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Crisis did not come about due to COVID-19 pandemic, but because of ill-advised policies of Govt. says Champika

Published

5 years ago

2020/08/29

By Saman Indrajith

The SJB, on Thursday, raised questions over the government‘s use of funds for the period between April and August this year without the authorisation of Parliament.

Participating in the debate on Vote on Account, SJB Colombo District MP Champika Ranawaka said: “The Treasury Secretary issued a circular dated March 10, 2020, that the President had authorised the utilisation of funds under Article 150 (3) of the Constitution, only Parliament has the power to approve a Vote on Account.” But the SJB’s stance was that Article 150 (3) only gave powers to the President to draw funds from the Consolidated Fund for public expenses for three months from that date to the inauguration of a new Parliament.

“It does not grant him powers to draw funds or approve a VoA from the date of dissolving Parliament. The Prime Minister must clarify this in his capacity as the Finance Minister. We hope he will provide Parliament with a detailed account on State revenue during the past eight months of this year, how revenue from various taxes came to the government and the government’s recurrent expenditure before the end of the debate.”

Ranawaka said 2020 would go down as a significant year in the country’s history as there was no budget.

“A similar situation arose in 2015. This was just after a presidential election and with a general election also coming. However, the then government discussed with all parties concerned and still managed to present a Budget. This government, however, though it came to power in November last year could not present a budget this year. It relied on a Vote on Account passed by the previous government which approved funds up to April 30 this year. We now have another Vote on Account for funds from September 1 to December 31,” he said.

Opening the debate on the Vote on Account for the Opposition, the SJB MP said that the country’s present fiscal crisis had not come about due to the COVID-19 pandemic but because of the ill-advised economic and tax policies of the government.

He said the government’s tax policies implemented from December 1, 2019 had had a disastrous impact on the state revenue. Due to those policies, annual state revenue, which had been near Rs 2,000 billion during the previous government, had plummeted to about Rs 1,000 billion since last December, he said.

“The state revenue this year will be about Rs 1,100 billion, whereas the interest on loans alone is about Rs 1 trillion (Rs 1000 billion). As such, this is the first time that the country’s revenue is only enough to pay off the interest on the country’s loans,” he said.

Ranawaka pointed out that before the pandemic forced the country into lockdown, the economic growth rate during the first three months of 2020, had been –1.6%. “That was the government’s report card before COVID-19. According to the Asian Development Bank’s forecast, the economy is due to contract by 0.6% this year. The government can’t hide behind COVID-19 and claim all problems are due to it. The fact remains that the economy was in severe distress long before the pandemic came around.”

MP Ranawaka also alleged that the USD 7.2 billion foreign reserves which the previous government’s Central Bank Governor managed to build up were now being used to pay off foreign loans. He also lambasted the protectionist economic policy of the government and said that issuing a blanket ban on imports was only going to further worsen an already difficult situation. “You can’t develop local industries in this manner,” he said.

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The National Strategic Action Plan to monitor and combat human trafficking (2026-2030) officially launched

Published

2 hours ago

2026/01/29

Priyan

The Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya participated in the official launch of the National Strategic Action Plan to monitor and combat human trafficking (2026-2030) held on 28th of January at the Cinnamon Life Hotel, Colombo. The event was jointly organized by the Ministry of Defence, National Anti Human Trafficking Task Force ( NAHTTF), International Organization for Migration (IOM).

This five-year Action Plan was unveiled under the leadership of the Ministry of Defence, in its capacity as Chair of the NAHTTF and with the technical support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The National Strategic Action Plan 2026-2030 establishes a unified national framework to prevent human trafficking, protect and assist victims, strengthen law enforcement responses, and enhance accountability.

Addressing the event, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to strengthening national efforts to prevent and address human trafficking and stated that the Action Plan must transcend its symbolic launch into concrete, coordinated, and sustained implementation.

The Prime Minister also noted that the launch of the National Strategic Action Plan is timely, as it operationalizes the four internationally recognized pillars of the anti-trafficking framework namely prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnership.

The Prime Minister further stated,

“Caring for trafficking survivors in Sri Lanka requires a holistic, gender-sensitive, and survivor-centered approach that addresses both immediate protection and long-term recovery. This includes safe shelter, medical care, and trauma-informed psychological support, with particular attention to women and girls who experience more severe and gendered forms of violence, alongside legal assistance, economic empowerment, and skills development to prevent re-trafficking.

