9 November 2017 12:00 am
Democracy, reconciliation and development are the three main pillars on which the Unity Government has been formed in order to fulfill the economic needs as well as the aspirations of the masses of the country
Many await, with their fingers crossed, Budget 2018 which is all set to be read in Parliament today. Last September, the Ministry of Finance called for proposals from different stakeholders including the general public, to be included in Budget 2018. However, to what extent these proposals would be accepted and applied in
“It is time to realize that other modes of transport need similar investment. The most suitable mode of transport is operating at a meagre scale. There must be a greater emphasis on railway development, developing modern railways, transporting freight by railway and improving the bus service including bus priority lanes. The country also invested on reforming the bus sector as it is the industry that can help most in reducing congestion and improving passenger mobility. This is a service that can be turned around within one to two years. Therefore, I’m expecting that bus reform projects such as SAHASARA and school bus programmes such as SISUSARIYA and the bus priority lanes that have already been started will receive funding for the next two to three years” Prof. Kumarage opined.
He expects to see investment made on improving traffic management and safety on roads, noting that traditionally, these areas of concern have received little funding through the budget. He also hopes that the Budget should allocate funds for the Traffic Police to purchase more equipment and technology to manage traffic.
Transport
“Secondly, it’s important to have a consistent policy regarding tax instead of constantly changing it annually, leading us to adjust our prices accordingly on an annual basis.
Thirdly, we need a time based relief for the refurbishing of our properties. Since we are playing in the international arena, our properties must be refurbished in order to maintain international standards. For this purpose, we need to import equipment which is often priced high. Therefore, it will be very useful if we can have duty free imports for such products. Also, we need duty free relief to import energy conserving equipment such as energy saving air conditioners. Since the hotel industry is an industry that consumes much electricity, if we can obtain duty free concessions for at least a short period it would be very helpful in this aspect,” he said.
Tourism
He said that with an anticipated increase in tax revenue, there is also scope to bring in some popular expenditure proposals. “We are improving on the income side, but we are again spending this improved income on temporary things without considering our rising debt burden or without thinking of our long-term expenditure cut and improvement in fiscal management. In terms of public investment, it should be noted that this is entirely based on borrowings to date because our tax revenue wasn’t sufficient to cover even the recurring expenditure. Even part of the recurring expenditure have come from borrowings. Currently, without borrowings it is difficult to improve public investment further. Private investment is an alternative available although public investment is equally important. Also, it’s important to improve our business environment” Prof. Aberatne added.
Economy
“The second sector we would like the Government to promote is electric cars. If we can have solar panels installed in households, people will also be encouraged to buy solar powered vehicles since they can charge their vehicle batteries at zero cost. This is also another area where the vehicle importers can be provided with concessions. On the other hand, the importing of vehicles, which consume a lot of fuel, should be discouraged by increasing the taxes on them,” he said.
Moreover, he added that the Budget should allocate funds to promote alternative energy sources such as renewable energy. He added that this is where solar energy emerges from in a big way that people have not thought before. “Also, one other factor that should be taken into account is our natural resources that are being exported. We should identify a means of making them value added products and not export any raw materials. In case we don’t have the technology, it is better to get down the technology to Sri Lanka rather than exporting our natural resources abroad for a minimum cost,” he said.
“There was a Cabinet decision back in 2007 which makes all minerals subject to value addition when they are exported, but I proposed that this should also be extended to forest produce and everything else that are being exported. When they are converted into value added products, this will generate more money and supply more jobs to the country. Also certain areas in the agricultural sector needs to be promoted by providing concessions for organic fertilizer, soil conditions such as compost while also promoting technologies and innovations in this sector” he added. He also stressed that it’s important to increase the allocation of funds through the budget for research and development in the agricultural sector.
Environment