Not a cent offered by Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) would be accepted under any reason, President Maithripala Sirisena said in Parliament yesterday.
He made this comment with reference to the Budgetary Proposal that invited the CTC to donate Rs. 500 million to the Presidential Fund to be utilised by the Presidential Task Force for the anti-smoking campaign.
The President said he issued a clear statement through the Presidential Secretariat on the day after the Budget speech that he was not ready to accept even a cent offered by the CTC under any reason. “It is our policy,” stressed the President.
He made these observations joining in the Committee Stage debate of the Budget 2017 when the Finance Head of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Ministry was taken up. The President, commenting on the shortage of doctors and nursing staff in the country, said the main reason for that situation is the large number of doctors and nurses leaving the country.
“The number of nurses coming out of nursing colleges annually is very little compared to the number of nurses retiring and leaving the country. I make an earnest plea from all consultant doctors and nursing staff to avoid leaving the country as much as possible. At the same time, there are about 15,000 Sri Lankan doctors serving in foreign countries. I invite them to come back and serve the country at least for a short period,” he said.