UNP welcomes govt.’s decision to seek IMF help

by Piyasena Dissanayake

UNP Chairman and former minister Vajira Abeywardena said on Saturday that his party was happy that the government had decided to seek help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) albeit belatedly because that was the only way out, given the parlous state of the country’s economy.

Addressing a UNP event, in Galle, Abeywardena said that former Prime Minister and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had been urging the government to seek IMF help for the past one year or so.

“The whole country is in a mess today due to the actions of the present government. About a year ago, the Leader of the United National Party, Ranil Wickremesinghe, saw it coming. That is why for about a year now we have been asking the government to seek IMF assistance.

“Now the situation has worsened. In his recent address to the nation, the President stated that he had decided to go to the IMF. This decision is welcome.”