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Tissa Vitarana opposes going to IMF at All Party confab

Published

4 years ago

2022/03/27

Calls for 50% tax on income between Rs. 400,000 and Rs. 1 million

I am glad that this conference is being held when Sri Lanka is faced with one of the worst economic crises since independence. Before getting onto my speech, I wish to thank the President and Prime Minister for holding this meeting. Further, the presence of members of the Opposition is also welcome. This is a signal of the readiness of the Opposition to cooperate with the Government to overcome the crisis, as one nation.

However, I strongly disagree with the view that both the Government and the Leader of the Opposition hold that the solution lies only through the IMF (International Monetary Fund). The IMF solution will only lead to a further loss of dollars through the unrestricted opening of the economy to more imports and also lead to increased debt due to taking further loans.

It would have been better to have had an earlier meeting of the Government party leaders so that agreement on policy matters could have been reached among ourselves in the Government. I would support the view of the Tamil speaking MP’s that national unity is essential and could be achieved by fully implementing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

Due to shortages and high prices of basic essentials, most of them imported, like fuel (oil and gas), medicines and food, life has become a misery for most of the people (perhaps other than the super-rich). The knock on effects e.g. shortage of electricity, have added to the misery. The root cause is the shortage of US dollars (USD). The Foreign Exchange Reserve which was maintained at USD 7-8 Billion has come down to less than USD 1 Billion. This has led to our Fitch Rating dropping to 2C (1C means bankruptcy). The real value of the rupee has dropped from 200 to a dollar, to 285 per dollar. This has led to the non-acceptance of Letters of Credit (LC) from Sri Lanka by foreign suppliers. As a result it is only after payment in dollars that goods are sent from abroad, which means a delay of several months. But due to the shortage of dollars in the country this cannot be done even in time.

A similar crisis occurred during the 1970-75 SLFP/LSSP/CP Coalition Government. With the formation of OPEC, oil prices rose by more than five times and a ton of sugar went up from £ 42 to £ 600. The JVP insurgency damaged the economy and added to the cost to the country.

Dr.N.M.Perera, then Finance Minister, overcame the crisis and raised the Foreign Reserves from USD 1.3 Billion in 1970 to USD 2.7 Billion by 1975, thereby stabilizing the economy and providing sufficient US dollars for our essential imports. He strictly banned non-essential imports thereby reducing the foreign exchange deficit, which is the main cause of the lack of dollars. He encouraged the development of local industry and agriculture.

Since 1977 the UNP came to power with its neoliberal economic policies. These have been operative since then. These were designed by the USA (led by Prof. Friedman of the Chicago School of Economics), to continue to exploit the world’s resources (specially countries of the Third World, like Sri Lanka) to the advantage of the USA and its imperialist allies in the post-colonial era. This open economy, promoted by the WTO (World Trade Organization), which the UNP and its allies in Sri Lanka strongly support, led to unlimited import of luxury and other non-essential goods. The result was that the foreign exchange deficit was at time double the export income.

This ate into our reserves and also led to massive foreign borrowing. Successive Governments, the UNP more than the SLFP, went into both short and long term borrowing, often at a high interest rate. Last year alone Sri Lanka had to pay USD six billion for debt servicing. The question then is how can we pay this amount when our reserves are so low.

The only way out is to get a moratorium from our creditors, that is ask for time to delay the payments for a period of about five years. This would mean for this period we will have USD 30 Billion, to put our economy right and also immediately fund the import of essentials, with the restoration of LCs. This has been done by several countries in the course of past crises. I am told that Argentina and Uruguay among other countries have done so this time too.

Our solution should ensure that we do not increase our debt, a root cause of our problems. This would be the inevitable outcome of turning to the IMF for assistance. Further the IMF policy of unlimited imports would put us into deeper debt.

Concrete measures should be taken to rationalize our import structure. Nearly 25% of our dollars is allocated to the import oil and gas. The latter requirement can be effectively minimized by domestic bio-gas production using cookers produced by the NERD institution. Fuel should be rationed giving priority to public transport. There should be a total ban on non-essential imports. Other selected items should be subject to heavy taxes.

This is a better solution than the issuing of permits, which leads to corruption. Foreign inputs required for industrial production for exports should be permitted. Promotion of science, technology and research for value added industries using local raw material should also be supported.

The tax system should be drastically revised as indicated in Table 1.

