GR formula to deal with spike in inflation

 President Gotabaya Rajapaksa addressing SLPP women representatives and activists on Thursday as SLPP National Organiser Basil Rajapaksa looks on

• President says increased production, income only ways to deal with cost of living during meeting with SLPP women representatives and activists
• Calls on public to analyse policies, benefits when evaluating progress of his administration
• Reiterates sincere effort is to bring prosperity to people by rebuilding economy 
• SLPP women representatives highlight key issues faced in contributing to national economy
• Basil says ample scope for self-employment for women in agricultural sector 

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has emphasised increased production and income are the only ways to deal with the rise in cost of living, whilst stressing that Government initiatives have now begun to benefit the public.

“The only answer to the problem of cost of living is to increase production and income received by the people. Price of imported goods is determined by the world market forces. Their prices could only be regulated by reducing taxes. A total of 17 crops that can be cultivated locally were identified and those items have been barred from importation. Cultivation of these crops has already begun and the revenue generated goes to our farmers,” he said speaking at a meeting with women representatives and activists of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) at the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday.

The President pointed out that the increase of price paid for a paddy kilogram from Rs. 32 to Rs. 50 has helped to increase both production and income for farmers, bringing in a new era in the agriculture sector.

“The benefits of the Government initiatives are now being trickled down to the general public including the farmers of Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and Jaffna. However, those who shout about human rights have failed to take notice of it,” he added. 

President Rajapaksa called on the public to analyse and compare the policies of the Government and their benefits when evaluating the progress of his administration. 

“The benefits of agriculture-based economic development are evident for both farmers as well as the consumer. The abolition of the PAYE tax resulted in increasing the income of public employees. Those who do not see this progress are trying to spread falsehoods and lead the country back to abyss. To develop the local dairy industry, grasslands have to be established. 

“If farmers have disowned their lands used for cultivation for generations, providing them with a practical solution cannot be considered as destruction of the environment. The Government has never encouraged deforestation. Renewable sources are projected to meet 70% of energy needs by 2030 — which will help environmental conservation to a large extent. The termination of oil palm cultivation was stopped after considering the environmental damage that has been caused in many districts,” he highlighted.

President Rajapaksa emphasised the need to protect the environment, whilst pointing out that the regulations in place currently are not sufficient. 

Since the Government came into power, he said a great deal of work for the benefit of the people has been rolled out, but the forces hostile to the country are spreading falsehoods to suppress this truth and mislead people. 

“Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa ended the 30-year war and brought about unprecedented economic development in the country. But the people, who were deceived by the falsehoods propagated by the Opposition, defeated him in 2015. What followed thereafter was a catastrophe for the country. National security was compromised while the economy was in shambles. The sovereignty of the motherland was betrayed. People gave their mandate once again to restore what was lost and we are confident in fulfilling it,” he stressed.

President Rajapaksa reiterated that his sincere effort is to bring prosperity to the people by rebuilding the economy and called on all women representatives of the SLPP to work together to achieve this goal.

The women representatives who participated in yesterday’s meeting explained to the President of a number of issues affecting the society in general and districts in particular. Creating self-employment opportunities, difficulty of obtaining bank loans, microfinance problems, rural housing requirements, cost of living, drug menace, and education of their children were a few among them. 

The President assured that an effective drug control program is now in place and it will take some time to eradicate the menace from the grass-root level.

SLPP National Organiser Basil Rajapaksa said that specific steps have been taken to create 200,000 self-employment opportunities for women this year. “The Government has restricted the import of dried fish and Maldive-fish. Women can now work on processing them as an avenue of income. There is also ample scope for self-employment in the agricultural sector,” he added.

A large number of participants representing the SLPP Women’s organisations from all districts and women members of the Pradeshiya Sabhas were present at the discussion.

The President started the discussion commending SLPP Women’s organisations for their contribution in ensuring the victory at elections.

Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Leader of the SLPP Women’s Front, State Minister Sita Arambepola, Members of Parliament Geetha Kumarasinghe, Kokila Gunawardena, Manjula Dissanayake, Rajika Wickramasinghe, Muditha Prarashanthi and Diana Gamage were also present at the discussion.