President Ranil Wickremesinghe has assured that measures would be taken to purchase medicines required for the year 2023, despite the difficult economic conditions that Sri Lanka is facing at present.
Accordingly, an allocation of at least Rs. 30-40 billion would be made for this purpose, the Head of State mentioned while addressing Parliament yesterday (17).
In response to the accusations levelled at the Government for not making sufficient allocations for the procurement of medicines, the President stated that the Treasury and the Health Ministry are jointly working to ensure that sufficient stocks of medicines are procured.
However, placing orders would take some time, the President said further, adding that it is not the intention of the Government to let people suffer from shortages of medicines.
Speaking on resolving the economic crisis, President Wickremesinghe reiterated that the Government is taking necessary efforts to put the country back on the right path.
With regard to the ongoing talks with Sri Lanka’s bilateral creditors, President Wickremesinghe said what is left to do now is to get the support of India and China to restructure the country’s debts. According to him, the discussions with these two bilateral creditors have thus far been successful.
Meanwhile, speaking on the public sector salaries, the President said the employees can rest assured that salaries would definitely be paid, although not on time. The Government is also giving prominence to the payments of pensions and allowances to Samurdhi beneficiaries, he assured.
Responding to the concerns raised with regard to the financial allocations made by the Government for the upcoming Independence Day celebrations, President Wickremesinghe noted that this is an investment for the future. The Independence Day celebrations are not limited to the parades, he added, stressing that in the 25 years leading up to the 100th anniversary of the Independence Day, many new institutions and laws would be introduced for Sri Lanka’s much-needed reforms.