Govt. to take precautions to strengthen the rupee: PM

3 January 2019 12:34 am

The Government will come up with a programme to strengthen the devalued rupee and to cover the losses incurred to the economy during the 52-day political crisis last year, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe who was speaking during the opening of Fifth K. Orchids restaurant at Water's Edge said one cannot afford to allow the rupee to devalue further.

“The previous government which lasted for a month had spent a large number of funds to keep the rupee stable. However, it has devalued further. Cost of living goes up with the devaluation of the local currency. We cannot let this happen any more,” the Prime Minister said.

He said the cabinet had already discussed on stabilizing the rupee. We have decided to have a dialogue with all our friendly nations in order to get their financial assistance to strengthen the rupee. “It is also important to launch various programmes to enhance exports,” in this regard.

Mr. Wickremesinghe said the foreign reserves which were at US$ 8 had fallen to a lesser amount currently.

“We planned a vast development programme earlier last year but it could not be implemented due to the political crisis last year. Hotels would have been full with tourists if this programme was implemented,” he added. (Yohan Perera)