(CT) Budget 2018 hurts landowners: PARL

Highlighting that the budget was a direct orchestration of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions, The Peoples’ Alliance for Right to Land (PARL) said that the public needed to be consulted to mitigate the detrimental effects on policies related to land.
According to PARL, “This budget can be termed the most direct statement of intent in implementing the key conditions stipulated in the loan agreement signed with the International Monetary Fund on 26 June, which mainly includes the revision of labour and land laws that act as barriers for foreign investors, etc.”

PARL pointed out that several imminent dangers and repercussions will affect the livelihood of more than 40% of the population if the proposals are implemented. It drew attention to the revision of the Rent Act (No. 7 of 1972) in order to enable house ownership to foreigners and the revision of the Paddy Lands Act (No. 1 of 1958) and the Agricultural Lands Act (No. 42 of 1973) to enable the cultivation of various crops.

PARL also opposes the Revision of the Land (Restrictions on Alienation) Act, No. 38 of 2014, which placed stipulations for land ownership for companies with foreign shareholding, and the revision of the Land Development Ordinance to ease the selling and purchase of agricultural land.

The organization further noted that the Government had plans to allocate land to overseas companies on a large scale, which would be further accelerated with the proposed legal revisions, sending the country into a massive socio-political struggle.

According to PARL, the environmentally-friendly blue-green enterprise Budget posed the grave danger of resources being destroyed as a result of large scale land (including forests), beachfront and other natural resources being handed over to foreign companies.
“With the removal of import tax and other market regulations, local producers will have to compete with imported goods, face high competition and lose their livelihoods. The reduction of the budgetary allocation for Agriculture and other primary production for 2018 will further aggravate the situation,” PARL noted.

“With the proposed labour law revisions, investors will have the opportunity to exploit cheap labour slaves and opposed revisions to the Shop and Office Employees Act, (No 15 of 1954) to relax the hours of work and other working conditions.”
It further noted that, the country’s food security will be adversely impacted with the reliance on producing export-oriented goods, leaving the people of the country dependent on foreign markets for their food security.

“As a people’s movement advocating for the land rights of people, food sovereignty and environmental ecosystem, we have decided to actively intervene to stop the implementation of the proposed budgetary proposals that are detrimental to the people. Even though the Government has approved the budget with a 2/3 majority in Parliament, without the approval of the people these cannot be practically implemented.”

The Peoples’ Alliance for Right to Land (PARL) is a voluntary coalition of civil society organizations and individuals, working together against land-grabbing and for the housing, land and property rights of poor and marginalized communities in Sri Lanka since 2011. (ZG)

Source: Ceylon Today

Image Courtesy: Ada Derana