Rice imports due to climate change - Sarath Amunugama

A forum for Sri Lankan marketers convened to elicit answers from proxies of President Mahinda Rajapaksha and Retd. General Sarath Fonseka ultimately descended into an overly politicised difference of opinions on Thursday night as both parties resorted to campaign style propaganda and mud-slinging more characteristic with an election rally than a corporate-shared learning forum.
Particularly noteworthy was a comment made by Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama which suggested that rice imports had ultimately only become necessary due to climate change. Speaking on behalf of the President, Dr. Amunugama noted several issues that he felt questioned Gen. Fonseka's ability to lead. Most relevant to the business community, he also went on to once again present oft publicised promises by the government that it would revise growth to 8 to 9% by 2011 as well as virtually doubling per capita income, to over US$ 5,000, in four years time. Interestingly, this latter per capita goal was called into question by a member of the audience while at least one of Dr. Amunugama's accusations was also disputed by a prominent economist who was in the audience at the time.
Further stating that an International Monetary Fund report of the same day showcased that the country's economy was stronger than expected with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth expected to return to pre crisis levels in 2010, he also noted that national debt had been reduced and further highlighted a number of public infrastructure projects recently inaugurated by the government.
Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of the united opposition candidate Gen. Fonseka, Ravi Karunanayake, a former Minister for Trade, addressed a number of Dr. Amunugama's accusations while also questioning the motives behind the recent relaxation of foreign exchange restrictions. He also noted that, out of the 74 promises that were outlined in Mahinda Chintana 1, only four had been kept, and it was precisely because Gen. Fonseka was not a politician that a number of parties trusted him, joining his campaign despite their differences. However, the crux of his power point style presentation was a number of specific measures targetting ordinary citizens' current woes including a per person grant of Rs. 10,000, a promise that could amount to as much as Rs. 140 billion; an increase in Samurdhi payments; a continuation of existing fertilizer subsidies at the present levels; etc. He also noted that, as opposed to the existing level of 54 separate taxes paid by each citizen, the main opposition candidate intended to reduce this number by at least one third.
Offering its members "A Glimpse of Your Future", this event was just the most current in what is said be a continuing series of pre-election debates held by Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) with a lineage stretching back to at least the last presidential election.