The treasury is no longer able to safeguard public institutions that incur losses or that have not reached the desired goals, at a time when the country is in a severe economic crisis, says Shehan Semasinghe, the State Minister of Finance.

Joining an event held at the Ministry of Finance to mark the Statements of Corporate Intent, the state minister emphasized that 39 out of the 52 strategically important public institutions are making profits while 13 of them are still making losses.

Further, the losses incurred by the 13 loss-making public institutions currently amount to Rs. 1029 billion, while the profits made by the other 39 profit-making public institutions are at Rs. 218 billion, State Minister Semasinghe mentioned.

He also highlighted that the annual loss made by the public institutions is more than Rs. 811 billion, adding that only Rs. 28 billion have been paid by the profit-making public institutions as taxes to the treasury.

Meanwhile, the State Minister expressed that while the government has the advantage of market monopoly in many related businesses, these institutions are making losses.

Furthermore, he also pointed out that all parties should understand the fund allocations from the Treasury are money collected from the people of the country for the maintenance of these institutions.

The state minister further said that, therefore, the government would not continue to run the institutions to add to the burden on the people but will continue to be the regulatory body.

Moreover, the state minister stated that as a result of the economic crisis, Sri Lanka has to follow the globally accepted economic methods, pointing out that Sri Lanka would never have adopted such economic measures if there was no such experience a worst economic crisis.

He also mentioned that the methods to be adopted by a country to stabilize the economy of a country, should be identified by itself.