The Hon. (Prof.) Anil Jayantha - Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, in concluding today’s adjournment on the Mid‑Year Fiscal Position Report – 2024, presented under Section 50 of the State Finance Management Act, No. 44 of 2024, let me note: the law requires submitting and publishing this mid‑year report so the public can assess fiscal strategies and measures up to June 2024, and so we can calibrate future economic policy.

¶ 02 Members from both sides spoke; the Opposition made many allegations, often unmoored from the Report’s policy content. Rather than reply allegation by allegation, let me clarify the framework. To understand this Report, we must understand what the economy is: the production of goods and services—how and by whom they are produced, and how benefits are distributed. Our policy path is to expand production, stabilize the macro‑framework, protect the vulnerable, and transition to a productive, modern economy. The Report provides the baseline; our programme builds on it to deliver sustainable, people‑centred growth.