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| Thursday, 18 March 2004 |
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| Freedom Alliance hasn't clear policies, says PM by Bharatha Malawaraarachchi Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe questioned how the Freedom Alliance was going to solve the unemployment problem which had created unrest among the youth. "The Freedom Alliance has no clear policies to solve this ranging issue," said the Premier adding that the recent policy statement of the Alliance had only given a lot of promises to the people. Addressing several election rallies in Ratnapura, Avissawella and Homagama on Tuesday, Wickremesinghe referring to the policy statement of the Alliance said it had failed to explain how the Alliance was going to find durable solution to this particular issue. "It has given only promises, but no jobs," he said. "The Alliance has now promised to give 25,000 jobs in the Government sector. Can they solve the country's unemployment problem by giving just 25,000 jobs?" he questioned. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said there are around 650,000 unemployed persons in the country and within the next decade, this figure will rise to 1.3 million. "At the same time, there are a large number of people earning a low income, self-employed and employed abroad. They should also be looked into," he said. He said it was necessary to create at least three million employment opportunities within the next decade. "In this context, the Alliance has pledged to give only 25,000 jobs. How is the Alliance going to resolve the unemployment crisis," the Prime Minister asked. The Premier stressed that providing jobs in the State sector will not help solve unemployment. "Every sector of the economy should be upgraded and production should be increased to generate employment," he said. Criticising the policy statement of the Alliance, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said it has not focused on training in the industrial sector. "Proper vocational training is necessary to generate employment and solve this issue," he said.Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said his Government had paid attention to generate more employment by improving every sector of the economy - industrial, garment, construction, tourism etc. "Before this election was announced, we had made arrangements to create 100,000 jobs in collaboration with the private sector. That program was affected due to this sudden election," he said. He said foreign investment was necessary to create more employment. "How does the JVP attract foreign investors? The JVP is silent on this issue. The Freedom Alliance is trying to mislead the people by giving various promises which can not be fulfilled. They will further escalate the unrest in the country," he said. The Prime Minister recalled measures taken by his Government to rebuild the country's devastated economy during the last two years. "We cut down Government expenditure and implemented strict financial measures. We laid a firm foundation to rebuild the economy. We have already prepared plans to develop every sector of the economy and to attract more foreign investment and aid. At a time like that, this sudden election was called as the Alliance wanted to disrupt the development process initiated by the UNF Government." Premier Wickremesinghe urged the people to vote for the UNF to defeat both the PA and JVP and dawn a prosperous future. "I call on you to vote for the UNF to form a stable Government to establish an economy which could generate employment," he said. |
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