Speaking at the National People’s Power Economic Conference held at Colombo Galadhari Hotel on 24.01.2023, NPP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said, “All of you have doubts about us regarding our economic policy. What happens to your businesses? What happens to the economy? All of you have these questions. Let’s tell our true story. The collapse of the economy of our country is reflected in various aspects. The results of the collapse of this economy are shown by the increase in inflation, the inability to pay debts, and the loss of jobs. The economic collapse is reflected to us as businesses become uncertain. The result of all the problems our country is facing today is the government not having enough rupees and dollars to spend. In the 2023 budget, we have estimated to pay 2 trillion rupees in debt instalments. 2.2 trillion in interest premium. For 2023 our total debt premium and interest premium is 4.2 trillion. The total revenue received by the government in 2022 is 2 trillion rupees. As businessmen, you know that a business cannot exist like that. In general, even a house cannot exist. Such a country cannot exist either. That is the result of these problems. Our country has failed to earn the amount of dollars it needs to spend. If you look at the 2021 reports, the gap between our imports and exports is 8.1 billion dollars. Our debt is approximately $6.7 million per year. We need an additional 14.8 million dollars annually to import the goods we need and for loan instalments. We cannot earn it. We are confronted with these two crises. We need to find out how to get out of them. I will present our basic economic strategy. Then let’s talk about the way out of this crisis. In basic economic strategy, many of us use these financial issues to discuss economic facts. Such as the tax policies being wrong; our import policies being wrong or that the plans went wrong etc. However, we think that these economic factors are important, and the factor at the bottom of this crisis is the political culture of our country. Whether you look at the projects of our country, levying and relaxing of taxes, our borrowings or the relations we have with other states, the political culture is behind it. Therefore, if we are to build this country, we need a base. We assure you that we will change this broken and rotten political culture. We cannot move forward without building this foundation. We think that our country needs a new constitution. This executive presidential system is not suitable for a country like ours. It is not because the executive presidential system is not appropriate but the chair of the executive presidency is too heavy for our leaders. The leaders of our country are not developed enough to sit on such a powerful chair. We can come up with many examples. Therefore, we need a constitution that abolishes the executive presidential system to build the foundation. Our country needs a new constitution that limits the number of ministers, denies the scope for MPs to jump from one party to another, strengthens the people’s basic rights, and secures the rights of the Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim masses. The current system of governance is corrupt. We make this corrupt system of government incorrupt. For a country to develop, the rule of law is necessary. Today in our country, there is one law for the rich and powerful and another for the poor and weak. Such a country cannot go forward. Today, when we hear the name of the case unfolding in the court, we can say what the verdict would be. The survival of the entire society depends only on properly protecting the rule of law. If we are wronged, we can fight, or we can go to court and get it resolved. What is the path we choose to be civilized? Trust in those institutions and resolve. If the trust in the system of institutions is broken, the existence of a society does not depend on it. Therefore, the supremacy of the rule of law is essential for the people to build our country. Fourth, our public service is extremely inefficient. It has transformed into a heavily burdened public service. It is a creation of this political culture. In the early seventies, we had a very strong civil service. The existing political culture has created today’s ineffective public service. An efficient public service is necessary if our country is to be built. Fifth, we need a state that is recognized in the world. Our country has become a country that the world has not accepted. The reports on Sri Lanka by all the world’s institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Human Rights Commission, the Foreign Relations Committee of the United States Senate, are black reports. We need to build a country where our country is recognized internationally. Sixth, unity among the nations and religions, the Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim Burghers and others should be created. We need this foundation to build this country. There may be debates on economic matters. There may be differences between how you see it and how we see it. But no one should expect a developed, amicable and beautiful state without establishing the above basic facts. That political change is established in the rule of the NPP. That is our role as politicians. Next, if we take it as a government, the country needs a foundation to recover from this crisis, just like the economy also needs a foundation. Suppose you want to get any service from the state or a government institution. In that case, we will create a charter that will make that service efficient and that service will be done on the basis of facts but not on political affiliations, ties, and kinship. We will create the cleanliness required by customs, especially tax payments. Everyone has a reasonable right to access information about a certain business or investment. The governments that ruled the country have hidden a lot of information. This information is only shared between a few people. It was on them who controlled a large part of the economy. Instead, we compile the information that everyone needs to access fairly. As a government, the right of any investor or businessperson to access information about any investment fairly and equally is affirmed. That is the basic foundation needed to build the economy. We believe that the basic strategy that we accept in our economy should be to increase the production of our goods and services. People should participate in the production of goods and services. Today, 36% of our country’s national wealth is generated from the Western Province. North Central Province’s contribution to our country’s national wealth is 5%. The contribution of the North-West Province is 9%. The benefits of the economy flow to the people to the extent that they participate in the economy. If the people do not participate in the economy or if the people are not involved in economic activity, the benefits of the economy will not flow to the people. That’s why subsidies should be maintained for the maintenance of people’s lives. Why has Samurdhi been implemented for almost 30 years since 1994? The rural poor have not got a chance to join the economy. If there is no opportunity to join the economy, the benefits of the economy will not flow into their hands. Therefore, the production of goods and services should be increased. People should have the opportunity to join that economy. Economic benefits should be shared justly. The word ‘justly’ is highlighted. Why? The top 10% of our country’s wealth enjoys 38% of our country’s national wealth. Those at the bottom get only 1.1% of the country’s national wealth. Is it fair? We are born as humans and do not live long. May be for 70 or 80 years. Shouldn’t any citizen get a source of income to fulfil their basic needs during that time? If there is severe contradictions and disparities in enjoying the economy, that society will never be stable. If conflicts, stabbings, drugs, alcohol-gambling are prevented, society will be transformed into a stable society. To make