Govt making poverty reduction, a priority– Minister Basil

Poverty reduction is a major issue, the government wants to resolve giving high priority, said Economic Development Minister and Senior Adviser to the President Basil Rajapaksa.

Minister Rajapaksa said so when new American Ambassador to Sri Lanka Michele J. Sison paid a courtesy call on him at the ministry recently.

The minister said the government has identified three areas where poverty is prevailing above other areas. They are estate sector, fisheries sector and urban slum sector. Foreign aid as well as local funds will be utilized to implement poverty reduction programmes in those sectors. The minister said there are other priority areas, such as, providing drinking water facilities for all, implementing projects aimed at reducing regional disparity and food security.

He said the government will give priority to resettle the old IDPs. All IDPs who had been displaced during the 2005-2009 period were resettled. The IDPs displaced before that period belong to all communities.

Some are in IDP camps in India and others are in temporary places in other provinces, the minister said.

Ambassador Sison said she visited projects started under the US Aid programme to study the outcome of the projects. She said: “I was impressed by the concept of bringing development projects to each village in the North and East. The projects had real impact on the community’s livelihood”.

Minister Rajapaksa said the government carried out North and Eastern reconstruction and rehabilitation works successfully.

Agricultural and fisheries sectors were fully restored. Northern people produce rice, chilies and red onions at the pre-conflict level. They produce other crops, such as, black grams in large scale and the country is self-sufficient in black grams due to productions from the North, he said.

The fisheries industry was also restored to the pre-conflict level by removing all restrictions on fishing and providing equipment for the fisheries community. The American Ambassador said incidents, such as, the LTTE attack on the Anuradhapura sacred area was shocking. Many people suffered from the war. “Now, the people are living with peace. Foreign aid should match the recipient country’s requirements, she said.