by Himangi Jayasundere

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said that there would be no money in the country to pay retired employees of both the public and private sectors in a few years.

"Both the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and the Employees Trust Fund (ETF) are bankrupt," he said, adding that there were’nt sufficient funds to pay pensioners in the public service either. He emphasised that this was a ‘big problem’ for his government.

"In a few years there won’t be any money to pay pensioners no matter whether you are in the public sector, the private sector, whether you are a soldier or a nurse" he said.

The Prime Minister was addressing members of the Public Services United Nurses Union (PSUNU) at its 32nd anniversary celebrations.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said that he expected to meet with trade unions during the next few months to discuss the economic crisis.

"We have to develop the economy to enable the payment of EPF again" he said.

"We have thought of ending the war and going for discussions to usher in peace without the separation of the country," he said adding, "We have a huge problem to solve". He said that there was much construction work to be done in the north and east but no money with which to do it.

The PM said the government hoped to end the north east problem through the peace process and that it has encountered some negative attitudes towards this endeavour but he pointed out that many of the country’s problems were interconnected and therefore the main causes must be removed.

In the last few years, there has been a decline in the economy and the growth rate was a negative 1.3% last year. Resuscitating the economy is a near impossible task but we have been able to stabilise the economy to a certain extent, he said. He said that the government hoped to improve the economy growth by 3% this year.

The PM said that the decline in the economy was aggravated by debt servicing and the depreciation of the rupee. He noted that in April the rupee depreciated once again due to the increase in world oil prices.

Minister of Health P. Dayaratne speaking on the occasion said that construction of a post basic nursing school could commence soon on a land that was allocated by the government yesterday. He said that Rs. 10 m has been set aside for this project. The allocation of the land for the school by the Prime Minister was announced by President of the PSUNU, Muruththettuwe Ananda Thera, during the event.

Minister Dayaratne added that measures were being taken to set up new training schools for nurses to overcome the current shortage of nurses. At present, about 1000 nurses pass out every year from the existing schools. However, according to the PSUNU there is a requirement for 30,000 nurses almost double the existing number of 17,000.

The minister said that the shortage was acute in the north and east as such some retired health sector employees, including doctors and nurses, have been offered their jobs once again. He said many retired employees over sixty years of age were working for the same salary they had received at the time they retired. This is despite the fact that they could have stayed at home and received their pensions, the minister said. He said that having considered their efforts the government has decided to increase the wages paid to these employees by 50%.

The minister observed also that the legal clarifications were currently being made on the issue of making nursing an islandwide service.