The Hon. (Dr.) (Ms.) Kaushalya Ariyarathne

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, I move:

¶ 02 “The primary cause of the gravest economic crisis faced by Sri Lanka since Independence was the deterioration of public finances. While past governments pursued politically expedient agendas, ordinary people and children hoping for a better future bore the harsh consequences. Responsible, transparent management of public funds—hard-earned taxes of the People—must be ensured by the Executive and, under Article 148 of the Constitution, by this august House.

¶ 03 While identifying and prosecuting those truly responsible for this tragic past, it is our duty to take steps to prevent recurrence. The National People’s Power Government recognises this responsibility. Accordingly, under Section 11(2) of the Public Financial Management Act, the ‘Fiscal Strategy Statement’ presents a medium-term roadmap (2026–2030) to achieve strategic public finance objectives. Steering the country toward these goals and delivering the benefits to the People is our collective duty as public representatives. I propose that, transcending party lines, all stakeholders extend their support to achieve the targets set out in the Fiscal Strategy Statement.”

¶ 04 The Act sets obligations for responsible fiscal management: macroeconomic stability, growth, intergenerational equity, accountability, efficiency, fairness, transparency and sustainability. The objectives include: ensuring public debt declines to sustainable levels; maintaining buffers to face future shocks; prudent fiscal risk management; assuring discipline and transparency; establishing an annual budget framework and a five-year medium-term framework; and enabling effective oversight of core government functions.

¶ 05 Today’s Fiscal Strategy Statement is presented to achieve these objectives. Key elements include: the medium-term fiscal strategy; numerical targets—debt reduction, primary surplus goals, and primary expenditure ceilings; strategic policy priorities and assumptions; and mechanisms for parliamentary oversight and public accountability.

¶ 06 Targets include: a primary surplus of at least 2.3 per cent of GDP over 2025–2030; a 2026 primary expenditure ceiling of 13.0 per cent of GDP (projected at 12.9 per cent); reducing public debt below 95 per cent of GDP by 2032 (from 119 per cent in 2022) and ultimately below 60 per cent of GDP in the long term; revenue above 15 per cent of GDP from 2026; public investment above 4 per cent of GDP; and reducing the overall deficit below 5 per cent of GDP by 2028.

¶ 07 For 2024, we reached a primary surplus of 2.2 per cent of GDP, exceeding projections by 0.8 percentage points. The overall deficit fell from 8.3 per cent of GDP in 2023 to 6.8 per cent in 2024. With a widening primary surplus, we project continued positive growth in 2025.

¶ 08 Globally, many countries in the Global South face debt distress shaped by historical structural patterns. Sri Lanka’s post-independence development path, including neoliberal reforms, constrained domestic productive capacity and fostered harmful debt dynamics. Borrowings were not consistently channelled to productive, revenue-generating projects; opacity and misallocation prevailed, with the costs borne by working people. In 2022, the People rejected this corrupt system and demanded systemic change. The mandate we received in 2024 carries a historic responsibility to deliver transparency, accountability and disciplined public finance.

¶ 09 Therefore, I urge support for this roadmap to transform our fiscal system toward transparent, efficient and accountable management.