Ranil for system change with participation of youth

UNP leader and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has called for a system change with the involvement of the country’s youth.

Speaking at a meeting with young professionals at the party headquarters Sirikotha, Kotte, on Saturday (07) to discuss the current situation in the country, Wickremesinghe said the country currently had less than US $ 25 million in reserves.

The country had lost Rs. 800 billion due to tax cuts under the present government, he said.

“We can’t repay debts right now and we have to restructure our debt,” he said.

Wickremesinghe said the government should cut down on unnecessary expenditure and provide relief to the people. The government would have to further increase fuel prices if it wanted to increase revenue, he added.

He warned that the country’s banking system was in danger of collapsing due to the inability of the government to repay loans.

He said those issues could be resolved within two years.

“As soon as economic crisis is resolved, we need to address other issues,” he said. “In order to do so, the entire system must be changed.”

Wickremesinghe explained that a systemic change required a new approach to education and the youth should be financially supported to explore new educational avenues. He said that a new political system should be adopted along with the change in the system.

“Our education and workforce must adapt to all changes so that we can see a resurgence of the country’s middle class,” the former PM said, noting that at the time of Independence, Sri Lanka had been on par with Japan and now it had fallen even below Afghanistan.