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LSSP blames neoliberal policies for present crisis

Published

3 years ago

2022/12/19

Leader of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) Prof Tissa Vitarana says that the current crisis is due to a shrinking economy and high inflation.

“There is a lack of both dollars and of rupees. The lack of dollars is a result of the neoliberal policies of successive governments, since 1978, which raised our foreign debt to US$ 52 billion and brought down our foreign exchange (forex) reserves from US$ 8 billion to a few millions. The worst offender was the “Yahapalana” government of 2015, led by Ranil Wickremesinghe, which borrowed $ 12.5 billion,” Prof Vitarana says, in a message to mark the LSSP anniversary that falls tomorrow (20)

“When the LSSP is commemorating its 87th Anniversary, I send this message to our friendly people with a feeling of deep sadness. Most of the people of Sri Lanka are facing great hardships at this time of severe economic, social and political crisis. More than 65 % of families, whose income is below the poverty line, are going hungry, the parents having one meal a day so that the children can have two. This too is lacking in protein, vitamins and essential elements Even if they manage to get rice, only about 50% of their protein needs are obtained. This mainly affects the children and the malnutrition levels among them exceed 20%, so that the future generations, too, will suffer with poor physical and mental development. Due to the contraction of the economy many small and medium industries are closing down or cutting staff. Unemployment is rising steeply. Everyone is suffering due to the electricity power cuts, the shortage and high prices of food, fuel, gas and medicines. Thousands of educated youth that the country needs are leaving our shores. Many who remain are enticed to become drug addicts and prostitutes.

“Action taken by Dr.N.M.Perera of the LLSSP, as Finance Minister, to solve the severe 1972/3 crisis provides the basis for a solution. Then the shortage of essential imports and the price rise was higher than today (e.g. the import of a ton of sugar rose from 43 British pounds to 600). He prevailed on the PM, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, to impose severe restrictions on imports and promoted exports to solve our adverse balance of payments situation. He imposed high taxes (75%) on the rich who did not invest their capital for development so that the Government could play a leading role in overcoming the crisis, reduce poverty and develop the country. He promoted science and technology to develop a national economy that would be self-sufficient and increase exports. There were no indirect taxes like VAT that passed the burden of the crisis on to the people, specially the poor. He brought down inflation by strengthening and linking the producer and consumer cooperatives, and strengthened the role of the food and marketing departments, eliminating exploitation by the traders and middlemen. By 1975 he produced a surplus Budget and raised the Foreign Exchange Reserve from USD 1 billion to nearly 4 billion, and restored normalcy, overcoming the crisis.

“The current crisis is due to a shrinking economy and high inflation. There is both a lack of Dollars and of Rupees for the Government. The lack of Dollars is a result of the neoliberal policies of successive governments since 1978 which raised our foreign debt to US$ 52 billion and brought down our foreign exchange (forex) reserves from US$ 8 billion to a few millions. The worst offender was the “Yahapalana” government of 2015, led by Ranil Wickremasinghe, which borrowed $ 12.5 billion. The dollar crisis is due to an annual debt servicing cost, which last year was $ 6.3 billion. It was not due to an adverse foreign trade balance, as our forex earnings in 2021 were $ 21 billion, exceeding our import cost of $ 20 billion by one billion. I am glad that the SLPP Government stopped the import of vehicles and the present Government has banned the import of a large list of non-essential imports. If this is properly done there will be no need to borrow further from the multilateral donors, led by the IMF, and get further into debt, and also have to sell our valuable assets. We can escape the debt trap and have the dollars to get the fuel, fertiliser, gas, food and medicines that the people need, keeping the price down, by properly run Sathosas, Cooperatives, etc. A five-year moratorium on debt will give us $ 35 billion to develop value-added industries using our agricultural and natural resources (ilmenite and graphite) to provide jobs for our youth. The technology will be provided to SMEs through the Vidatha Centres at Divisional level and Hi-Tech at central level e.g. SLINTEC nanotechnology) with emphasis on exports.

“Immediate action must be taken to bring down the cost of living. Left Government policies must be combined with empowerment of the people. Properly elected producer and consumer Co-operatives will ensure that the producer gets a proper price while the consumer cost is minimized. The middlemen exploitation is eliminated. Low interest credit for farmers and entrepreneurs from the Central Bank Fund could be made available through the Rural Banks and Vidatha Centres. The problem of rural microcredit at high interest must be overcome. Farmers will be supported to practice ecoagriculture. All failed state and private institutions could be run under the “solidarity economy” principle, where the lease/ ownership will be in the hands of the workers, who alone get the profits, having one share each in the company. Through these and other measures it will be possible to recover from this crisis, as Dr. N M Perera did in 1972/3. Sri Lanka can emerge from this crisis, eliminate poverty and become a developed country if a progressive Government which implements the above LSSP policies comes to power. I invite all honest people who accept these policies to join us to get rid of poverty and make Sri Lanka a developed country.

“The LSSP was formed in 1935 and led the fight for national independence. The LSSP was banned and its leaders like Dr N M Perera and Dr. Colvin R de Silva jailed. They broke jail and escaped to India where they joined the independence struggle led by Gandhi and Nehru, as part of the Congress Socialist Party. They returned at the end of the war in 1945 and led the General Strike of 1947 in which the Police fired at Dr. N M Perera, but comrade Kandasamy who was by his side died. The Great Hartal of 1953 was led by the LSSP against the raising of the price of rice by the UNP Government from 25 cents a measure to 72 cents. When anti-Tamil racism was at its worst and Sinhala only was made the official language the LSSP fought for Tamil also to be made official. Yhis was finally granted in 1957. Sri Lanka became a truly independent sovereign state with the passing of the Republican Constitution drafted by Dr. Colvin R de Silva in 1972.”

