State Minister of Finance Dr. Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said that the government has taken steps to increase the interest rate of the Employees' Provident Fund from 9% to 13%.
The minister made these comments while answering a question asked by a journalist while attending a meeting held in Yatianthota area of Kegalle district.
The Minister further clarified that the accusations raised by some stakeholders that the Employees' Provident Fund is being destroyed in the past period are meaningless and the government has decided to increase the amount from 9% to 13% for the year 2023, exceeding the interest rate that was adopted by the Parliament.
The largest fund in the country is the Employees' Provident Fund and currently there are 27 lakh active members and the biggest challenge in the debt restructuring was related to the debts with the Employees' Provident Fund.
Many people in the Parliament as well as through the media and in the society accused the Employees' Provident Fund of a huge loss during the debt restructuring. The minister also pointed out that the government has given a very reasonable solution for this.
However, the minister further stated that most of the people who made the accusations are silent now and this decision of the government to pay 13% interest percentage from the money earned by investing in the employee welfare fund for the year 2023 will be a good message to the members.
