North and East will help boost economy

Having eradicated terrorism and rescued over half a million innocent civilians from the jaws of LTTE terror in the North and East, the Government has embarked on a resettling process to ensure a better tomorrow for those displaced.

Steps have been already taken to convert Jaffna's famous Windsor Cinema hall into a mega Lak Sathosa outlet. It will be opened within a couple of weeks to offer essential goods for the people in the peninsula at cheap rates. The bold step taken under the direction of Trade, Commerce and Cooperatives Minister Bandula Gunawardena will definitely bring down the high prices of essential goods in Jaffna.

Along with Ministers Douglas Devananda, Tissa Karaliyadda and Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Trade, Commerce and Cooperatives Minister has launched a mega program to bring down the cost of living in the North and East so that people in those areas could buy commodities at market prices prevailing in other parts of the country.

Following discussions with the members of the Jaffna Chamber of Commerce, small and medium traders and farmers at the Jaffna Kachcheri to seek ways and means to bring down the cost of living and address their problems, Minister Gunawardena is supremely confident that he could bring relief to consumers in the North who were obliged to buy goods at exorbitant prices.

On the other hand, it is important to do away with the monopoly created by some unscrupulous traders in the North and to take steps to arrest the situation.

Under President Mahinda Rajapaksa's vision for one country one nation, the Government wants to maintain the same prices for essential goods in different parts of the country - be it in Colombo, Kandy, Matara or Jaffna.

The Government has advocated that farmers send their products directly to the special Economic Centre at Narahenpita without sending them through intermediary channels so that the products would be of good quality and fetch better prices. The fishing industry in the East is now thriving with a good harvest in Trincomalee to be sent to the South. Similarly, the Government intends to offer a better value for the Northern farmers' produce.

Following a request by members of the Jaffna Chamber of Commerce, steps would be taken to increase the number of lorries transporting goods from Colombo to Jaffna.

The aim of the Government is to get people in the newly liberated North and East to be actively involved in nation building. Farmers in the North and East had made an active contribution to the national economy in the past and the Government's aim is to give a boost to the agro industry in the entire country.

Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services Minister Maithripala Sirisena has presented a supplementary estimate seeking parliamentary approval to obtain Rs. 2,500 million to continue the fertilizer subsidy to safeguard the country's agricultural sector in the face of the global economic recession.

Although a financial provision of Rs. 25,000 million has been allocated to the Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services Ministry through the 2009 Budget to pay the fertilizer subsidy, including paddy, this amount is not sufficient to bear the cost for 2009.

The Government spends billions of rupees to provide chemical fertilizer for paddy farmers at subsidized rates. This is in keeping with the Mahinda Chinthana and the Government's policy of supplying fertilizer on a subsidy basis. Mixed fertilizer is given to tea smallholdings as well.

The Finance Minister, through a memorandum to the Cabinet on the subject 'Country's Economy' Enhancement package and Foreign Exchange Receipts and savings promotion package, has already proposed to sell mixed tea fertilizer at a subsidised price of Rs. 1,000 per 50kg bag. The Cabinet has approved this proposal which is estimated to cost Rs. 2,500 million.

The Government is encouraging farmers to increase local produce and by this we could gear ourselves to face future economic challenges. President Rajapaksa is determined to win the 'economic war' as well so that he could take Sri Lanka to greater heights. An essential step towards this goal is to increase local produce under the Api Wawamu, Rata Nagamu' program.

Another significant milestone towards that goal will be the construction of the Veheragala tank which was inaugurated by President Rajapaksa yesterday.

The tank, built at an estimated cost of Rs. 2,600 million, is an investment for the future. Thanks to the skills and intelligence of the local labour force, the Irrigation Department completed the work spending only Rs. 2,000 million.

It is indeed heartening to see the people's friendly Government, under the leadership of President Rajapaksa, taking meaningful steps to strengthen the country's agro-based economy as it would be an important 'weapon' to face future challenges with the global recession and new economic trends.

If the people in the North and East too could help towards this goal, our economy could be strengthened and the volume of the country's foreign reserves too would increase. The economic indicators last week gave an impressive picture of the increasing foreign reserves of the country.

Though opportunistic politicians are attempting to paint a gloomy picture on Sri Lanka's economy, the manner in which the Government handled the economy and battled a humanitarian operation against the most ruthless terrorist organisation in the world is an outstanding example to all other countries.

It was by no means an easy task to spend billions of rupees on defence to protect people from LTTE terror and bring economic prosperity at the same time. Despite the global recession and adverse economic trends in Asia, Sri Lanka has beaten all overwhelming odds. Before long, the Government will usher in economic prosperity with the contribution of the people in the North and East.