The Hon. Sunil Handunnetti - Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for bringing this Adjournment Motion, which has exposed those pretending to sleep. It is hard to wake someone pretending to sleep; it is easy to wake someone truly asleep. Some here know the truth but pretend otherwise. They know how this crisis arose and how their knowledge was used. The Opposition expected that after we took office, we would fail and collapse. But as the IMF-linked debt restructuring advanced faster and more successfully than they expected, they cannot bear it and now pretend to sleep.

¶ 02 You know the difference between working with the IMF and the DSA. We face a choice: default again to get a bigger haircut, or grow and move forward with sovereignty. Your preference — the Opposition’s — is to push the country back into bankruptcy to obtain a larger haircut. That is the trap Ranil Wickremesinghe set at the last moment, and which you helped tighten. We are trying to avoid that trap by increasing growth. There will be some cost; we anticipated it and said so clearly in Opposition. You made the arrangements with the IMF, including the provision that if growth is higher, the relief percentage reduces. You knew we would win power, but you did not expect us to stabilize this fast.

¶ 03 Our challenge now is that because of our efficiency, export growth, anti-corruption programme and fiscal savings, growth is rising; and as growth rises, the ISB relief formula reduces correspondingly — that is the issue we are debating. Hence the Leader of the Opposition asks what the GDP will be in 2025. If the rupee strengthens and GDP rises, a portion of the ISB relief reduces — that is the trap you set. We must choose: either deepen bankruptcy to parade a bigger haircut while inflicting more pain on people, or stabilize and grow, pay our share and escape the trap.

¶ 04 You ask percentages now, but you set the trap. For 2025, at the current path, nominal GDP in rupees will be about Rs. 32,987 billion; in 2026 about Rs. 35,849 billion. If the USD stays at Rs. 289, 2025 GDP is about Rs. 114 billion equivalent; at Rs. 300, about Rs. 109 billion; if we strengthen to Rs. 250, about Rs. 131 billion. A stronger rupee means fewer rupees per dollar, higher real strength — but under your combination formula, higher GDP means some relief reduction.

¶ 05 You now cry that we sold out to ISB holders, who agreed 98–100 per cent because of this “benefit.” Who created that “benefit”? Not us — it is the combination designed under Ranil Wickremesinghe, where higher growth reduces the haircut. You should be ashamed. SJB has not broken from the UNP in policy. Did anyone here from SJB admit this combination was designed by Ranil Wickremesinghe? No one has the courage to say it. We are now untying the knot tied with the IMF under Ranil. I attended the first discussions with Peter Breuer and others. We know what you told the IMF, but we have ethics; we will not betray our country’s internal politics to outside parties.

¶ 06 I table the IMF Staff Mission press release of 23 November 2024 titled “IMF Reaches Staff-Level Agreement on the Third Review of Sri Lanka’s EFF.” It states programme performance is strong, that most structural benchmarks were met, some delayed due to elections, and crucially: “The new Government’s commitment to programme objectives reduces uncertainty and ensures policy continuity. Sustaining reforms is critical to safeguard hard-won gains and place the economy on a durable, inclusive growth path.” That is what we delivered.

¶ 07 Acting Ministers Harshana Suriyapperuma and Prof. Anil Jayantha, and the teams, demonstrated high professionalism, which reduced uncertainty. The stock market index is at a historic high around 14,500. Tourism is recovering. Interest rates are stable around 8 per cent, enabling business planning. The rule of law prevails fairly. There is no “special” concession to ISB holders; they agreed overwhelmingly because international standards limit their recourse and because they expect benefits from our growth — which we cannot and should not prevent if we are to escape the trap. But the trap was built by Ranil Wickremesinghe; we are getting out of it. You are pained because you expected us to be stuck in it.

¶ 08 Regarding what Hon. Harsha de Silva tabled as “secret documents”: Acting Minister Harshana Suriyapperuma already presented, in Sinhala and English, the publicly available metrics of the sovereign bond exchange. They are filed at the London Stock Exchange and accepted by all. He merely re‑tabled what was already public. Next, he tabled the DDO document of 7 July 2023 — again already tabled. Then he produced the Central Bank press release of 14 September 2023 on EPF participation in the DDO — again, already public. Lastly, he tabled a paper he himself brought today, 17 December 2024. So there was nothing secret.

¶ 09 We will rescue this country from the trap set by Ranil Wickremesinghe and take the economy forward strongly. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees.

¶ 10 [Document tabled: IMF press release of 23 November 2024, “IMF Reaches Staff-Level Agreement on the Third Review of Sri Lanka’s EFF.”]