In Parliament,  on Friday,  Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe questioned the delay in passing the bill which will enable private sector employees to obtain loans from the Employees Provident Fund.

Opposition Leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed these views in parliament;

[quote]These members should be able to obtain money from the fund for emergencies, serious illness, their children’s needs or to build a house. At present, members of the fund are being made to take leases and fall into debt in order to fulfill the aforementioned requirements. Section 23 A was introduced to the Act, in order to enable members to take a sum upto a maximum of 30 percent. While we have prepared these regulations and have entered the matter into the parliament agenda to have it adopted, why is the government not discussing this matter and taking the necessary steps?[/quote]

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