by Harischandra Gunaratna

Kalutara District Parliamentarian Vidura Wickramanayake on Thursday said the country’s Finance Minister was clueless about the plantation industry and his knowledge of basic economics was negligible.

Speaking to journalists at a Joint Opposition news conference at the Dr. N. M. Perera Centre, Borella, the SLFP stalwart said, “The once flourishing tea industry in Sri Lanka which produced the best teas in the world popularly known as ‘Ceylon Tea’ had received a paralysing blow with the transferring of its Cess fund to the Treasury.

It is the same story with the tourism industry as well. Its Cess fund was transferred to the Treasury despite protests by experts. Now, there was no money for promotions and those monies would be used for other purposes, the son of former PM Ratnasiri said.

There was infighting among the government ranks and the Plantations Industries Minister is challenging the Finance Minister over the issue, Wickremenayake said.

“It has no clear economic policy and the loans that the government has drawn last year alone amounts to Rs. 1.1 billion,” Wickramanayake said.

He said the government talked about price control, but it was a ruse to fool the masses and the traders were having a field day.

The masses had been severely burdened with excessive taxes and leave alone prices of essential commodities, drug prices had increased by manifold, he said.

Today the dignity of Parliament had been ruined and there was no decorum, he said.

Courtesy:The Island