The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake

¶ 01 I am here now.

¶ 02 Madam Presiding Member, I understand my time is extended to 25 minutes. I will use it to speak briefly on Minister Sunil Handunnetti’s Ministry’s Expenditure Head.

¶ 03 Hon. Minister, if you bring the same radical approach you had in the Opposition to your Ministry today, your journey will be successful. The problem is you have set aside that radicalism. Use your knowledge, and also the decision-making capacity of your Secretary, to create that radical change—not for politics, but to rebuild the economy.

¶ 04 The previous government-side MP spoke powerfully. Good. Now implement it. Your government has one year’s experience—take decisions. Stop blaming the past 76 years. Even if there were bad things then, change them now. In this year, nothing fundamentally new has been built.

¶ 05 We gained independence from the British but did not structure governance properly. Let me address key economic issues. You once claimed to represent the poor and shouted “Down with capitalists!” Now you advocate a capitalist economy. You have changed.

¶ 06 Taxes are too high. The Ranil Wickremesinghe Government also raised taxes steeply; I said that then as I say now. If you want to fix the economy, tell the IMF you will reduce the overall tax burden from 36 percent to 24 percent. That would reduce revenue by about Rs. 258 billion, but the economy can recoup it cyclically through growth, especially by creating one million young entrepreneurs.

¶ 07 With Ministers Anil Jayantha (Labour) and Sunil Handunnetti (Industry) here, if you cut the 36 percent to 24 percent, the incremental impact will create jobs, expand GDP and broaden the tax base. Also bring interest rates for SMEs down to 5–6 percent. The President once said the Central Bank fears me; I question how bankruptcy was declared without Parliament’s approval. Where is the Employees’ Provident Fund? The IMF has asked that it be brought under public debt management disclosure. Why is it kept in the dark?

¶ 08 Inflation is rising. When President Anura Dissanayake presented the Budget, the dollar was Rs. 300.2; today it is Rs. 312.728 (official rate). Our debt burden has increased by Rs. 398 billion in that period. From your Ministry, you can do much for industry—start by mandating lower SME lending rates.

¶ 09 Also, restructure para-tariffs wisely. If you remove all para-tariffs without strategy, close the Ministry of Industry and rename it Import and Trade. We propose open trade with economies of scale. Our sugar need is about 650,000 MT; we produce around 81,000 MT, now moving toward 100,000 MT. Imported sugar at Rs. 195 trades near Rs. 210 with a Rs. 50 specific levy. You are called the “brown sugar father”—how can our children afford when brown sugar sells at Rs. 265/kg while white sugar is Rs. 205? Reform this through your Ministry. Commercialize Pelwatte; give consumers quality at lower price. Don’t cling to brown sugar dogma—enable competitive white sugar production too.

¶ 10 Skilled workers are leaving for the Middle East for Rs. 75,000–80,000 salaries, leaving families behind. That is a tragedy. Create entrepreneurs so our youth remain. Strengthen BOI, IDB, Environment Ministry and industrial parks—speed up land allocation with transparent rules. With your two-thirds strength, fix Cabinet bottlenecks that delay approvals.

¶ 11 Expand market access: India, SAARC, BIMSTEC, ASEAN, and pursue US access as Minister Wijitha Herath noted. Stabilize supply chains. Update outdated industrial regulations (Factories Ordinance 1942, Industrial Promotion Act 1990) and integrate modern technology and AI.

¶ 12 For 7–8 percent growth, maintain ICOR efficiencies and raise investment toward 30 percent through domestic savings and FDI. Tell the IMF: we will give investment incentives via qualifying payment offsets, not blanket tax holidays; link to agriculture for import substitution—stop spending nearly a trillion rupees annually on imports like onions, potatoes, sugar, flour, etc. Offer tax relief to blue chips for agro import substitution.

¶ 13 Consider examples: Samsung reinvented itself and within two years competed with Nokia. iPhone revenue alone is USD 222 billion—three times Sri Lanka’s GDP (USD 82 billion). Toyota’s 2024 revenue is USD 411 billion. In 1948, our per capita income was USD 48; Japan’s was USD 498—without natural resources. We, with resources, squandered opportunities. Now govern and deliver.

¶ 14 Gem industry: Legalize and formalize to bring activity from pockets to the formal economy, not by slapping 36 percent everywhere because the IMF suggested uniformity. Target Rs. 200 billion in the sector. Note how gems are even used informally to move forex—regulate and capture value, reduce grey markets, and generate jobs and GDP. In 2015 we explored a gold hub with low duties competing with Singapore and Dubai—such measured policies can channel funds through formal systems. Don’t be boxed in by rigid positions.

¶ 15 Our target of 7–8 percent growth requires technology inflows with capital, plus investor protection. Stabilize the rupee—at Rs. 312–313 per USD, FDI hesitates. Treat SMEs with humanity; they did not cause the 30 percent interest spikes of 2022. Parliament never approved the default; who authorized it on 12 April 2022? Where was Cabinet or Finance Ministry approval? Fix governance to fix ratings and costs.

¶ 16 I welcome SriLankan Airlines restructuring. Ensure Parliamentary oversight to avoid risky fiscal exposures. Today fiscal policy is here while monetary policy is elsewhere; coordinate so that tariff or electricity decisions don’t get blocked by monetary stances.

¶ 17 Finally, adopt a “big investor and small producer” model that succeeded in Korea and Malaysia. Depoliticize the economy and focus on material issues, not trivialities. Thank you.