The Minister made this observation at a media conference held at the Government Information Department yesterday. He further said the UNP had more Parliamentary seats than the SLFP in the 100 day government and the same composition had remained intact in the Unity Government.
Commenting on the speech made by the President at the inauguration of the Second Session of the 8th Parliament, Minister Amunugama said the evaluation of the performance of the Yahapalana Government is timely and essential since it has completed half of its lifespan. “Most of the people have forgotten what the government did since the day it was formed. The government headed by the President and the Prime Minister has created a peaceful country and ensured human rights and other basic rights of the people.
The government has never promoted racism. Both the President and the Prime Minister have been able to maintain healthy relationships with the international community. As a result of that the government could be able to get more benefits including GSP plus. Refuting allegations leveled by some groups claiming that Sri Lanka is a bankrupt country, Minister Amunugama said a country which doesn’t have an income to pay its loan installments considers is as a bankrupt country. But,Sri Lanka has never experienced such a crisis situation. The Minister stressed the importance of attracting more and more investments without obtaining loans.
Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said the government has strengthened the reconciliation process and ensured democracy and the independence of the judiciary. The President and the Prime Minister has been able to project Sri Lanka as a country with a healthy international image. As a result, the countries which criticised Sri Lanka with respect to human rights in the past now commend the country.
UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam highlighted that poor marketing skills is the only weakness of the present government.
“Though the government has done a lot for the development of the country, most of them have not been publicised due to the poor marketing,” he added.
“Though the SLFP and the UNP are the parties with two different policies, the government of consensus between two parties will be continued with the intention of giving more benefits to the public,” he said.
Labour and Trade Union Relations Minister Ravindra Samaraweera said that under the present government Sri Lanka has made significant progress in eliminating child labour and International Labour Organization Sri Lanka Representative informed that Sri Lanka is at the top among the list of South Asian countries for eliminating child labour.
