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Wednesday, 18 March 2020 01:27 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday announced several relief measures, including a moratorium on bank interest for six months and a limit of 4% interest on capex loans, as well as a reduction in the prices of selected goods as the country grapples with the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19.
Addressing the nation, Rajapaksa announced price controls on lentils, capped at Rs. 65 a kilogram, and fixed a maximum retail price of Rs. 100 for canned fish, adding that prices of other goods too would be reduced in the coming days.
In his address, the President detailed measures that the Government has taken so far, as well as those it expects to take in the coming days, to stabilise the situation and ease the burden on the public while maintaining essential services without disruption. The President traced the onset of COVID-19 in the country, starting with the detection of a Chinese national with COVID-19 on 26 January, to 11 March, when the first Sri Lankan was diagnosed with the illness. He said 43 patients were diagnosed as of yesterday.
“We have sent 1882 persons to quarantine centres by last morning, of whom 92 were hospitalised. Our main concern is around 2000 persons who had arrived in the country before the quarantine program began on 10 March,” the President said.
He said the Police, members of the armed forces, PHIs, and Grama Sevaka officers have been assigned the task of tracing those who had come from high-risk countries but had not been subject to quarantine, and requested them to cooperate with the authorities. The President also requested those who have returned from overseas to act with responsibility, and for the public to cooperate with the Government.
“We declared public holidays, so as to minimise the spread of the virus. I urge people not to use this holiday to go on trips and have gatherings, and to follow the guidelines laid down by the health authorities, so that we can bring this situation completely under control.”
He said the responsibility of the Government is to ensure that the public services are not crippled, and that the needs of all sections of the people are met.
“There is a drought in some parts of the country. We must supply drinking water for them. In some areas, the ‘Yala’ season is starting, and we have to provide fertiliser to the farmers, while in some areas the harvest is ready, and the Government has to ensure the paddy stocks are purchased at the fixed price. We also have to ensure that the vegetables reach the markets, while the cost of living is also curtailed at manageable levels,” he said.
The President also said that when he was elected last year, they had a minority Government, and as the previous Government had not passed a Budget, the government has had to grapple without enough financial allocations. “The last Government left us with many unpaid bills, be it to contractors, fertiliser suppliers, or to those providing rations to the armed forces. We tried to get some additional allocations approved by Parliament, but the Opposition did not cooperate with us. Because of this, I could not fulfil all my promises to you.”
This, the President said, was why he dissolved Parliament at the first possible opportunity and called an election, so that a stable Government can be in place. “After Parliament was dissolved, under the powers vested by the Constitution, I got additional funding, and this is used for essential expenses as well as to face the emergency situation that has arisen in the country,” the President said.
However, he said he would be able to deliver on the promises made in his election manifesto after a stable Government is in place, and urged people to support him to set up a strong Government under Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The President also said that Government services should not be disrupted under any circumstances, and warned that short-sighted actions could results in the breakdown of all services. “Leaders must work with self-confidence and they should not create unnecessary panic among the public. We have faced challenges before, and overcome them, and for that we need to be united,” the President said, while appealing to the public to act with responsibility.
