The Hon. Sanjeewa Ranasingha

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, the debate on the National People’s Power Government’s inaugural Budget 2025 has begun and many matters are being discussed. We believe this Budget is a major platform to realize the agenda planned under the vision “A Prosperous Country – A Beautiful Life.”

¶ 02 For many years, we have listened to Budgets, made demands, and even struggled at workplaces. Yet, most past Budgets were hollow relative to the expectations raised. We believe the 2025 Budget will bring social, economic and political transformation. Within our policies, plans and programs, we envisaged the country we want; this is the first step.

¶ 03 It is nearly three months since we took oaths as MPs; on the 21st of this month it becomes three months. We journeyed until now without our own Budget, operating under others’ fiscal plans. Despite that challenge, we view this as a Budget that begins to change course.

¶ 04 Colleagues have outlined what’s in the Budget. Previously, Budgets heaped taxes on people while granting concessions and bounties to cronies and powerbrokers. In contrast, for the first time we have presented a Budget uniting all—Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher, Malay—towards national harmony, and providing measures that people in every sector can welcome. We present a Budget expecting to raise revenue by Rs. 930 billion, bringing total government revenue to Rs. 4,960 billion, with non-tax revenue up by Rs. 370 billion.

¶ 05 On expenditure: these are not costs for Ministers, but outlays for public welfare. Total expenditure is Rs. 7,190 billion, with Rs. 5,886 billion in recurrent expenditure, and an additional Rs. 130 billion for salaries compared to previous Budgets.

¶ 06 You know the highest shares are for education and health. For the transformation we expect in education—recruitments, placements, institutional changes, and infrastructure—we are ready to bear significant costs. Health has been a sector mired in crisis. This Budget allocates Rs. 604 billion for health, including Rs. 185 billion solely for medicines, ensuring long-term availability and ending the recurring drug shortages. We also expect a major transformation in tourism.

¶ 07 This is a new type of Budget for our motherland. We believe the program will realize “A Prosperous Country – A Beautiful Life.”

¶ 08 We have presented a Budget that supports industry, encourages small investments, and provides bank credit. It also lays out an economic process to cultivate every arable land—excluding protected areas such as wildlife reserves, sanctuaries and socially/environmentally sensitive lands—to build a self-sufficient economy.

¶ 09 Moreover, we plan to bring around four million tourists with targeted strategies. We are ending the lowly forms of racism used by past rulers. We will not allow any communal conflicts among Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers, Malays, etc. The Budget includes development plans for the historically under-served Northern and Eastern Provinces.

¶ 10 We will also uplift groups treated as second-class citizens, affirming social values and improving livelihoods—allocating significant space for children with autism, persons with disabilities, and the elderly. This Budget will drive broad social transformation, shaping the attributes of a developed state with dynamism. We are confident it will become reality.

¶ 11 Developed countries shed racism; their classrooms are like gardens of many flowers—children of all groups learning together respectfully. That concept of national harmony, grounded in a social, economic and political order, is what this Budget seeks to build here.

¶ 12 We also present a scientific approach to public sector pay increases. Unlike ad hoc allowances of the past that never raised basic pay, for the first time in recent history we have made a substantial, scientific salary increase that lifts the basic salary. Our public servants—80 percent—placed strong trust in us; we tell them we have safeguarded your dignity and expectations in this Budget.

¶ 13 This is not a routine numbers exercise or a ceremonial annual requirement. It is crafted for deep social transformation and economic change—expanding airports, fixing port deficiencies, supporting tourism, and positioning Sri Lanka to capture a significant share of the global economy. We are grateful to the Sri Lankan people for the opportunity. We dedicate this Budget to rebuilding the nation and set it on the right path. Thank you.