• Says airlines should not be allowed to lease aircraft
• COPE has recommended SLA to be sold
• Says loss making State institutions must be evaluated

Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said SriLankan Airlines should not be allowed to lease any new aircraft without authorisation from Parliament.

“SLA should not be allowed to buy any new aircraft. COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises) has recommended that it be sold off.  The leasing of aircraft should be deferred until Parliament decides on it,” Wickremesinghe said.

He said parliament must decide on the future of the airline as well as what to do with loss making State institutions.

“We are in a big mess today. We have distanced ourselves from our international friends, be it Japan, India, or China but they are still helping us. We must win back our old friends,” he said.

Referring to the tax cuts given in 2019, Wickremasinghe said the private sector demanded a tax cut as soon as the present Government came into power.

“No politician in the Government wanted a tax cut as it was the private sector who wanted it,” he said.

 

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