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

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I am pleased to join this debate.

¶ 02 Regarding the Citizens’ Budget before us, there are many special features that, I think, the Opposition fails to see. Let me point some out—though it is hard to give sight to the blind.

¶ 03 In this Budget, recurrent expenditure is Rs. 5,677 billion and capital expenditure is Rs. 1,380 billion. We took over a country embedded in long-running processes—economic transactions and obligations that cannot simply be reset. We have long said we were trapped in a debt snare due to excessive, unproductive borrowing. We cannot develop without resolving that. This year we allocate Rs. 4,495 billion for debt service—about 85 percent of total revenue. Without that, we cannot even frame a Budget.

¶ 04 Within this, capital expenditure in 2024 was Rs. 817 billion; in 2025 we allocated Rs. 1,033 billion and added another Rs. 300 billion mid-year, bringing capital to Rs. 1,380 billion. The Opposition asks where allocations are for agriculture, education, and health. If not there, where then? Study the document; do not parrot empty lines.

¶ 05 I saw a Member claim on Day One that this Budget heaps tax upon tax on the people. Not so. We have not imposed new taxes on the people in this Budget. This year’s Budget was crafted to develop the economy while carrying past burdens, without adding to people’s tax load. In earlier years, Budgets brought price hikes—sometimes even ahead of presentation. That is not happening now.

¶ 06 A key objective is macroeconomic stabilization—controlling inflation, managing the exchange rate, the fiscal deficit, trade balance, and interest rates. Please debate these, not 1988 JVP history. Ask: what does this Budget do for interest rates, exchange rate, and stabilization?

¶ 07 Our exchange rate had daily volatility. Over the past year, we stabilized it—enabling trade and predictability.

¶ 08 We targeted 7 percent annual export growth. Exports in 2024 were USD 8,506 million; by August 2025, USD 9,100 million—about 7 percent growth, reaching our target.

¶ 09 We stabilized interest rates. Treasury bill yields had hit 30 percent under the previous regime—unsustainable. Now rates are around 8 percent. Judge the Budget by these stabilization outcomes.

¶ 10 Worker remittances rose from USD 4,844 million to USD 5,812 million; tourism earnings increased from USD 2,348 million to USD 2,473 million by September, compared to USD 2,068 million in 2023—all strengthening reserves.

¶ 11 We did not create new mountains, rivers, or forests to grow tourism. We improved the country—law and order, and investor/visitor confidence. Tourists come to stable, safe countries.

¶ 12 Regarding estate workers’ support, when we provided relief, some in the Opposition decried it as an economic crime. Budgets are for policy choices, including aiding vulnerable groups who contribute to the economy. We stand by such measures.

¶ 13 Again, this Budget imposes no new people-borne taxes. The 18 percent VAT was introduced in January 2024 and has not been changed since. We have not added any new tax burden in this Budget.

¶ 14 Thank you.