The Hon. Dilith Jayaweera

¶ 01 Madam Deputy Chairperson of Committees, I wish to speak today under the topic “Sri Lanka is on the brink of a massive economic precipice.” For the record, I wish to state this with utmost honesty, concern, and goodwill. However we analyze our economy, we are heading into a massive crisis. As I understand, this Government does not have an understanding of this—certainly not a practical one. Economists and knowledgeable people are putting forward various views. Yet, judging by how the Government speaks today, they clearly have not grasped it.

¶ 02 When we analyze the economy, we keep chanting the same mantra about the nominal economy. But there is something called the real economy. Economists speak about the fundamental difference between the nominal economy and the real economy. Today, there is no real economy. We can cite numbers like the primary surplus, but those do not reflect ground reality. If we look today, agriculture, the tea industry, and manufacturing—none of these sectors are moving forward. They have stalled in the current contracted economic environment.

¶ 03 Catching thieves, or jailing someone for entertainment, is not sufficient to take this country forward. India now has usable reserves of around USD 700 billion. We have only USD 5.3 billion in usable reserves. India can cover 11 months of imports; we cannot even cover two months. If we do not talk about this reality, how can we proceed as if nothing is wrong? Regrettably, the Government fails to understand this simple truth.

¶ 04 The Leader of the House spoke about tourism. Let me explain, not to belittle anyone, but to show the simple point that they do not understand economics. Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka have increased by 15 per cent. Yes, that is true. But the revenue we receive from them has increased by only 1.5 per cent. That is the problem. We currently earn on average USD 1,300–1,350 per tourist per stay. There are simple ways to raise this to USD 1,800. No one speaks about them; perhaps because they do not understand. Had we done that, we could have earned an extra USD 2–3 billion. Understand this economic issue: this country is heading for a great economic cliff in the near future. People are in dire straits. Their personal economies have collapsed. SMEs are in utter distress, and large industries are facing the same condition. Around 60 per cent or more of our economy is driven by SMEs. You cannot destroy them, grind them into the ground, and expect the economy to move forward.

¶ 05 Finally, a point about reports that I interfered in the investigations concerning Major General Suresh Sallay. How did I “interfere”? We held a Bodhi Pooja at the historic Bellanwila Raja Maha Viharaya and prayed for Suresh Sallay’s health. Within two hours of that, he was hospitalized. I am now accused of influencing CID investigations by making that prayer. Let me say this: Major General Suresh Sallay is not being held under any court order.

¶ 06 [Expunged on the order of the Chair.]

¶ 07 By exercising their executive power, they are keeping Suresh Sallay detained and subjecting him to inhumane treatment. That is why we went and prayed before the Bodhi Tree. We will continue to pray, and soon we will go again. Then you will understand the compassion of the Blessed One.

¶ 08 Thank you.