Alliance For Economic Democracy Calls On Public To Resist Yahapalanaya Budget
November 13, 2016
While emphasising that the Yahapalanaya Government’s budget will accelerate a financial crisis and lead to social exclusion, the Alliance for Economic Democracy has urged the citizenry and peoples’ organisations including trade unions, estate workers, farmer and fisher organisations, and student and teachers unions, to resist the 2017 budget the people cannot afford and build a movement to reverse these policies.
In a statement the alliance said, “the theme of the 2017 Budget as stated by Finance Minister, Ravi Karunanayake, in his speech on Thursday is ‘Accelerating Growth with Social Inclusion.’ Alliance for Economic Democracy believes that it is in fact a budget that will accelerate the crisis and lead to social exclusion. The IMF Agreement and the Appropriations Bill reflected an impending Austerity Budget. It is clear now that the objective of the budget, is to reduce the role of the state in providing essential services and distribution of resources. The budget, reflecting the vision of the Government, is paving the way for elites to benefit in three major areas: 1) financial speculative investments, 2) privatisation and 3) trade liberalisation, while increasing the economic burden for the people.”
According to the Alliance, Karunanayake’s budget has proposed revising the Banking Act and expanding the draconian Debt Recoveries Act, creating the necessary infrastructure to expand the financial sector and to entrench loans and financing in every aspect of people’s daily lives. “Not only does it seek to expedite the issuing of loans and expand micro-credit, it plans to extract rural people’s savings by amalgamating Cooperative Rural Banks. Introducing such measures as restructuring SEC operations, consolidating and raising the capital assets threshhold of banks and financial institutions, the government hopes it will be able to attract foreign capital to invest in the country. Further, it has proposed plans to expand the real estate and insurance sectors, even extending health insurance for students. These proposals point to the worrying trend of expanding risky speculative investments, we have seen around the world, leading to accelerated financial crisis and increased inequality.”
The Alliance for Economic Democracy is a movement consisting of trade unions, student unions, progressive intellectuals, social organisations and activists who believe that the economic policies of the country should not be for the benefit of a few, but in the interest of all people
The statement said that the budget is even setting a precedent by establishing a Financial Assets Management Agency and using state funds to bail out and rescue ailing financial institutions. “Wealthy investors make quick profits through financial speculation and exit before a crisis. The economic costs of the crisis, however, are transferred to those in the lower strata of society, whether in the form of bank bailouts, hidden corporate subsidies, or a general decline in services,” the alliance said.