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58,454 International aircraft movements in Sri Lanka in first 11months of 2025 – Ministry of Ports and Civil Aviation

Published

11 hours ago

2025/12/31

Priyan

According to figures released by the Ministry of Ports and Civil Aviation there have been 58,454 international aircraft movements in the first 11 months of 2025 in Sri Lanka. [An aircraft movement refers to the count of take offs and landings at an airport]

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Highest revenue in 93-year history of Inland Revenue Department collected in 2025

Published

14 hours ago

2025/12/31

Priyan

The Inland Revenue Department has succeeded in collecting Rs. 2,203 billion in revenue in 2025, the highest amount recorded in its 93-year history. This represents a surplus of Rs. 33 billion over the revenue target for the year and a 15 per cent increase compared with the revenue collected in the previous year, stated Commissioner-General of Inland Revenue Ms Rukdevi Fernando.

She made these remarks at a discussion held on Tuesday (30) morning at the Department’s auditorium under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Marking the first occasion in the 93-year history of the Inland Revenue Department that a President has visited the Department, the President attended a meeting with the staff to review the progress achieved in 2025 and the new plans for 2026.

The President expressed his appreciation to all officers and staff of the Inland Revenue Department for surpassing the revenue expected by the Government and urged everyone to continue working towards a common objective in order to realise the economic transformation required for the country.

Emphasising that no individual is entitled to the privilege of evading taxes, the President stated that the era in which a tax culture prevailed based on personal or political affiliations has come to an end. He further stressed that the law will be enforced without hesitation, irrespective of status, against those who attempt to evade taxes.

The President also pointed out that tax collection is neither repression nor coercion but a legitimate right of the State, adding that necessary changes will be made to laws, regulations, designations and staffing in order to secure this contribution.

He further emphasised that the Government’s objective is to ensure that the benefits of these economic achievements flow to the people of the country. The Government is focusing on improving essential public services to enhance the quality of life, undertaking a new transformation of the transport system and providing adequate allocations for the development of the education and health sectors.

The President also highlighted the need for a targeted programme to properly collect the taxes due to the Government by addressing issues such as improving tax literacy, simplifying the tax system and filling staff shortages.

Ms Rukdevi Fernando stated that the professional competence and dedication of the Department’s officers were the key factors behind this success.

She further noted that a revenue target of Rs. 2,401 billion has been set for 2026 and that the Department expects to achieve this through programmes aimed at enhancing tax compliance and broadening the tax base.

In addition, she said that the Department plans to expand third-party data sharing, strengthen investigations into domestic and overseas assets, take over the RAMIS system, reinforce risk-based auditing, introduce e-invoicing, adopt modern technology for tax administration and enhance tax ethics in 2026.

Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Anil Jayantha Fernando, Deputy Minister of Economic Development Nishantha Jayaweera, Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Commissioner-General of Inland Revenue Ms Rukdevi Fernando and senior officials and staff of the Department were present at the occasion.

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Sri Lanka Customs exceeds revenue targets to enters 2026 with a surplus of Rs. 300 billion – Director General

Published

23 hours ago

2025/12/31

Priyan

The year 2025 has been recorded as the highest revenue-earning year in the history of Sri Lanka Customs, stated Director General of Sri Lanka Customs, Mr. S.P. Arukgoda, noting that the Department had surpassed its expected revenue target of Rs. 2,115 billion, enabling it to enter 2026 with an additional surplus of approximately Rs. 300 billion.

The Director General made these remarks at a discussion held on Tuesday (30) morning at the Sri Lanka Customs Auditorium, chaired by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

The President visited the Sri Lanka Customs Department this to review the performance achieved in 2025 and to scrutinize the new plans proposed for 2026. During the visit, the President engaged in extensive discussions with the Director General, Directors and senior officials of the Department.

Commending the vital role played by Sri Lanka Customs in generating much-needed state revenue and contributing to economic and social stability, the President expressed his appreciation to the entire Customs employees for their commitment and service.

Emphasizing that Sri Lanka Customs is one of the country’s key revenue-generating institutions, the President highlighted the importance of maintaining operations in an efficient, transparent and accountable manner. The President also called upon all officers to work collectively, with renewed plans and strategies, to lead the country towards economic success in 2026.

The President further stressed that the economic collapse in 2022 was largely due to the government’s inability at the time to generate sufficient rupee revenue and secure adequate foreign exchange. He pointed out that the government has successfully restored economic stability by achieving revenue targets, a capability that has also been vital in addressing recent disaster situations.

A comprehensive discussion was also held on the overall performance and progress of Sri Lanka Customs in 2025, as well as the new strategic plans for 2026, with several new ideas and proposals being presented.

Sri Lanka Customs currently operates under four main pillars, revenue collection, trade facilitation, social protection and institutional development. The President inquired into the progress achieved under each of these areas.

It was revealed that the Internal Affairs Unit, established to prevent corruption and promote an ethical institutional culture, is functioning effectively.

The President also sought updates on measures taken to address long-standing allegations related to congestion, delays and corruption in Customs operations, as well as on plans to modernize cargo inspection systems.

The discussion further covered Sri Lanka Customs’ digitalization programme planned for 2026, along with issues related to recruitment, promotions, training and salaries and allowances of the staff.

Highlighting the strategic importance of airports in preventing attempts to create instability within the country, the President underscored the necessity for Sri Lanka Customs to operate with a comprehensive awareness of its duty to uphold the stability of the State, while also being ready to face upcoming challenges.

The discussion was attended by Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Anil Jayanta Fernando, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Nishantha Jayaweera, Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Deputy Secretary to the Treasury, A.N.Hapugala, Director General of Sri Lanka Customs, S.P.Arukgoda, members of the Board of Directors and senior officials of the Department.