Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday said the government should not have increased the Value Added Tax to augment the government revenue but it should have developed a mechanism to bring back the money stolen from the country.
The Opposition Leader was speaking at the opening of smart classroom under ‘Sakvala’ programme at the Buthpitiya Maha Vidyalaya in Gampaha yesterday.
The school received a smart classroom worth Rs.1 million under this programme.
He said that the Samagi Jana Balawegaya brought forward a No-Confidence Motion against the Health Minister over the human immunogobolin incident. But 113 Members defeated this motion.
The Opposition Leader emphasized that it is this group of thieves who led the country to bankruptcy and if there is a possibility to get the resources they stole back to our country, there is no need to increase taxes, he said.
Premadasa said that the ‘Sakwala’ programme is not aimed at expecting political mileage.“The Opposition has the the ability to continue to blame the government for not doing such programmes, but instead of doing so, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya has worked to prove its ability through effective development for the people,” he said.
The SJB said that the Party has provided medicines worth Rs.179 million to 56 hospitals under the ‘Husma’ programme and buses have been provided to 80 schools with each bus worth Rs.5 million.
Rakshana Sriyantha