The Sri Lankan government’s adherence to policies by the IMF, was behind the annual cuts in social welfare, health and education budgets, UNP MP and financial analyst Eran Wickremeratne told The Island.
"Whom is the IMF trying to fool? It may not be fashioning government policy directly, but it is the IMF driven philosophy of the ruling UPFA that has resulted in the continued reduction in the education, health and social welfare allocations," he said.
Wickremeratne said that public investment was kept at 6.9% of the GDP, which was largely spent on the construction of airports, ports and highways, all projects which do not benefit the vast majority of people.
He pointed out that IMF driven policies had widened the gap between the “haves and have nots”, which would eventually lead to “social unrest”.