SJB agrees tough economic reforms a must but insists on cash handouts to poor people

Party stance to be revealed in parliament on Monday

By Akitha Perera

Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) would reveal on 29 August its stance on the recent price increases , SJB MP Harsha de Silva told the media in Colombo yesterday.

“We are trying to reach a staff level agreement with the IMF and we need to carry out economic reforms. The government is implementing certain reforms. These include the electricity tariff hikes and huge increase in the price of kerosene. How do we view these as an opposition political party and what is our view on the economic reforms? Are we going to criticise the government for everything, or should we start a discussion with the people? We have had a lengthy discussion in the party, and we will reveal our stance at the Parliamentary debate on Monday. We are of the view that economic reforms are a must,” he said.

MP de Silva said there were many problems with the way the government were carrying out the reform process. The burden of reforms was not felt by every alike and the government must give cash handouts to the vulnerable sections of society.

“We are opposed to the price hikes without the cash handouts to the poor. While we support reforms, we insist that the concerns of the poor must be addressed. Reforms can’t be done in a high-handed manner”, he said.

The SJB MP said that an IMF delegation was in Sri Lanka and that the government believed that there would be a staff level agreement by the end of the month. However, the country had not started discussions with the creditors.

“The Central Bank Governor said that these discussions would be held after an IMF agreement. This is problematic. Before we reach a staff level agreement with the IMF, we have to present a plan on how to reduce our debt to sustainable levels. So, I don’t know how we can present such a plan to the IMF without talking to the creditors. I won’t criticise the Central Bank Governor, but, I think if the government is transparent in what is going on, everyone will be happy and there will be more buy-in from the people”, he said.

Meanwhile, MP Eran Wickramaratne said that even the members of the middle class were reeling from high food inflation. He said that Sri Lanka was among the top five countries with the highest food inflation in the world.

“Some reports say six million Sri Lankans have only a single meal a day. The price of food increases on a weekly or even on a daily basis. People are not taking protein, which is vital for our development. Fish and meat are unaffordable”, he said.

MP Wickramaratne said that most people had shifted to kerosene to cook food due to the cooking gas shortage.This was especially seen in urban areas, he said. “Now the price of kerosene, which was 87 rupees is 340 rupees. This has affected the fisheries sector and now the price of fish has increased even more,” he said.