The Hon. Sunil Kumara Gamage - Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, I hope to express a few views on our Government’s 2025 Budget. We all know our country faces an economic problem. How do we understand it and how do we solve it? We discuss and seek measures through this very Budget. Therefore, the economic crisis and the Budget are intertwined. How do we use this Budget to resolve the crisis? What measures will we adopt and how will we manage the Budget for that purpose?

¶ 02 To form views on this, there are several aspects to discuss. First, the historical conditions of the crisis we faced. One cannot solve a problem without understanding its history. Over 76 years, we must examine the economic system we followed and identify its weaknesses; otherwise we cannot find a new model. Historically, for decades we were a nation that did not produce sufficiently. Consequently, our economy ran large trade deficits; imports were often double our exports. This contributed to the crisis.

¶ 03 Next, certain rulers in history sold or destroyed many advantageous domestic resources. We must consider that when rebuilding economic policy. We also inherited wrong policies previously pursued. When we assumed office, the “subject conditions” — the actual state — mattered. We took over a bankrupt State with a massive debt overhang. In 2025, our total tax revenue is Rs. 4,590 billion. Our debt service and interest payments total Rs. 4,550 billion. Even with a two-thirds majority, that reality does not change. With only Rs. 40 billion effectively left, budgeting is constrained.

¶ 04 We also inherited depleted foreign reserves; a dollar crisis. Investors lacked confidence in a bankrupt, highly corrupt State. Thus, attracting investment was hard. Some in the Opposition discuss matters in isolation — for example, coconut at Rs. 200 — ignoring that prices of chicken, lentils, vegetables, dried fish, exchange rates, interest rates and inflation also changed. Economic analysis must be holistic, not selective.

¶ 05 On the IMF, critics ignore the aggregate debt dynamics and wastage that compelled recourse to the IMF in these conditions. Our economic model addresses three parts: building a production economy; binding the people to the economy; and ensuring fair distribution of its benefits. Accordingly, this Budget allocates: - Health services: Rs. 473 billion - Free school books: Rs. 15,500 million - Footwear for students in difficult schools: Rs. 2,500 million - Fertilizer subsidy: Rs. 35,000 million

¶ 06 To build the production economy: - MSME sector: Rs. 20,000 million - Energy sector: Rs. 21,142 million - Industrial development: Rs. 10,955 million - Fisheries revival: Rs. 3,000 million - Agriculture development: Rs. 9,565 million - Reactivating abandoned factories and agri-industries: Rs. 113,524 million

¶ 07 We target a production-led recovery and to bind people to the economy, distributing benefits fairly. I believe we have presented a successful Budget given our crisis and bankruptcy. We thank the President, our Minister of Finance.

¶ 08 Thank you.