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Harsha blames President for food crisis

03 Jan 2022

BY Pamodi Waravita Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) parliamentarian and senior economist Dr. Harsha de Silva said yesterday (2) that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is 100% responsible for what he claimed was a “food crisis” prevailing in the country. Speaking at a media briefing yesterday, he said: “Omicron or Delta or the pandemic is not responsible for this agriculture crisis. From the first day of the pandemic, farmers went to work. They did not stay at home because of the pandemic. This Government, who said ‘we know best’ and ‘we did best’, are responsible for this crisis. The President is 100% responsible for the food crisis. This is food that grows in Sri Lanka. As soon as the Government came to power, they let the rice mafia take control of the market and destroyed our ‘Shakthi Hal’ programme. “We do not have a personal problem with rich rice mill owners, but the Government must build a competitive market for rice where consumers can buy rice at a fair price. The Government must play a role in regulating the market. They tried to do it with the Army, but that did not work. Now the people cannot eat, they do not have rice. I spoke to a person from Kalutara recently, who told me that her neighbours only eat one meal a day these days.” He listed the high prices of some essential goods in the market, adding that “people cannot live like this”. “In Kotte yesterday (1), there was a queue of consumers waiting to buy LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). A kilo of rice is about Rs. 160. We heard that large mill owners will increase the price of rice again. A kilo of sprats is Rs. 850. No vegetable in the market can be found at less than Rs. 500 a kilo. Green chillies are going at Rs. 1,200 a kilo. Yesterday, a senior journalist called and told me for the first time in history, since 1990, there had been a robbery at the Dambulla Economic Centre – 10 kilos of green chillies had been stolen by someone. The President had said in a recent meeting that his Government has developed local agriculture and turmeric farming. A kilo of turmeric is Rs. 4,200. People cannot live like this,” Dr. de Silva stressed. Around the country, queues of consumers are a common sight as the public attempts to find essential goods which are at a heavy shortage, including LPG and milk powder. Although the Government has attempted to give a relief package through Sathosa outlets, consumers are reportedly alleging that this is not available in most places.


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