Prime Minister establishes Family Economic Unit

Friday, 9 February 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Skandha Gunasekara

The Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs has established a Family Economic Unit to monitor and obtain information regarding a household economy.

The new unit was established following a directive issued by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The first meeting of the Family Economic Unit was held yesterday at Temple Trees under the auspices of the Prime Minister.

Addressing a media briefing soon after, the Premier pointed out that the new unit would be tasked with ascertaining various data including the impact of the family economy on the national economy and vice versa.

“A new Family Economic Unit has been established by the Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs. Presently we have data on the country’s economy but have no mechanism to collect data regarding household economies. If the cost of living is high then we should pay attention to factors such as the price of food items. This data will help us support and serve households and families better,” Wickremesinghe said.

“Food cost isn’t the only expense for a household. Transport, clothing, tuition fees, telephone and mobile charges, rent and preschool fees are among the other expenses of a family. Some households spend more on these expenses than they do on food. So then what is the total expense of a household? What is their income? How does it affect the economy? And how does the economy affect a household? Questions such as these and many more can be answered through this Family Economy Unit.”

State Minister of Finance Eran Wickremaratne, Deputy Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs Dr. Harsha De Silva and Secretary to the Prime Minister Saman Ekanayake were present at the meeting.