The Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva

¶ 01 Mr. Deputy Speaker, I listened to the Government’s presentations on the Vote on Account yesterday. It was said somewhere that Members do not listen; but one can listen in the Library and elsewhere — so absence from the Chamber does not mean one did not hear. Those speeches outlined your forward plan — how you intend to drive the recovery. Prof. Anil Jayantha spoke of the major changes planned via the 2025 Budget; others presented their views. But this debate, yesterday and today, is not about that. It is about the Vote on Account applicable until 1st May next year, under the Public Finance Management Act, No. 44 of 2024, which permits a Vote on Account. We debated and accept that; we proceed accordingly. You ask Parliament to allow you to move forward consistent with the 2024 Budget parameters agreed with the IMF and to implement that program.

¶ 02 In his speech, the President warned of risks: if we deviate from the IMF program, we fall. That is true. We have consistently said the IMF is necessary. However, we have also raised strong concerns about certain conditions and advocated greater focus on social justice. On political platforms, you said different things; but the plan now presented reflects no policy changes — nor do we expect changes here; we expect them in the 2025 Budget.

¶ 03 Before that, consider what is sought in this Vote on Account. In brief: recurrent expenditure Rs. 976 billion; capital Rs. 427 billion; total primary expenditure Rs. 1,403 billion. For debt service — we did not suspend World Bank, IMF and similar debt; we paid those — Rs. 898 billion, plus Rs. 3,275 billion for debt restructuring, totaling Rs. 4,172 billion for public debt service. Another Rs. 25 billion for minor expenses. Documents show total expenditure Rs. 4,197 billion. Thus, overall outlay is Rs. 5,600 billion. Next, you seek borrowing authority of Rs. 4,000 billion for payments in the first four months, domestically or externally. That implies four months’ revenue of about Rs. 1,600 billion — extrapolating to around Rs. 4,800–5,000 billion for 2025 revenue. Whether major reforms will raise this further, we do not know; we look to the Budget.

¶ 04 I will focus on one issue: the borrowing sought for debt restructuring. Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe also spoke on this today.