JVP: Government misleading people on Hambantota Port

The government had misled the people saying that the Hambantota Port was proposed to be sold as an economic development zone, despite the true reasons were not so, JVP leader Parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake said yesterday

He said the Cabinet Paper presented by the President with regard to the selling of Hambantota Port stated that it should be sold due to financial crisis the country faced, condition of the IMF and agreements and discussions between diplomatic officials of China and Sri Lanka, which clearly showed the reasons for the Government to sell the Hambantota Port.

Mr. Dissanayake said the Central Bank Governor and the Prime Minister had claimed that there was no other option to recover from the present economic crisis other than selling of

The value of rupee is deteriorating drastically, which had resulted in the increase of prices of imported goods and the loan amount to be paid to foreign banks.

State property and natural resources.

He said the selling of State resources and property would only be a temporary solution to the economic crisis, but it would aggravate the issue in the long term.

“The country is facing an economic crisis today. The value of rupee is deteriorating drastically, which had resulted in the increase of prices of imported goods and the loan amount to be paid to foreign banks.

“The employment generation had come to a standstill. The crisis has influenced the health and education sectors as well,” he said.

Mr. Dissanayake told a news conference that it was not the people who should be responsible for the loan crisis in the country but it was the politicians and their policies were responsible for it.

“The Government neither created real wealth from the loans nor did it build required infrastructure. That is why a loan crisis had arisen,” he said.