PM says Sri Lankans have the option to pull together or perish

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa says the coronavirus pandemic has left all Sri Lankans with only one option ? building Sri Lanka. He says the choice is stark – pull together or perish.

In a statement today the Prime Minister said that in this new global environment, even the option of going overseas in search of greener pastures will be very limited because all countries will be facing economic hardship and mass unemployment.

“On 16 November 2019, President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa inherited an economy that was in shambles. It was in such a context that the entire world was engulfed by the Covid-19 pandemic. A worldwide economic crisis reminiscent of the 1930s Great Depression is widely expected to follow the Covid-19 pandemic. In this new global environment, even the option of going overseas in search of greener pastures will be very limited because all countries will be facing economic hardship and mass unemployment. The Covid-19 pandemic has left all Sri Lankans with only one option ? building Sri Lanka. The choice is stark – pull together or perish,” he said.

Rajapaksa said that in the difficult times that lie ahead, Sri Lanka?s economic survival and the futures of Sri Lanka’s children, depend on the vision, ability and skill of those running the country.

He recalled that German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently stated that COVID-19 had hit Germany at a time when the economy was doing well and they had the strength to face the crisis.

“The situation in Sri Lanka was the exact opposite. We should all be mindful of this reality and make our choices and decisions accordingly. Everyone knows what would have happened if the yahapalana cabal had been in power when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Sri Lanka,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that the team that is now running the country from the President downwards, won a war that was deemed unwinnable, and presided over the greatest economic boom since independence despite impossible odds between 2006 and 2014.

He says that is the kind of leadership needed to steer the country forward in the post-COVID-19 world. (Colombo Gazette)