Human trafficking is a structural and social challenge that requires sustained, multi-sectoral action. Ministries and government agencies must embed anti-trafficking priorities into their core strategies and day-to-day operations, ensuring institutional integration and professional accountability”.

The event was attended by Parinda Ranasinghe Jnr, PC, Attorney General of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Chair of the NAHTTF, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha; and Kristin Parco, IOM Chief of Mission in Sri Lanka and Maldives. Members of the NAHTTF representing 23 key government entities, along with representatives of the diplomatic community, United Nations entities and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

(Prime Minister’s Media Division)

News

No changes to IMF agreement despite Cyclone Ditwah impact

Published

4 hours ago

2026/01/29

Sahan Weerasooriya

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has declared that the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) wouldn’t be amended in view of the impact of Cyclone Ditwah.

The IMF delegation, at the end of its visit to Sri Lanka, informed President Anura Kumara Dissanayake of its decision during a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (28). The IMF delegation included Director of the Asia and Pacific Department Krishna Srinivasan, Deputy Director for Asia and the Pacific Sanjaya Panth, Mission Chief Evan Papageorgiou, and Resident Representative Martha Woldemichael.

The 48-month arrangement, approved on 20 March, 2023, during Ranil Wickremesinghe’s tenure as the President, is for SDR 2.286 billion (approximately US$3 billion). In terms of the agreement, repayment of debt has to be resumed in 2028. Sri Lanka unilaterally suspended debt repayment in April 2022.

Close on the heels of Cyclone Ditwah, the main Opposition party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), repeatedly pressed the government to request the IMF to amend the agreement.

The Presidential Media Division ( PMD) quoted the IMF delegation as having said that the strong fiscal discipline maintained by the government over the past year had been a key factor in addressing the challenges caused by Cyclone Ditwah. They said that the government’s ability to present a supplementary estimate of Rs. 500 billion was made possible by a surplus in the Treasury.

The Government of Sri Lanka was represented by Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Senior Economic Adviser to the President Duminda Hulangamuwa, along with several others.

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IMF lauds Sri Lanka’s economic turnaround, highlights regional resilience

Published

4 hours ago

2026/01/29

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lanka’s economy has “stabilised decisively” under its International Monetary Fund (IMF)-supported programme, with growth rebounding, tax revenues doubling, and inflation sharply declining, a senior IMF official said in Colombo yesterday.

Dr. Krishna Srinivasan, Director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, delivered the assessment during a public lecture on the IMF Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific, held at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. He was joined by Dr. Thomas Helbling, the Department’s Country Director.

Both officials commended the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region’s overall economic resilience in the face of global challenges and advocated for deeper trade and supply chain integration to mitigate vulnerabilities in international trade.

Presenting a country-focused analysis, Dr. Srinivasan outlined how Sri Lanka has performed against the five key pillars of the IMF programme:

Revenue-based fiscal consolidation, supported by tax reforms and strengthened social safety nets.

Restoring debt sustainability through fiscal adjustment and debt restructuring.

Maintaining price stability and rebuilding foreign exchange reserves.

Safeguarding external stability.

Combating corruption via a comprehensive anti-corruption reform agenda.

“Sri Lanka has come out of the crisis stabilising its economy across three dimensions,” Dr. Srinivasan stated referring to Sri Lanka’s Growth, Revenue, and Inflation. He highlighted that growth “bounced back decisively,” turning positive within six months of the programme and recently averaging about 5 percent annually.

On fiscal performance, he noted a “significant turnaround.” Tax revenue has doubled from a critically low 7.3 percent of GDP to 14.8 percent in 2025.

Dr. Krishna Srinivasan / Dr. Thomas Helbling

Furthermore, inflation has dropped “in a very convincing manner” from approximately 70 percent to the current 2-3 percent range. “One would hope that in the next few quarters, it will reach the Central Bank’s target of 5 percent,” he added.

“Overall, the IMF programme for Sri Lanka has delivered on many of its objectives,” Dr. Srinivasan concluded. “There is still a long way to go in terms of securing strong, sustained, balanced growth, but the program is off to a very good start. All of you, the authorities, and the people of Sri Lanka need to be congratulated for the progress made so far,” he said.

In his regional remarks, Dr. Srinivasan projected that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be a key driver of the Asian economy. He suggested that technology companies in the region would be “better served by the capital markets than from conventional banks,” pointing to a need for evolved financial ecosystems to support innovation.

The lecture underscored the IMF’s constructive outlook for Asia’s continued resilience, while emphasising structural reforms and regional cooperation as vital for future stability and growth.

By Sanath Nanayakkare