Budget making villagers more indebted – Anura Kumara

JVP Leader and Parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday (12), stressed that the Budget 2019 was a deadly trap for villagers as it would increase their indebtedness even more.

Participating in the Second Reading of the Appropriation Bill 2019, Dissanayake said there were hundreds of suicides being reported daily from rural areas, especially from Jaffna.

“These people have become victims of microfinance companies. The Government gave promises to ease their burden but has done nothing thus far. This Appropriation Bill is all about granting loan schemes. This is a deadly trap for the innocent people who live in rural areas because this will increase their indebtedness.”

“Furthermore, the transport sector has collapsed at the moment.

A majority of citizens spend most of their time inside buses and trains. No plan has been proposed to solve this problem in  this Bill. Not only that, the Government has failed to even mention anything about food security. Nothing has been proposed for the wellbeing of our farmers. There is no long-term plan to increase the quality of the lives of estate workers. This Bill is nothing but a big failure,” he claimed.

“The country is already in a debt trap. But, it has been reported that the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has released International Sovereign Bonds for a higher interest rate. The Government must inform the House why the CBSL did that,” he added.

(Source: Ceylon Today – By Methmalie Dissanayake)