Sri Lanka to usher in new era within six years:

Budget 2011 - development oriented

by L.S. Ananda WEDAARACHCHI and Surekha GALAGODA

The 2011 Budget will be development-oriented with long-term and medium-term development priorities. Defence, welfare, education and other vital areas of the economy will have their role in the overall development plan, said Deputy Economic Development Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya. He said that the budget will lay the foundation to make Sri Lanka a developed nation, which is a challenging task for the country. The budget will be presented in Parliament tomorrow.

This is the first budget after President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s second swearing-in.Siyambalapitiya said that the UPFA government under the leadership of President Rajapaksa has taken bold steps to develop the country. Sri Lanka will usher in a new era within the next six years due to the far-sighted policies in the Mahinda Chintana policy framework, he said. According to Finance Ministry sources, Treasury Secretary Dr P.B. Jayasundera has written to all MPs calling upon them to send their proposals on the future development initiatives in their districts. The MPs have sent their proposals to the Ministry of Finance.

He said that up to this year they used to get proposals from ministries, departments and ministers in addition to the proposals sent by the trade chambers and various private sector organisations.

An official of the Ministry of Finance said that the focus of the budget will be on provincial development as the government feels that by developing the provinces growth will be equally distributed bridging the gap between the rich and the poor.

Another priority in this year’s budget will be the reforms needed at the Department of Customs, Inland Revenue Department and the Excise Department.

The ministry also placed an advertisement inviting proposals and the response was overwhelming with over 70 proposals reaching the ministry via e-mails and the post from the public on a daily basis.

He said that though the process started last year they invited proposals on specific sectors from the public.

The budget will also support the tax reforms, SME sector, agriculture and incentives for Sri Lankan entrepreneurs, said a top Chamber official.