Sri Lanka's president was told by economists that price control policies were destabilising the island's economy as the government continues to struggle with a balance of payments crisis.
Speaking at an annual economic summit in Colombo, where Sri Lanka president Maithripala Sirisena was in attendance, Razeen Sally head of Sri Lanka's economic policy think tank said,
"there has been supreme idiocy of price controls”.
"The government by creating inflation and by having import protection puts burdens on consumers and then puts burdens on producers and entrepreneurs with price controls,” he added.
He went on to accuse the current government, which came in to power last year, of an "excessive increase in state spending and salaries".
"There has been many ad hoc measures on taxation. Businesses are very vexed because of the high level of unpredictability and uncertainties," he said.
The summit was held amidst controversy over Sri Lanka's loans, with report Colombo offered China equity swaps for their debt. China reportedly declined.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
