The Presidents budget is a departure from the mandate of the people.

Opposition Leader Responds to President's Budget

Warns of Dangers - Shows Shortcomings

Reveals how the paper was closed

When discussing the 2025 budget, when analyzing the solutions and answers provided to the country through this budget, a discussion should be held on the mandate given to implement such a budget and the implementation of that mandate. When examining whether the budget contains the qualities of the policy series presented as a rich country, a beautiful life, and a country that is friendly to the people, this budget has not been created in a manner that is consistent with the mandate obtained as promised, said Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said this while expressing his views on the current government's budget in Parliament on Friday (21).

According to page 105 of the policy series titled "A Rich Country, a Beautiful Life", it is stated that an alternative debt sustainability analysis will be created, but according to the 2024 Financial Management Act, which excludes that promise and limits the benefits provided to the people, which currently imposes immense pressure and discomfort on the people, primary expenditure has been limited to 13% of the GDP and the primary balance has been limited to 2.3% of the GDP, and such restrictions have been imposed in only 10 countries in the world, the Opposition Leader said.

These are not election promises of the government, and these are not the implementation of the mandate received in the election, but rather a betrayal of the mandate, and an act of forgetting everything that was said, said Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa.

The Opposition Leader pointed out that the IMF agreement and the international bond agreement are a very oppressive and uncomfortable agreement and that although the IMF program should not be abandoned and a new journey should be taken from the perspective of the people, it is not possible to make corrections related to externalities due to these restrictions of the government and a social cost has been created. Although the responsibility of a government is to provide public goods, these restrictions have also hindered that.

Although such restrictions have a negative impact on the development of a country, the government has clearly forgotten all of this, and although it was said that these agreements would be changed at that time, the current government, which forgot them and obtained the mandate from the people, has completely betrayed that mandate.

This budget is a betrayal of the people's mandate

There has been confusion about whether salaries have increased or what happened to allowances, and only a meager amount has been received to build the country, and even when he met the International Monetary Fund, he said that the IMF agreement would be changed, and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya was not ready to dance to their tune, but the current president has forgotten everything he said on the election platform, accepted the agreement negotiated by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, betrayed the mandate and deceived the people, the opposition leader said.

Why is Ranil Wickremesinghe implementing the agreement..?

The opposition leader, who said that a more favorable agreement could have been reached for the country, that there was a possibility of minimizing the pressure, that there was a possibility of providing some solution to these issues, and that President Ranil Wickremesinghe could have abandoned the agreed understandings and entered into a more humanitarian program, said that in order to pay off the debt by 2028, economic growth should be increased and state revenue should be increased.

If this continues, the economy will be destroyed

From 1975 to now, 75 countries have implemented IMF agreements, and 59% of them have returned to the second, third, fourth agreements, and this is something that is not told to the people of the country, and only 41% of countries have implemented them, and if this situation happens to the country, the country's economy will be destroyed, but today our country has deviated even from the debt sustainability line, the opposition leader said.

Go for the right agreement now

The opposition leader pointed out that after the presidential election victory, a new agreement should have been reached with the IMF within 2 months before the general election, but it was not reached, and therefore, it is necessary to go for an agreement now, and that these economic growth targets are unrealistic, and that the country is heading for a difficult place, and that the people of the country will be pressured by this discomfort.

Public servants' expectations have been disappointed

The opposition leader said that there is a serious confusion in the public service, including teachers, family health service doctors, and the government has not been able to provide the promised salary increases. This has happened due to the restriction of the primary balance. Due to this, the country has not been able to implement the Anurata policy. The government itself has become a prisoner. Due to this, even the 15% interest received by the elderly pensioners has been reduced, which is a problem for hundreds of thousands of elderly people. Despite providing nutritional rations to pregnant mothers, the participation of women in the workforce is 33% and it should be at least 45%.

The Gota-Mahinda system is being implemented

The opposition leader pointed out that there has been no change in the system under the current government, that the Gotabhaya Mahinda Rajapaksa system has been separated, that projects are being implemented at the whim of the government, that these are Gota's Mahinda system, that in addition, serious political revenge is taking place, and that even government agents are being removed, and that these revenges should be stopped.

We also have support for good things

We hope that this budget will be successful, and we will also support the implementation of pro-people provisions, and that when decentralized funds are given, they should be given properly, and that this government has no understanding of the external environment, and that the government has no understanding of what is happening in the world, and that the export market should be diversified at this time.