As an incentive, company taxes should remain low only for value added industries, that use local or foreign raw materials, especially for export and import substitution. Unfair exploitation of local human and material resources must be minimized, especially for the local market. Incentives must be given for tourism and remittances from abroad. Indirect taxes must be minimized.

The adoption of a floating exchange rate system is a progressive step in the present context. The public and private loss making institutions can be made profitable like in Kerala, India by utilizing the “Solidarity Principle”. Here the ownership of an enterprise is given to the employees and the profit is shared equally among them. Stop taking inflated foreign loans. The above changes should be associated with a wage-price freeze (which led to the success of Roosevelt’s “New Deal”).

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Only single MP refuses salary as Parliament details pays and allowances

Published

2 hours ago

2026/02/22

Thilina Walpola

SJB Badulla District MP Nayana Wasalathilake is the only MP to forego salary and allowances, with all payments suspended following his written notification on August 20, 2025.

Only one Member of Parliament has chosen not to receive the salaries and allowances entitled to MPs, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya revealed in Parliament last Thursday, shedding light on the financial perks enjoyed by members of the Tenth Parliament.

Speaking on Thursday (Feb. 19) in response to a question from SJB Badulla District MP Chaminda Wijesiri, the Prime Minister outlined the full range of pay and allowances provided to parliamentarians.

According to Dr. Amarasuriya, MPs receive a monthly allowance of Rs. 54,285, an entertainment allowance of Rs. 1,000, and a driver’s allowance of Rs. 3,500—though MPs provided with a driver through the Ministry of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs are not eligible for the driver’s allowance.

Additional benefits include a telephone allowance of Rs. 50,000, a transport allowance of Rs. 15,000, and an office allowance of Rs. 100,000. MPs are also paid a daily sitting allowance of Rs. 2,500 for attending parliamentary sessions, with an additional Rs. 2,500 per day for participation in parliamentary sittings and Rs. 2,500 per day as a committee allowance.

Committee meetings held on non-parliament sitting days also attract Rs. 2,500 per day.

Fuel allowances are provided based on the distance between an MP’s electoral district and Parliament. National List MPs are entitled to a monthly allocation equivalent to 419.76 litres of diesel at the market price on the first day of each month.

Despite the comprehensive benefits, only SJB Badulla District MP Nayana Wasalathilaka has opted not to draw a salary or allowances. Dr. Amarasuriya said that in accordance with a written notification submitted by MP Wasalathilaka on August 20, 2025, payments have been suspended since that date.

The Prime Minister also confirmed that she, along with the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, committee chairs, ministers, deputy ministers, the Opposition Leader, and senior opposition whips, have all informed the Secretary-General of Parliament in writing that they will not claim the fuel allowance.

Challenging the ruling party’s voluntary pledge to forgo salaries, MP Wijesiri pointed out that all MPs except Wasalathilaka continue to receive their salaries and allowances. “On one hand you speak about the people’s mandate, which is good. But the mandate also included people who said they would voluntarily serve in this Parliament without salaries. Today we have been able to prove, Hon. Speaker, that except for one SJB MP, the other 224 Members are drawing parliamentary salaries,” he said.

The Prime Minister responded by defending the political culture and practice of allocating portions of MPs’ salaries to party funds. Referring to previous practices by the JVP and NPP, she said: “It is no secret to the country that the JVP has for a long time not personally taken MPs’ salaries or any allowances. I think the entire country knows that these go to a party fund. That is not new, nor is it something special to mention. The NPP operates in the same way. That too is not new; it is the culture of our political movement.”

When MP Wijesiri posed a supplementary question asking whether diverting salaries to party funds was an indirect method of taking care of MPs, Dr. Amarasuriya said: “There is no issue there. No question was raised; the Member made a statement. What we have seen throughout this week is an inability to understand our political culture and practice, and a clash with decisions taken by political movements that misused public funds. What is coming out is a certain mindset. That is why there is such an effort to find fault with the 159. None of these facts are new to people. He did not ask a question, so I have nothing to answer.”

The disclosures come days after the Government moved to abolish the parliamentary pension, a measure that has sparked renewed debate over MP compensation and the transparency of funds allocation.

News

Illegal assets of underworld figures frozen since September, Minister tells parliament

Published

2 hours ago

2026/02/22

Thilina Walpola

Wijepala

Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananda Wijepala on Friday (20) disclosed in Parliament details of properties and assets allegedly acquired through illegal activities by suspects arrested in raids carried out since September last year.

