Opposition mulls budget strategy

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Former Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, MP, said on Monday (14) that those in the Opposition would try to reach a consensus on their stand on the 2023 budget.

The former top law academic explained ongoing efforts to build a consensus among Opposition parties and groups as the challenges couldn’t be surmounted through isolated actions.

Prof. Peiris was responding to media queries at the Nawala Office of Nidahasa Jathika Sabhawa (NJS), one of the SLPP rebel groups in parliament. The NJS comprises 13 lawmakers.

Addressing the media at Nawala, a few hours before President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Finance Minister delivered the budget speech, Prof. Peiris alleged that the budget prepared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was meant to implement the staff-level agreement the Sri Lankan government reached with Washington-based institute on Sept. 01, 2022.

They agreed on a $2.9-billion package that will support Sri Lanka with a 48-month arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

Prof. Peiris flayed the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government for denying parliament an opportunity to discuss its agreement with the IMF before UNP leader Wickremesinghe presented the budget. The MP said that in terms of Article 148 of the Constitution, the parliament couldn’t be deprived of its rights as regards public finance. Therefore, the staff-level agreement with the IMF, the very basis for budget 2023 should have been tabled in parliament, the former minister said.

Asked whether the NJS would vote in favour of the budget, Prof. Peiris, while referring to ongoing efforts on the part of the joint Opposition to take a stand, pointed out that in case the government lost the vote on the second reading of the budget on Nov 22, President Wickremesinghe would have to remove the Premier and other members of the cabinet. However, if the government lost the final vote on Dec 08, the parliament would have to be dissolved, Prof. Peiris said.

Parliament elected Wickremesinghe as the President on July 20, 2022 to complete the remainder of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s five-year term won at the last presidential election in Nov 2019. In the parliamentary vote to elect a new President Wickremesinghe received 134 votes. His nearest rival Dullas Alahapperuma obtained 82 votes.

Referring SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva’s declaration in parliament on Nov. 09, that no less a person than President Wickremesinghe had handed over copies of the confidential Sri Lanka-IMF staff level agreement to some outsiders, Prof. Peiris warned that a section of the business community could exploit sensitive information to their advantage. Prof. Peiris alleged that they could cause quite heavy losses to the Treasury at a time the government further burdened the hapless public.

Declaring that new taxes were intolerable and the public were not in a position to pay, Prof. Peiris explained how the new tax regime would destroy local industries. Instead of curbing waste, corruption, irregularities and mismanagement that had contributed to the current economic crisis, the government slapped more taxes. The former Minister explained how the newly introduced Social Security Contribution levy burdened those struggling to make ends meet.

The parliament has declared that the new bill intended to collect as much as Rs 140 bn annually.

Prof. Peiris questioned the reluctance on the part of the government to initiate tangible measures to recover stolen money. The government had not only failed to go after big time crooks, it appeared to have reached an understanding with them to facilitate corruption, Prof. Peiris said. The MP citing the latest controversy over the procurement of coal for Lakvijaya coal-fired power plant at Norochcholai that underscored the pathetic state of affairs, said regardless of the government declaring itself bankrupt, corruption was continuing unabated.

The former Foreign Minister also questioned the rationale in allocating so much for defence well over a decade after the conclusion of the war. The MP said that the defence sector couldn’t be granted funds at the expense of other sectors that were in a bad shape.