the society better, a fair share should flow downwards. This is the basic foundation of the economy. How do we increase the production of goods and services, involve the people in the production and make a part of the production flow fairly to the people? Several things are expected if we increase the production of goods and services. Today, small and large-scale entrepreneurs are moving on instinct. There was a time when the world worked on instinct. That was many years ago. Today, many of our businessmen are carrying forward a business started by their grandfathers. A new entrepreneur is made based on data, data analysis, information collected on data analysis and predictions based on it. There is no such thing in our society today. Has any government set goals for the construction industry, for example? Have they said these are the number of houses we need in the future, we need this much industrial system, this amount of raw materials is needed for this amount of industry, this amount of construction companies is needed in 2026? We have not heard such instructions from our governments. We will reach the construction industry. It needs to be brought up. We make predictions based on data, and we invite the investor to that prediction. Did any finance minister in Sri Lanka invite you to invest in that sector based on the data information forecast? The investor, the businessman, is in a little panic about what will happen the day after tomorrow. About two months before a budget comes, all investments in Sri Lanka stop. why? Because there is doubt about what will be done in the next budget. Even if you hope to buy a car, you don’t buy a car. No one will sell either. A country’s economy stops when the budget is presented. Due to the lack of data information, it is necessary to check before making any investment. Therefore, we will give you the information, goals and forecasts you need. You make the investment. For example, we would tell you what is expected of the tourist industry in 2030, how it should be developed and the fields that are expected to attract tourists to our country. We would present to you the plan that requires five-star rooms, four-star rooms, guides and vehicles. You invest accordingly. The government is not going to build hotels. A large number of our small and medium enterprises have collapsed. They try to move to other investments. The government should intervene in the collapse of entrepreneurs. He should be encouraged. He should be made to contribute to the efforts to achieve the goals. If not, the economic goal of the country will be hindered. We should establish a strong social security fund within three to four years. Not only for giving aid when there is a disaster; If that business collapses, to make the necessary intervention to keep that businessman in that field. The government should provide the necessary infrastructure to the businessmen. We are looking at those infrastructures to find out how much it helps our country’s economy and the production of goods and services. If you look at it that way, there will be no highway from Matara to Mattals. Is the government in business? Our government focuses only on two main areas. One is energy. The second if the financial markets. Energy should be in our hands when it comes to the national security of the country. We need a capacity of 2000 MW. A small company can pressure the country if it has a power generation monopoly. Then the economy and politics of a country can be run by them. Therefore, a lot of attention should be paid to the energy sector. We absolutely do not want to give Wind Power to a foreign investor. They generate electricity from Wind Power, sell it to us, and take the profit in dollars. What is the difference between generating electricity from oil and generating electricity from wind power? Dollars are spent abroad to bring oil, and profits from Wind Power go abroad in dollars. A capacity of 2000 megawatts of electricity can be produced from the Mannar basin. We would like it if a local entrepreneur invested in it. We pay special attention to the financial sector and the energy sector. How do we manipulate the market? Once when the price of rice increased, the cabinet put a paper to put 10 rice mills. The responsibility of our market is the government’s responsibility to provide quality goods and services to the consumer at a reasonable price. How do we do it? We have considered four businesses. Through competition, regulatory authorities can provide goods and services with quality, fair prices and continuity. Some areas are subject to a regulatory process. Some fields are organized. An example is the distortion in the paddy and rice market. If the price of paddy decreases and the price of rice increases, there is a monopoly. We have considered four businesses. Through competition, regulatory authorities’ goods and services can be provided with quality, fair prices and continuity. Some areas are subject to a regulatory process. Some fields are organized. An example is the distortion in the paddy and rice market. If the price of paddy decreases and the price of rice increases, there is a monopoly. We do not build rice mills to create that monopoly. By organizing the small and medium rice producers, we break the monopoly. It is called a cooperative system. Fonterra in New Zealand is a cooperative society. India’s main dairy industry ‘Amul’ is a cooperative society. Nano fertilizer was brought from a farmer cooperative society. I am not talking about old cooperatives but about organizing small and medium enterprises. Thirdly, we control the market by organizing. Fourthly, we do it by manipulating some parts of the market. How can a part of the production flow fairly to the rural people? That is by involving them in the economic process. Why are they excluded from the economic process? Rural people do not have many economic opportunities. There are not many sources. The main economic source of the people in Polonnaruwa is the paddy field, the economic source of the people in the coastal area is the sea, and the economic source of the plantation people is the small tea garden. They do not have new economic sources. They are not involved in the national economy. Our economy must expand. We are not proposing an economic development path centered on Colombo. Urban settlement has become a problem even for the world’s developed countries today. It is also happening in our country. Therefore, we propose a plan that expands and develops the economy of the village. New economic sources should be generated in the village. There should be a road system and communication system that can connect them with the city. These can be done only if there is a peaceful economy. The biggest problem today is the economic crisis. It has been very seriously affected. Finding a few dollars won’t solve it. It is the result of a journey that has arisen, exploded and developed internally for a long time,. Therefore, we need a peaceful situation to implement these plans. We can cancel the loans we have taken, take a new loan, and for that, we can take the contribution of a third party. We have the ability to earn fast dollars from tourism. We need to intervene quickly. In 2018, 3.2 billion dollars were received. It has decreased today. We have to develop it. The other is we received 7.3 billion dollars as net income from foreign workers. It has decreased today. We have to develop it. It can be done by creating governance that can be trusted. Whether we like it or not, we have to change our lifestyles for a very short time. We earn in rupees and spend in dollars. Let’s change for a short time to get out of this crisis. A government with a mandate should be brought to power to implement these. At a time when such a crisis has arisen, the people should form a government to free themselves from it. Those who brought down the countries of the world did not build the countries. So let’s build a government with a mandate. 1 Comment

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