Maintain financial discipline, Finance Minister tells Cabinet

It is the duty of everyone to maintain financial discipline at a time when the country is in a financially difficult period, Co-Cabinet Spokesman, Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana said.

The Minister said this in response to a question raised by a journalist at a media briefing held at the Government Information Department yesterday (31).

Pathirana said Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa had instructed the Cabinet on Monday to maintain strict financial discipline in view of the current financial situation in the country and had made several proposals to manage the financial situation of the government. He said Minister Rajapaksa had instructed ministers at the Cabinet meeting to review projects that had not yet commenced this year due to financial restraints, then they need to be re-evaluated and a decision should be taken.

Pathirana said that the government has a serious problem regarding the continuous provision of financial assistance to the people. He said the government had given an allowance of Rs.5,000 on three previous occasions at a cost of over Rs. 80 billion and admitted that the Rs.2,000 allowance was not sufficient.

Minister Basil Rajapaksa had also said that non-essential recruitment should be stopped and if there are any additional allowances such as fuel allowances being given to staff during the curfew period, focus should also be placed on such unnecessary expenditure and strict financial discipline should be maintained.

(Source: Daily News – By Camelia Nathaniel)