The Minister made the disclosure in response to a question raised by MP Ravindra Bandara, stating that the identified assets have been frozen pending further investigations.

He said the assets include properties belonging to several alleged organised crime figures, among them Mandinu Padmasiri, alias ‘Kehelbaddara Padme’, who was arrested last year.

Listing the assets in the House, the Minister said Hapugoda Arachchige Kankanamge Duminda Dilruk has assets worth Rs. 23 million frozen, including a van, a motorcycle, a house and a roller gate.

In the case of Kandaiya Kalamogan, two motorboats have been identified, although their value has not yet been assessed.

Dilum Tharaka Balasuriya is reported to own a two-storey house situated on 15 perches of land with a face value of Rs. 800,000.

Assets belonging to Mohammad Harish Mohammad and Mohammad Shiyam were frozen on January 21, 2026. While the total value has not yet been assessed, five vehicles were confiscated from the former and a car from the latter.

Wijesuriya Mahaduruge Uditha Iroshan Wijesiri has assets valued at Rs. 5 million, including a lorry, while Indika Pathmakumara’s assets include a cab worth Rs. 2.5 million and a bank account containing Rs. 1 million.

Lahiru Sampath is reported to own a three-wheeler valued at Rs. 1.8 million.

According to the Minister, Hettiarachchige Dona Sriyani Chandralatha possesses a four-storey house and 14.7 perches of land valued at Rs. 60 million.

Mandinu Padmasiri, alias ‘Kehelbaddara Padme’, owns 20 perches of land with partially constructed buildings valued at Rs. 30 million and a half-finished six-room building worth Rs. 20 million, the Minister said.

Patabendi Maddumage Shehan Sathsara, alias ‘Dehi Bale Malli’, has five multi-day fishing trawlers valued at Rs. 200 million and a two-storey house with 15.8 perches of land worth Rs. 50 million.

The Minister further disclosed that Jayasinghege Maduranga Sampath owns a cab worth Rs. 5.4 million, a van valued at Rs. 14.5 million, five bank accounts containing Rs. 73.03 million, another account with Rs. 160,328.88 and USD 544, and Rs. 283 million in cash.

Adhikari Samantha Perera is reported to own 10.10 perches of land valued at Rs. 5 million and one acre and 1.5 perches of land worth Rs. 13 million.The Minister said investigations are continuing in respect of the suspects and the frozen assets.

News

Entire coal procurement rigged, SJB charges minister over substandard fuel

Published

2 hours ago

2026/02/22

Thilina Walpola

Marikkar

The entire coal procurement process was rigged, the main Opposition SJB alleged in Parliament on Friday, accusing Energy Minister Eng. Kumara Jayakody of misleading the Cabinet and the National Procurement Committee to favour a supplier of substandard coal for the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant in Norochcholai.

Moving an adjournment debate on the energy crisis, SJB Colombo District MP S.M. Marikkar charged that the losses incurred from the importation of inferior coal must be fully computed and recovered from those responsible, including damage caused to machinery, additional power generation costs and environmental harm.

He said the SJB had exposed the issue both inside and outside Parliament, alleging that the Government was attempting to cover up large-scale irregularities in the 2026 coal procurement process.

Marikkar claimed that serious fraud, corruption and procedural violations had taken place from the outset. He pointed out that the standard 42-day procurement period had been curtailed to 21 days, thereby restricting competition and preventing many qualified companies from participating.

He further alleged that key eligibility criteria had been diluted, including the requirement that a supplier must have imported 500,000 metric tonnes of coal over the past three years. This threshold, he said, had been reduced to 100,000 metric tonnes to enable smaller firms to qualify.

According to the MP, despite instructions issued by the Committee on Public Finance and the Auditor General regarding the procurement process, the Minister had misled the Cabinet and the National Procurement Committee to deviate from the approved procedure in order to favour a particular company that subsequently supplied substandard coal.

Marikkar alleged that the first, third and fourth shipments had contained inferior coal, which had been mixed with existing higher-quality stocks and used at the Norochcholai plant. He said the resulting losses to the power generation system would far exceed the reported US$ 2 million fine imposed on the importer.

He also highlighted alleged irregularities in the tender process, claiming that the chairman of the tender board had withdrawn after decisions were taken and had failed to attend subsequent meetings.The MP further charged that the Government was attempting to justify impending power cuts by citing a purported shortage of coal.