What should have been done with the Rs. 229 billion relief package..?

Not the removal of Susil Premajayantha

To use that money to attract dollars to the country, lost to black market

The popular decisions of the Finance Minister and the unpopular decisions of the President are contradictory

What should the President have done..?

(By Nuwan Monarawila-translated by Rumi Speelberg)

It should be questioned whether the biggest crisis in the country at the moment is the dollar deficit, or whether strategies are being devised to address it, or whether the country is currently facing a living crisis faced only by public servants, retirees and Samurdhi recipients, or being committed to make 1.7 million live out of 22 million in the country.

The total relief package of the Government is 229 billion rupees. According to the country's exchange controls, the loss to people who are earning abroad is about 40 rupees per dollar when the dollar is legally transferred through commercial banks. So people exchange dollars through black market illegally.

Migrant workers send between $ 600 million and $ 650 million a month. However, during the past two months only between $ 250 million and $ 300 million had been received by the country. It is $ 300 million that the country needs in a month to import fuel. The Sapugaskanda oil refinery has again been closed due to not being able to import crude oil without dollars.

Accordingly, the argument arises as to whether the Ministry of Finance should implement its strategies in ways to increase recurrent expenditure or to recoup the loss of national income. If the Ministry of Finance had spent Rs. 229 billion to devise a system to attract the lost dollars due to the black market price of the dollar inland, there would be no need to ask for a three-month grace period to repay the $ 200 million borrowed from Bangladesh.

The Government has to take the most beneficial decision out of satisfying the state employees until the 2023 budget, whether this 229 billion is used to attract the money earned by 1.5 million migrant workers in a legal way or whether investing the same in the tourism industry to attract dollars by attracting foreigners to the country. When the President states that unpopular decisions will be made for the benefit of the country, the Finance Minister’s popular decision making is contradictory. These decisions of the government are criticized by the common people of the country who pay taxes even on meals. .

Even though the salaries are increased by Rs. 5,000.00 when the prices of commodities go up once again according to the increase, protests and strikes demanding a salary to suit the cost of living will come to the streets before the next budget.