and migrant workers made this commitment in the context of political parties and groups influencing them on diverse fronts.
He further noted that the Government has envisioned bringing new laws regarding the implementation of powers of the Provincial Council in the fields of education and health, after it has been alleged that owing to certain practices of the Central Government, the powers of Provincial Councils have been reduced in these fields.
The Head of State arrived in Parliament earlier this morning, for the inauguration of the Fourth Session of the Ninth Parliament, which took place at 10:00 a.m.
Following the deliverance of the policy statement, the Parliament will be adjourned until 09:30 a.m. tomorrow (09 Feb.).
President Ranil Wickremesinghe, delivering the government’s policy statement in parliament today, said he is ready to make politically unpopular decisions, such as introducing new tax policies, to put the country back on track.
“I am not here to be popular. I am ready to make unpopular decisions for the sake of the country. People will realize the importance of these decisions in two to three years.”
Mentioning that due to the excessive tax reliefs granted in late 2019, tax revenue dropped drastically, the President pointed out that those who issued a clarion call for tax policy revision are now taking issue with it.
Some people are urging the government to increase the income tax threshold from Rs. 100,000 to Rs. 200,000, while some want the PAYE tax abolished, the President continued, explaining that the country will incur a loss of Rs. 100 billion if the PAYE tax is scrapped. If the income tax threshold is brought down to Rs. 200,000, the country will lose Rs. 63 billion. The country cannot afford to lose income tax revenue to the tune of Rs. 163 billion, he added.
Recalling the peak of the crisis situation last year during which severe shortages of essential items, long queues for domestic gas and fuel, daily power cuts of more than 10 hours, the President said the pressure people felt back then is now eased as a result of the measures taken in the recent past.
The economy is stabilized to a certain extent, however, this journey has not been easy and it is yet to come to an end, President Wickremesinghe continued, reiterating that the government has been able to safely guide the country a long way across a challenging course.
Urging everyone to keep working to steer the country towards a brighter future, President Wickremesinghe underscored that it is the responsibility of every citizen to build a country where the country’s younger generation can live freely.
