The Hon. D.V. Chanaka

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, Hon. Kottahachchi said we are trying to burn their “A Prosperous Country and a Beautiful Life” manifesto. We have no such intention. Even if you forget it or try to burn it, we will not allow that. Until you deliver every promise to the letter, we will stand behind you—not only you, but behind the President and the entire Cabinet. We will not forget your promises.

¶ 02 First, I wish to thank all who worked from day one on the IMF process. We may not have achieved 100 per cent of desired outcomes, but many commendable results were achieved. Especially, Hon. Basil Rajapaksa initiated the process; Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe then carried it forward. The greatest operational burden fell on State Minister Shehan Semasinghe, the Central Bank Governor, the Secretary to the Treasury and their officials. Strangely, none of the speakers acknowledged that team; I do so now.

¶ 03 Those who voted against going to the IMF—Hon. Vijitha Herath and Hon. Anura Kumara Dissanayake—are now proceeding on that very path. Today’s speeches were appreciative of that process. Yet just a few months ago, the IMF was attacked—over electricity tariffs and the fuel pricing formula. We had to take painful decisions. Some Ministers and MPs are absent today because of those decisions—like Kanchana Wijesekera for electricity tariffs, and Shehan Semasinghe for pushing the programme. When the PUCSL held a public hearing to cut tariffs by 18 per cent in July, Hon. Nalinda Jayathissa—now Government Chief Organizer—said tariffs could be cut by 38 per cent, not just 18 per cent.