Photography Sector will experience a golden era when the National Policy introduced by the Economic Transformation Bill is implemented – Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana

“When the national economic policy introduced by the President through the Economic Transformation Act is implemented, a golden era will dawn in the field of photography,” said Transport Highways and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana. He was addressing the World Photography Day commemoration ceremony held at Galle Town Hall.

Members of the All Island Professional Photographers’ Association representing all the districts of the country were present and awards were presented in recognition of Artistes who have engaged in a unique mission for the advancement of the industry.

“I have also been able to make a special contribution to this field, which provides a huge economic contribution to the country. At a very young age, we had the opportunity to bring fame to the country by directing many award-winning films such as Thunweni Yamaya, Siri Medura, Suddhilage Kathawa, Ayoma, The Newspaper and Saho. It also gave me the opportunity of associating with a large number of pioneer photographers and filmmakers in the field”, the Minister said.

The Minister said that he had the opportunity to win the best film producer award in Sri Lanka three times for his contribution to the feild. “I believe that I am the only politician in Sri Lanka who has made such a contribution to cinema. Also, there is great potential and feasibility in this field in strengthening the country’s economy.

“The Association of Professional Photographic Studio Owners has made a request from me, as the Minister in charge, to prepare a system for providing digital photos through a software during the issuance of driver’s licenses and passports. Accordingly, the necessary methodology for including the photos obtained by the owners of the studios has been included in it, and after giving the necessary instructions to the officials, including the Ministry Secretary, the Motor Traffic Commissioner, the tender will be made public in the coming week, in a way that you all can contribute”, he said.

He added that the the members of the Association of Photograph Studio Owners will have the ability to provide photos for the issuance of driving licences in the future, just as they contribute to the passport.” Through that, a productive investment opportunity should be created to make the sector more efficient.

“At the same time, the Board of Directors of Lake House has approved my proposal to organise a photography competition through all the newspapers of Lake House, and publish the submitted photos in the newspapers.

Due to the collapse of the economy in the past, other divisions of the business sector as well as all those involved in the photography sector faced a huge crisis. There has been a deficit in the current account of the balance of payments in the Sri Lankan economy for a very long time. It means that several times more than the foreign exchange earnings from tea, rubber, coconuts and other exports are spent every year on the import of consumer goods including essentials such as rice flour, potatoes, onions, lentils, intermediate goods such as petroleum, chemical fertilisers and investment goods such as machinery and equipment.

“When the import expenditure is more than the export income, there is a trade deficit in the trade account in the balance of payments. It is not possible to cover the deficit only through the export of services, tourism and remittances from abroad. Therefore, there has been a deficit in the current account every year under every government since 1977, except last year. In order to cover this deficit, we need to obtain loans both domestically and abroad. When that is not adequate, foreign reserves were also used. In the absence of reserves, by 2022 there was a shortage of fuel, gas and medicine in the country. Due to the inability to import the necessary raw materials, the production process suffered a major collapse. Electricity had to be cut. Due to the intensification of the economic crisis, the situation of a struggle in the country, motivated by

various extremist groups, caused a big collapse not only in the photography industry but also in the entire system”, the Minister said.

Due to the debt restructuring agreement made with the International Monetary Fund for settling this situation, the letters of credit that we are issuing at this time are being accepted by the world.

Based on that situation, it has become possible to import applications related to the field of photography. In this situation, as people and as entrepreneurs, we should work to increase the export income by reducing the import costs of the country.

Apart from that, there is no political solution to this kind of economic problem. There is only an economic solution for that. According to the comprehensive loan agreement arrived at with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the country has now been able to breathe again. As a result, the interest that had grown to 30% has come down to 7%-8%. Inflation that had grown to 79% has reached a single digit figure as of now.

The value of the dollar has gone down. After conducting several rounds of diplomatic negotiations with the countries of the world through the intervention of the President, Japan, France and India have formed an official debt committee and signed separate agreements on how to repay the foreign debt.

Five bills containing the necessary rules and regulations to deal with the IMF’s agreements were recently passed in Parliament. Every government before this has printed money. The Central Bank Act has been amended in such a way that henceforth it will not be possible to print money in this way.

It is not possible to get loans as needed. A debt control act has been passed. It is not possible to include absurd things in the Budget document. Parliament has passed a Financial Management Responsibility Act.

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