IANS
Colombo
Thousands of employees from Sri Lanka’s banking sector held a demonstration yesterday against the government’s maiden budget for 2016.
More than 10,000 employees from state and private sector banks protested in Colombo’s business hub, urging the government to review its budget proposals, Xinhua reported.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday said the administration is willing to consider alternatives to the budget proposals that critics say will harm
banks and their customers.
Some of the proposals in the budget for 2016, according to local reports, seek to ban commercial banks from engaging in leasing, a way of giving credit to the asset-less, and to allow only non-bank lenders to do it.
“It is not our intention to reduce the revenue of banks,” the prime minister said.
The government’s budget has already received a majority support in parliament with 159 lawmakers voting in favour and 52 against during the second reading earlier this month. Final vote for the budget will be taken up on December 19.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION UPGRADE: As Sri Lankan capital Colombo struggles to deal with heavy traffic congestion, the government yesterday said it is set to modernise its public transportation system.
Deputy Minister of Public Enterprise Development Eran Wickramaratne, speaking at a conference in Colombo, said currently over 500,000 vehicles enter the city on a daily basis which was neither eco-friendly nor an efficient way of getting to work, Xinhua news agency reported.
He said it was necessary for the government to explore investing in Metro systems, which allow for speedy journeys for those living on the outskirts.
“As seen in Bangkok, it is necessary for the government to explore investing in Metro systems,” he said.
“This expands access to human capital for employers, increasing job possibilities for those in the job market. We know that in some Asian cities, you use smart cards as an integrated system to pay for transportation,” Wickramaratne said.
Vehicle prices have escalated in the island nation due to proposals included in the government’s budget for 2016.
Sri Lanka’s vehicle importers’ association said tax amendments proposed through the 2016 budget would cause the cost of vehicles to go up by 200,000 to 2.5mn rupees ($1,400-17,500).