The Government will uplift the economy, the country and the people in 2024 and under the guidance of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, tough decisions in this regard will be taken without any fear, Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara said.
The Minister made the remarks while speaking during a ceremony at the Ministry on Monday (Jan 01) to mark the commencement of work in the New Year.
Minister Nanayakkara requested all the officials to work with commitment and efficiency to achieve high productivity in 2024 like what they did in the previous year.
In the past year, the officials of the Ministry took steps to perform their duties with commitment and efficiency and as a result, the Ministry of Labor and Foreign Employment was able to become the most successful ministry, he said.
While noting that there was commendable progress in all key sectors in the country last year, the Minister expressed confidence that the momentum will continue and the country will achieve greater heights this year.
The Minister said that all the Government officials have worked hard to bring the country to a positive state last year following many crises.
Sri Lanka has been able to successfully stand up at a time when the countries that have collapsed economically in the past are still in severe crisis and some countries that received relief from the International Monetary Fund are still unable to restore their economies, but Sri Lanka has been able to uplift the economy.
Although there was a risk of hyperinflation in Sri Lanka, the situation has been successfully curbed and inflation has been brought down to a single-digit level, he said.
The Minister also expressed confidence that although the economic growth rate of the country has been negative in the past, it will be possible to achieve very rapid and positive economic growth in the first quarter of this year.
Minister Nanayakkara also said that the basic foundation needed to achieve this growth has been laid out and the only thing left is to move accordingly.
The Minister also mentioned that as politicians, he and all those in the Government did not hesitate to put the party colours aside and make brave political decisions.
Tough decisions were taken on matters that were very sensitive to Government employees and all the people, such as increasing taxes, and those decisions had to be taken to end the vicious cycle that exists in this country.
Through these decisions, it was possible to end the existing welfare system and mindset and thus it was possible to end the political culture of deceiving the people.
Some tough decisions taken by the current Government were tantamount to political suicide, but these decisions ultimately had been able to achieve successful results for the country.
Due to the decisions taken by the Government, it was possible to stop the country from becoming another Syria or Lebanon and halted a situation where the American dollar could have risen to 700 rupees, and the country was able to move towards rapid development, he said.
Accordingly, the Minister stressed that the Government will make fearless decisions in the New Year as well to further develop the economy and create a better tomorrow for the people.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has given the necessary power and direction to take decisions to build the country without fear and under that guidance, he will take steps to work for the benefit of everyone with more commitment than before in 2024, he added. (NewsWire)
