by PRIYAN DE SILVA 

Executive Director of the Institute of Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES) Manjula Gajanayake says President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has got his priorities mixed up and is making the same mistakes as his predecessors.

President Dissanayake, while launching the National People’s Power (NPP) parliamentary election campaign from Hambantota a few days ago, promised to increase public sector salaries through Budget 2025.

The IRES head said that increasing public sector wages would only benefit about 1.6 million public servants. “I hope the President has not forgotten that he was elected to office by 5,634,915 Sri Lankans and needs the support of a majority of the 17,140,354 registered voters if the NPP is to win a majority at the parliamentary election” he said.

Gajanayake said that he was dismayed that even  the NPP’s Economic Committee had failed to advise the new President that the need of the hour was to reduce the cost of living and the price of essentials so that the entire country could benefit.

He added that it was no secret that at present the public sector was heavily overstaffed and far from efficient and suggested that the President took steps to improve the public service first before burdening  the taxpayers any further.