People want more relief from Budget

by Ananda Kannangara

The Sunday Observer last week asked the public to make their own proposals to the forthcoming budget and the majority were of the view that salaries in the public sector should not be increased.

Given below are the excerpts.

A retired public servant H. K. Indrasoma of Kollupitiya said, salary hikes benefit only 40 per cent in the public sector and it would be an injustice to thousands of self employed and unemployed in the country, who won't be entitled to them.

"Normally, all successive governments in our country granted salary hikes from budgets with the intention of giving temporary relief to the public sector and later increased the prices of essential items to pay the salary increases,".

He said this situation adversely affects the majority unemployed in the country.

Businessman R. P. Prematillaka of Kadawatha appealed to the Government to reduce the prices of main commodity items, such as wheat flour, milk powder and sugar in the forthcoming budget proposals.

A trishaw owner and father of two, Dharmasiri Ranasinghe of Panadura said there was nothing to increase during the budget as the Trade Ministry has already increased the prices of all main food items.

A housewife Subashini Ranaweera said all her family members voted for Mahinda Rajapaksa at the last Presidential Election, expecting a fair price structure for essential items.

"Actually, we thought President Rajapaksa, who comes from a village and knows the pulse of the poor people would bring down the COL by reducing the prices of food items with the help of the JVP.

"But the situation completely changed and our hopes were shattered. The prices of essential food items have sky-rocketed today and the majority poor people, especially in the rural sector face severe economic difficulties".

She also made a fervent request to the President to listen to the grievances of masses who helped him to be the Head of State and reduce the prices of essential food items.

A stringhopper seller, Piyasiri Weerasinghe of Kadawatha said the Government, during the last election period, made several pledges including the fertiliser subsidy, mid- day meal to schoolchildren and a bag full of nutritious food to pregnant mothers, but none of them were fulfilled.

"Therefore, in order to provide some measure of relief to the poverty-stricken the Government should at least submit a budget proposal on the price reduction of main commodity items.

A private sector employee, Lalitha Rodrigo of Bambalapitiya, said that no government in the country ever consulted ordinary people of their views for Budget proposals. "Everybody, knows that Budget proposals are prepared not for the sake of the poor class".

A housewife Nelum Kokila of Kolonnawa said when the cost of living goes up, robberies and similar crimes take place everywhere, therefore I want the Government to take action against such happenings rather than reducing the prices of essential items".

A private sector Executive Naomi Perera said her husband was a Chairman of a Corporation.

"Therefore, the price increase of essential items or the high COL in the country will never affect our family or the superiors of my husband's Ministry,"

She said her family was entitled lots of perks from the Government and lamented that the price increase affects only the poor.

A medical practitioner, attached to a Government Hospital, Ruwan Godakanda wanted the Government to reduce the taxes on medicine and medical equipment during the budget.

"Everybody knows that medicine is highly expensive today, many types of medicine are not available in most of the hospitals in the country and the poor people are suffering, therefore the best thing is to reduce tax on medicine for their sake".

A mother of three, Kanthi Wickremesekara of Horetuduwa, Moratuwa wanted the Government to include a proposal in the Budget to curtail unnecessary foreign trips made by Parliamentarians, their spouses and their children at the taxpayers' expense.

"So, the colossal sum of money, spent on these trips could be diverted to grant subsidies on essential food items,".

Pradeshiya Sabha member in the Southern Provincial Council Vijithasena Hapuarachchi said "Although the World Market prices on oil and other main food items were going up, the Government can grant a subsidy, if it takes steps to reduce the ministries from 110 to 35 and cut down on many other unnecessary expenditure.

A garment factory owner Rajind Hewapanna of Negombo said the Government will definitely introduce a fair budget in November as all the necessary adjustments have been done earlier.

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