By Charumini de Silva- April 9, 2014President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in what appears to be a response to Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe's much-talked-about trip to the US, volunteered to give tips on how to topple a government and said one needs not go to Harvard for that.
The President, attending the presentation of the 64th Annual Report of the Monetary Board held at the Central Bank premises yesterday, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance and Planning, said the governments should be toppled, but not by force."There is no need to go to Harvard University to learn how to topple a government. If they come to my place in Medamulana, I will teach them how to do it," he said.
President Rajapaksa also said he was concerned about the growing inequality that could arise in a developing economic atmosphere.
"Economists have pointed out that the country's post-conflict economic growth was unsustainable and one think-tank, Verité Research, highlighted official data to show that inequality was rising.
"In any country, political and economic stability are key factors for development and compared to other countries in the region, Sri Lanka is in a better position. Sri Lanka's growth, which is underpinned by stability, would allow the country to meet its broader socio-economic development objectives of an inclusive growth process, while bridging existing inequalities. Hence,economic growth spread out to all parts of the island," the President stressed.
Commenting on the growth recorded last year, he said, in terms of numbers, the growth of 7.3% from 6.8% in 2012 seems to be small, but the country attests to a commendable growth in the economy; particularly, the inflation rate remaining at a single digit for the past five years is remarkable.
"We have not been afraid of criticism. Although we won the Provincial Council elections last week with a 59% voter turnout, for some people this was not enough and this shows their higher expectations. With the economy moving to the next level, the mindset and the attitudes of the public too have changed over the past few years.
"People buy clothes two three times a month unlike a few years back, when they bought clothes only for New Year. The young chaps now wear branded clothes; people from the villages want carpeted roads. So, the lifestyle has changed with the overall economic transformation that took place during the past eight years," he added.
He also said, "We have already signed the China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the final procedures are being attended to at present. With the agreement in place, the economy could benefit commendably. Accordingly, over the next few years, the financial sector should be actively encouraged and support the industries to move towards a new vision.
"Sri Lanka will continuously strengthen the key pillars of sustained high economic growth. Sustained improvement in economic performance despite the uncertain global economic environment will ensure continued peace and development," he noted.
