Progress in all sectors - President

Economic dividends must reach villages:

Chaminda Perera

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said the country has made tremendous progress in almost all sectors amidst various challenges and obstacles.

He said the country had to face unprecedented challenges during the last few years and succeeded in achieving remarkable progress.

He added that the country faced the challenges of terrorism, natural disasters and economic recession successfully and managed to record outstanding achievements in the economic field. President Rajapaksa was speaking at the release of the 2010 Central Bank report held at the Central Bank Auditorium yesterday.

The President was of the view that the government succeeded in crushing one of the most ruthless terrorist outfits in the world due to effective management.

He said effective management helped defeat terrorism which engulfed the country and plagued its economy for more than 30 years, with only the least resources.

The President added that Sri Lanka had a challenge to implement an economic policy which can ensure that all people receive equal dividends while aiming at higher economic growth rate.

President Rajapaksa said the majority of the people in the country are living in villages and they make a greater contribution for the uplift of the economy. He was of the view that people in villages should receive the dividends of economic development and it should not be limited to the urban dwellers.

He said the government started a number projects to ensure equal benefits to the people. Sri Lanka will be among the few countries where highest economic growth rate has recorded in 2010, he said.

President Rajapaksa added that this upward economic trend has been continuing since 2006 barring 2009 when the economic growth rate was 3.9 percent.

He added that the financial downturn in 2009 ruined economies in major countries and opined that Sri Lanka is among the very few countries which recorded over three percent economic growth in 2009.

President Rajapaksa added that the country has seen massive socio- economic development during the past five years. “The environment which we witnessed four to five years back is no more. Sri Lankans are living in an environment where people like to protect their tradition and age old cultural values,” he added.

President Rajapaksa said that the era where investors left the country, people left for greener pastures and dwindling land mass ended with the beginning of the people’s government in 2005.

He said the country has recorded the highest rate of economic growth and the lowest level of unemployability in 2010. “People can witness massive development projects being implemented in Sri Lanka,” he added.