The Hon. Wijesiri Basnayake

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, I second the Motion.

¶ 02 Successive post-independence policies and mismanagement culminated in the 2022 crisis, officially declared a sovereign default on 12 April 2022. The Public Financial Management Act, No. 44 of 2024, and this Fiscal Strategy Statement operationalise a rules-based framework. Today’s 2026 Statement, required annually by 30 June, sets clear targets: primary surplus averaging at least 2.3 per cent of GDP over 2025–2030; a 2026 primary expenditure ceiling of 13.0 per cent of GDP (12.9 per cent projected); and reducing public debt to below 95 per cent of GDP by 2032. Additional goals include revenue above 15 per cent of GDP from 2026, public investment above 4 per cent of GDP, and lowering the deficit below 5 per cent of GDP by 2028.

¶ 03 Performance so far: a 2.2 per cent of GDP primary surplus in 2024 (about LKR 650 billion), exceeding the target; the overall deficit reduced from 8.3 per cent (2023) to 6.8 per cent (2024); revenue improved to 13.7 per cent of GDP in 2024 due to reforms and better administration; and Q1 2025 growth reached 4.8 per cent. Reforms of SOEs and better fiscal administration underpin this progress, alongside rising exports and FDI.