Hon. Chandana Sooriyaarachchi

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, today we are engaged in an important discussion on the Fiscal Strategy Statement and the country’s economic future. This is the first time the Fiscal Strategy Statement is presented to Parliament under the State Financial Management Act, to be tabled annually before 30 June.

¶ 02 This report is grounded on two main pillars: how State revenue will be structured, and how risks are identified and mitigated. It also outlines pathways for economic growth.

¶ 03 Since 21 November 2024, a Government of the National People’s Power (NPP) has been in office. We inherited a collapsed economy, a near-bankrupt State, and depleted reserves—unable to maintain imports, power, fuel, medicines, or provide fertilizer. Those who caused that collapse were not the ones who suffered; it was the ordinary people—professionals leaving, children missing school, patients without medicine.

¶ 04 Our first challenge was stabilization. Under the leadership of the Minister of Finance, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the Cabinet and MPs have worked together to restore stability, rebuild confidence, and ensure that citizens have hope to stay. We have moved step by step without rehashing every past statistic.

¶ 05 In the first five months of 2025, export earnings increased by USD 6.9 million, a 7.14 percent growth over the comparable period in 2024. On revenue, we surpassed targets: Domestic Revenue Department at 101 percent, Excise at 104 percent, and Customs at 106 percent. This shows planned, disciplined fiscal management.

¶ 06 We are creating the macroeconomic environment to rebuild the future: strengthen public finance, improve production, and stabilize the external sector to attract and retain investors. Despite Opposition attempts to distract, the data confirm our trajectory.