The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, this is my Question to the Hon. Prime Minister.

¶ 02 1) Will the Hon. Prime Minister agree that increasing exports is the only way that our country can rapidly come out of the debt trap we are placed in?

¶ 03 2) In achieving this, there are many hurdles confronted by genuine exporters. Will the Hon. Prime Minister inform this House how the Government will address the following grave issues?

¶ 04 (i) How can you reduce the bank interest rates, which are the highest in the Asian region?

¶ 05 (ii) The severe delays in container clearance and the unbearable cost increases through clearance cost, demurrage, capital tied up, manpower and human-related problems by excessive delays in container clearance.

¶ 06 (iii) President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, on the 29th of January, 2025, stated that owing to many government institutions creating bottlenecks, excessive cost and delays in approvals have taken place. What steps will be implemented to quicken the “ease of doing business”?

¶ 07 (iv) Can the Government permit 24-hour clearances, facilitate pre-clearance supported by post audit as a safety measure for misuse?

¶ 08 (v) Can rapid implementation of digitization of the economy and popularising cashless transactions be used to eradicate red tape and facilitate automatic implementation of Government policies?