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Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is due to address the nation shortly on the current economic situation in the country and what measures the United National Front Government proposes to take to curb the rising cost of living and provide relief to the people.

Cabinet spokesman Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris briefing the media on Thursday said that both the Prime Minister and Finance Minister K.N. Choksy will make statements in due course to make the nation aware of the prevailing economic situation. He told the media that the Prime Minister who had spent most of his time studying the state of the economy had submitted a draft of a "Public Utilities Commission" bill to the Cabinet. The bill hopes to ensure a proper regulatory framework for essential commodities and services such as gas, water and electricity.

He also said that legislation will be introduced in Parliament to establish Five Regional Commissions, re-structuring the present Board of Investment (BoI) law to stimulate economic development in remote regions.

Referring to VAT, he said that the delay in its implementation had been discussed in Parliament and that the delay was due to it being referred to the Supreme Court by citizens of this country. Once the Supreme Court gives its ruling, steps would be taken to implement VAT, replacing GST.

Prof. Peiris also said that laws will be introduced to guarantee the right to information and added that the media in this country would enjoy the right to cover the proceedings of the Select Committees and the Consultatative Committees.

He said that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed a Cabinet committee to make recommendations and added that the "Freedom of Information Act" will be presented in Parliament in the coming months. This will ensure transparency and greater accountability of public institutions, the Minister said.

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