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| Wednesday, 23 February 2005 |
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| Welfare allocations intact - Amunugama by Uditha Kumarasinghe Finance Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama reassured yesterday that budgetary allocations already made for welfare measures would not be channelled towards the tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction effort, which is being financed by other means. In an interview with the Daily News, Amunugama said: "Our strategy is to keep the budget estimates intact. Funds that have been set a part for employment schemes, subsidies etc will not be touched." Dr. Amunugama said the Government was trying to manage the relief and reconstruction effort from funding outside the 2005 budget. "We have been greatly assisted by the fact that US $ 500 million which was set apart in our budget for debt repayment is now postponed. Thus our foreign exchange situation is much better than we envisaged when the budget was being prepared." The Minister dismissed fears that the tsunami would cause a serious setback to economic growth. The tsunami has mostly affected fishing industry, tourism, small trade and infrastructure. "It is not very difficult for us to bounce back. This would have taken a large investment which our normal budget would have taken a long time to achieve. The majority of foreign funds will be diverted to the tsunami affected areas to create new growth zones. We want to turn adversity into a benefit for our economy." The Minister stressed the need to utilise foreign funds for the reconstruction effort with transparency and efficiency. He said the US$ 1.6 billion estimate for reconstruction was not only of the Government but also of the need assessment report prepared by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation). This is not just a Government effort. "The top dignitaries who came to Sri Lanka including former US Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton have seen for themselves that our relief effort is a success. So there is no reason for pessimism regarding the funds which can be marshalled for reconstruction," he added. |
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