Pharmaceutical companies busy trying to send Rajitha home

Aug 27, 2017

There is talk about a no-confidence motion against health minister Rajitha Senaratne. The government says it will be made into a motion to establish confidence in the minister.

The move comes as many changes are taking place in the health sector for the benefit of patients. The prices of 48 varieties of drugs, including essential ones, have been brought down. Some of them are worth thousands of rupees each. Also, the prices of stents needed for heart surgery have been reduced by hundreds of thousands of rupees. Also, the prices of cigarettes have been increased in order to discourage smoking, and the results are now visible.

People do not have any need to remove the health minister from his position. Therefore, to understand as to who needs his removal is very easy. Pharmaceutical and tobacco companies are the ones that have been badly hurt by Senaratne’s programmes, as the prices of drugs have been brought down and cigarette sales have decreased, thereby reducing the huge profits of these companies. They are now trying to see that he is removed.

No previous health minister was able to, or strong enough to, stop these companies from earning unreasonable profits. That is why the Senaka Bibile drug policy was kept sidelined for more than 40 years. Senaratne has been able to work freely under president Maithripala Sirisena, a former health minister, and the people are enjoying the dividends.

Pharmaceutical companies are spending money to remove the health minister. They are distributing money to the GMOA, which is using the SAITM issue against the government, other trade unions and even the joint opposition. 

The result is the no-confidence motion against the health minister. However, he says he is no afraid of these threats. He says the hatred of these companies against him is an indication that his programme has become a success.