The Hon. Eranga Weeraratne - Deputy Minister of Digital Economy

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, when the National People’s Power Government assumed office last November, the country’s economy was in a dire state after 76 years of governance that had eroded the foundation. Our people’s economic hopes and future expectations were shattered. Within the past year, our Government significantly strengthened the economy and commenced many development initiatives. Some projects have been completed, and many are ongoing. Our growth rate is now 4.8 per cent.

¶ 02 A key problem was the Central Government’s debt burden. Public debt as a percentage of GDP in 2022 was 114.2 per cent. We aim to reduce it to 96.8 per cent by 2026 and 87 per cent by 2030. That will free substantial fiscal space for development.

¶ 03 After COVID-19 began in 2020, import restrictions and economic contraction meant people waited five years to import vehicles. Within six months of coming to office, we enabled vehicle imports. Even as nearly USD 2 billion in imports were allowed, we kept the rupee broadly stable, demonstrating fiscal and monetary discipline.

¶ 04 Foreign reserves at the Central Bank are now around USD 6 billion, rebuilding confidence among external lenders and investors. When we took office, the State machinery was a tangled ball of yarn: stalled projects in every ministry; procurement not done; outdated and ineffective implementations; inefficiency and opacity. Our task was to untie that knot and rebuild the State apparatus. We revived and modernized projects to deliver benefits.

¶ 05 On digitalization, we implemented many initiatives: - GovPay enables digital payments to over 200 state institutions and 3,130 services at any time, including weekends and nights. Over Rs. 1.2 billion has been collected so far via GovPay. - Traffic fines and spot penalties can be paid digitally without inconvenience. - We established a National Cyber Security Centre to protect government services. - We upgraded the Lanka Government Cloud and modernized GovPay. - Citizens can obtain Presidential Fund benefits, birth and marriage certificates from abroad digitally. - We established a GovTech company to accelerate digital transformation.

¶ 06 These were part of untangling that knot and laying a stable foundation in the past year. On that basis, we presented the 2026 Budget to this House. From the lowest to the highest income strata, people will feel their livelihoods improving.

¶ 07 This is a Budget to stabilize and develop the economy with strong proposals, moving us toward our 2030 development goals through sound governance and fiscal discipline.

¶ 08 For example: - We introduced Starlink services. - We plan to auction the 5G spectrum this December, taking digital infrastructure to villages, enabling even the poorest to access services. - Through vouchers, students in difficult areas will access online education.

¶ 09 This is a people-friendly Budget. We seek this Parliament’s approval to implement it.

¶ 10 Thank you.