UNF manifesto stands out for its unique two year success plan

UNF and Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said , the UNF Manifesto which was released yesterday (16 ) at the UNP Headquarters is confined to two leaves outlining the successful programs and plans the UNF envisages to implement within two years when his Govt. is installed in power.

It is unique because it is comprehensive, practical, practicable and committed to full implementation, in contrast to high sounding chinthanas and mantharas in 84 pages making promises and pledges to the people which are never fulfilled, let alone made mention after elections are won. he added.

Answering questions posed by the media as to how he can give these assurances to the people when the country’s economy is in the most dismal state , Mr. Wickremesinghe told  ., this economic despair was not thrust on us by an outsider ; it had been brought about by the fiscal mismanagement , reckless borrowings at prohibitive interest rates and lopsided financial policies of the Govt. The Govt. has taken illegal loans from Foreign Commercial Banks in its desperation like a bankrupt businessman without prudential assessment and without Parliamentary approval . The UNF Govt. is not going to be liable to pay those illegal loans . Unlike the Rajapakse policies aimed at fattening loan sharks while famishing the people , the UNF aims at benefiting the people and killing the loan sharks . What is important is the people and the country , is not Banks from whom the Govt. has taken illegal loans and to whom this Govt. is paying exorbitant interests by blood sucking the people via endless taxation and hikes in  tariffs , prices of goods and cost of living.

The govt. is continuing to make promises at every election only to be dishonored after elections. How can this Govt. think of alleviating the people’s sufferings when its annual revenue is Rs 705 billion while its expenditure is Rs. 820 billion . Besides , interest and debt repayment also gobbles up most of the revenue , not to mention the raging corruption in the Govt. sector, he pointed out.

Explaining the  salary increase of Rs. 10,000/- promised in the manifesto , he said , it will be granted in installments . The UNP which has always promised only what it can , and matched its words with deeds, unlike the Rajapakse Govt. will start with an initial increase of Rs. 3500/-  . The UNF Govt. has to first evaluate the Treasury position , as it is the consensus that even the Rajapakse govt. has no control over it because of State pilferage of funds without Parliamentary approval.

The  best testament to UNF’s ability  to put the country back on the right track can be understood if  the people  study the period when UNP was in power . When the UNP Govt. was installed in 2001 , the country’s economy was in a shambles with the previous Govt. at its wits end knowing not what to do. But at the end of just two years of the UNP reign , the entire country began claiming that  the best economic boom  was during that period..

The UNF has already made arrangements to re schedule the IMF loan , unlike the Rajapakse regime which has given false promises and taken the IMF loan ,and now unable to face the IMF.  Nivaard Cabraal and Jayasundara , the Govt. ‘s economic pundits can only hide the true dismal economic picture , dupe the people and win elections for the Govt. , but they cannot find actual solutions to the economic ills , he noted.