Govt. failed to walk the talk: UNP

• Ravi says Govt. has failed to deliver promises in first 100 days
• Claims previous administration delivered on assurances 
• Charges Govt. failed to control inflation, maintain fiscal consolidation
• Voices concern over ex-military officer heading Customs

By Nuwan Senarathna

The United National Party (UNP) yesterday criticised the Government’s failure to deliver the changes it promised in the lead-up to elections within its first 100 days in office.

MP Ravi Karunanayake   – Pic by Sameera Wijesinghe

Speaking to the media at the UNP headquarters of Sirikotha, UNP Assistant Leader MP Ravi Karunanayake said the Government was unable to address several of the people’s issues such as inflation and timely delivery of the fertiliser subsidy.

“The Government failed to walk the talk. They promised a lot during the Presidential Election such as the fertiliser subsidy and to control inflation. The prices of vegetables are skyrocketing and the Government is unable to take measures to control that,” he charged.

Karunanayake claimed that the previous administration was able to deliver on its promises within its first 100 days in power in order to provide relief to the public. He added that it was also able to increase public service salaries, a development which was long overdue. 

“We walked the talk and delivered on our promises within the first 100 days of our Government. We were able to provide a nutrition package for pregnant mothers, increase pension payments and increase interest rates for savings of senior citizens,” he declared.

Karunanayake stressed that they were able to deliver on their promises due to their fiscal consolidation capabilities. He asserted that the previous Government was able to manage the economy without being steered by international organisations, which he argued reflected the then-Government’s capacity for fiscal consolidation.

“We did not let any international organisation teach us how to manage the economy. We were aware and capable of managing the economy without anyone else’s guidance. The previous Government committed to deliver its promises unlike the incumbent Government,” he added.

Karunanayake also raised concerns over the latest appointment of a military official as the Sri Lanka Customs Director General. 

“When former Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera attempted to appoint a military person as Customs Director General, officials at Customs opposed that but when the incumbent Government is appointing such individuals those who protested are not opposed to that appointment,” he stated.

Referring to the country’s present power situation, Karunanayake claimed when he was in office, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) was able to manage power generation and therefore there was no need to opt for emergency power purchasing.

“When I was the Power Minister for 11 months, I was able to manage power generation. When this Government was appointed, I informed them of the situation but they did not want to take that into consideration,” he revealed. 

He emphasised that if the Government set up a power generation plan, this could help them address the current power situation.

Sri Lanka has been unable to set up a new power plant for the last five years and the Norochcholai Power Plant was the last to be established in the country.