Govt to increase foreign aid utilisation

Shirajiv Sirimane

"The total utilisation of foreign funds for government projects is very low and they are planning to increase the level of efficiency from 63 per cent to over 85 per cent, said Secretary, Plan Implementation, Ajith Nivad Cabraal.

Speaking at a media briefing on the implementation of the Mahinda Chintana in Colombo yesterday he said that the government would closely monitor progress of funded projects and very soon would ensure that 100 percent of the funds would be utilised. He also said that they would keep a close tab on financial malpractices.

It had been a common practice by politicians to forget their election manifestoes. "However President Mahinda Rajapakse has stressed he wants his election manifesto fully implemented and the Plan Implementation Ministry is playing a major role in this," he said.

Cabraal said that the inflation rate, which was around 14, per cent has come down to about 9 percent and other economic indicators too are very favourable. Sri Lanka has also received an international credit rating, which has given credibility for the country. "This together with the peace inactive is attracting more investors," he said.

He also said that they are a people's Government and would continue extending subsidies especially for fertilizer, electricity and fuel as long as people need it. "Even the US Government is granting over 300 billion US dollars annually as subsidies and we too consider subsidies an investment in the economy," he said.

He said that the subsidies are not given to attract voters but to benefit the people who need it. "Some time ago subsidies were considered expenses. However today they are instruments of development," he said

The Mahinda Chintana has already been converted into action plans to be implemented over a 6 year period and such implementation will be entrusted to the line Ministries. The Ministry of Plan Implementation will also work closely with the Monitoring Commission to ensure smooth implementation of this Programme.

Under the 'three months crash programme', the Ministry of Plan Implementation is now coordinating with all line Ministries and agencies to convert the Mahinda Chintana into the monitorable action plan. The Ministry will also submit the action plan to the Monitoring Commission (MC) during the first three months.

The Ministry of Plan Implementation will coordinate with all line Ministries to assess the progress and achievement of the crash programme and ensure efficient and effective implementation through appropriate intervention.

The Ministry will also intervene where necessary and help to resolve inter-agency co-ordination issues to ensure smooth implementation of all projects, programmes and proposals of the Mahinda Chintana. At the end of the 3 months, the Ministry of Plan Implementation will submit a consolidated progress report to the President and to the Monitoring Commission.

A functional National Operational Room (NOR) is being established in the Ministry of Plan Implementation to provide electronic online development management information to track progress on MCGs electronically with video, photographs, pictorial proof and other digital mode.