(UTV|COLOMBO) – The Government had formulated a lasting programme to subject the entire country to a rapid development mechanism and to bring development dividends to everyone, President Maithripala Sirisena said.
He made these remarks while addressing supporters of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) in Polonnaruwa, on Sunday (24).
The development mechanism would identify the pulse rate of the entire nation and it was not a mere show-off simply to make certain people happy. The special development programme would pave the way for Sri Lankans to stand on their feet with prestige, the President said.
President Sirisena noted that the Government’s policy was to give top-priority to local produce and to provide a helping hand to entrepreneurs to achieve success.
As a remedy to protect the local fruit producer, action had to be taken to increase import tax on fruits. It would be implemented from July, the President said.
Taking another step under the move to give more value to local fruits and their producers, a ban on cutting down certain types of fruit trees, named by Agriculture Department officers and experts in the sector, would also be imposed.
President Sirisena said the Grama Shakthi programme, introduced to do away with poverty of people, is at present, in full-swing throughout the country. In addition to the Grama Shakthi programme, another programme under the name Gamperaliya would also be implemented countrywide in due course, aiming to address poverty.
The Government had taken measures to introduce a new soft loan scheme for entrepreneurial development.
The loan scheme would be an ideal solution to curtail the unemployment rate as well as to increase local production.
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