Topic
Public Finance
5,915 speeches · 726 speakers
Party share
By the speaker's party · counts only, no scoring. "Unattributed" = speeches not resolved to an MP.
Most active on this topic
| # | Member | Speeches |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, M.P. NDF | 283 |
| 2 | Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha, M.P. JJB | 229 |
| 3 | Hon. Sajith Premadasa, M.P. SJB | 171 |
| 4 | Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe, M.P. JJB | 167 |
| 5 | Hon. Bimal Rathnayake, M.P. JJB | 153 |
| 6 | Hon. Kumara Jayakody, M.P. JJB | 147 |
| 7 | Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva, M.P. SJB | 140 |
| 8 | Hon. (Dr.) Nalinda Jayatissa, M.P. JJB | 135 |
| 9 | Hon. Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, M.P. JJB | 115 |
| 10 | Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney at Law, M.P. SJB | 92 |
Speeches
5,915 on this topic- 30 June 2025 The Hon. Dharmapriya Wijesinghe JJB AI summary Dharmapriya Wijesinghe supported the Budgetary Position Statement for 2026 as a statutory requirement preceding the Budget, arguing that Opposition Members were using the debate for political criticism rather than addressing its legal purpose. He said past administrations had undermined fiscal discipline, transparency, democratic rights, and data integrity, citing alleged misuse of public funds, audit discrepancies, and inaccurate state data. He stated that the current government is seeking to correct these problems through reforms and that the statement provides a mechanism for structuring the forthcoming Budget and restoring sound governance. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 The Hon. (Dr.) Najith Indika JJB AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Najith Indika argued that the current government has restored economic and political stability after inheriting a bankrupt country under IMF constraints, citing first-quarter growth of 4.8 percent, higher industry and services output, a Rs. 167 billion primary surplus increase, and rising tourism and remittances. He said these improvements were the result of a deliberate programme rather than accidental outcomes, and contrasted the government’s approach with previous reliance on tax increases and burdens on ordinary people. He rejected Opposition criticism as ad hoc, stating that the government is pursuing an orderly, long-term plan under the President’s policy framework while also seeking to strengthen social protection and living standards. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 The Hon. (Dr.) Najith Indika JJB AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Najith Indika noted that the Special Sitting was convened to present the Government’s Fiscal Strategy Statement under the State Finance Management Act, No. 44 of 2024, setting medium-term fiscal targets for 2026–2030. He said the statement is especially important after three years of economic contraction and amid the IMF programme, outlining targets by 2030 including a 2.3% primary surplus, revenue of 15.4% of GDP, expenditure of 19.2% of GDP, and a 3.2% budget deficit. He stated that the Government, nine months after taking office, is working to recover from the collapsed economy it inherited. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 The Hon. (Dr.) M.L.A.M. Hizbullah SLMC AI summary Hon. (Dr.) M.L.A.M. Hizbullah expressed support for the Government’s efforts to rebuild the economy but urged faster action on economic stabilization. He called on the President as Finance Minister to directly engage the U.S. President to seek relief from increased tariffs on Sri Lankan apparel exports, warning of serious impacts on factories and SMEs. He also objected to requiring local authorities to fund an increasing share of staff salaries under IMF-related measures without first strengthening their revenue base, especially in war-affected rural councils. He further urged faster implementation of capital expenditure allocations, cautioning against excessive taxation and the relocation of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs abroad. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 The Hon. Aruna Panagoda JJB AI summary Aruna Panagoda supported the Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026, arguing that it identifies fiscal problems, proposes measures to raise revenue, address gaps, strengthen legal frameworks, and restore fiscal discipline. He criticized the Opposition’s past record in government, alleging mismanagement, misuse of public funds, and attempts to undermine economic stabilization by discouraging investors. He said the Government is pursuing a new political culture based on accountability and urged the Opposition to assist rather than destabilize the recovery effort. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 The Hon. Champika Hettiarachchi JJB AI summary Hon. Champika Hettiarachchi supported the Fiscal Strategy Statement, arguing that it is intended to prevent a recurrence of the 2022 economic collapse by strengthening fiscal discipline, protecting taxpayers’ money, and improving risk management over a five-year period. He cited recent revenue performance above targets, creation of a cash buffer for public sector salaries, increased BOI approvals and private sector credit, and infrastructure and transport measures as evidence of economic stabilization. He also referred to the Proceeds of Crime law and ongoing investigations into corruption and financial misconduct, while rejecting Opposition claims about investor flight and factory closures as inaccurate. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF AI summary Hon. Ravi Karunanayake welcomed the Government’s acknowledgement that all wage demands cannot be met through strikes, but urged stronger action to attract investment, including facilitating investors such as Sinopec and depoliticizing economic policy. He called for youth entrepreneurship, SME-led rice production to reduce imports, and productivity improvements in agriculture, citing lower paddy yields than regional competitors. Referring to IMF comments and the President’s statements on debt-servicing capacity by 2028, he argued that sustained reforms, fiscal discipline, better data, and accountable discretion for officials are necessary to make the current IMF programme Sri Lanka’s last. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF AI summary Hon. Ravi Karunanayake welcomed the Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 as a basis for medium-term planning but urged both Government and Opposition to use data and pursue continuity in economic policy, citing malnutrition, rising welfare dependency, household costs, and increased public debt. He argued that growth should focus on enterprises, especially SMEs, and proposed a one to one-and-a-half-year moratorium and a Private Members’ Bill to provide extraordinary relief and alternative repayment arrangements for vulnerable borrowers affected during 2020-2024. He called for a stronger restructuring model for SriLankan Airlines, protection for exporters and deemed exporters if SVAT is withdrawn, targeted SME lending at 8-10 per cent, and greater accountability of the Central Bank while preserving its independence. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 The Hon. Chathuranga Abeysinghe - Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development JJB AI summary The Deputy Minister supported the Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 as a framework for fiscal discipline, transparency, and economic stabilization under the IMF programme. He argued that the Government has maintained the IMF framework, completed debt restructuring, enacted financial governance reforms, and presented a Budget balancing expenditure control with public and development needs. He attributed the economic crisis to long-term fiscal mismanagement, weak revenue collection, corruption, and high-cost borrowing under previous administrations, and said the Government would broaden the tax base, strengthen anti-corruption enforcement, and pursue gradual growth from about 3.2–3.5 per cent upward. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 The Hon. Amila Prasad SJB AI summary Hon. Amila Prasad supported the Public Finance Management legislation as important to addressing past fiscal weaknesses, while arguing that Sri Lanka’s economic crisis also arose from tax cuts, lost foreign exchange inflows, conflict, political interference, and overreliance on debt. He urged the Government, beyond IMF conditions, to set clear targets and new measures to reduce the debt-servicing burden, raise revenue before repayments resume in 2028, and avoid returning to a debt-driven model. He also called for greater transparency in public finance, including disclosure on customs containers, international economic agreements, MPs’ salary arrangements, government vehicle auctions, and a shift to an online transparent tender system to curb corruption. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 The Hon. Muhammad Faizal JJB AI summary Muhammad Faizal stated that previous governments’ foreign borrowing had raised public expectations but failed to deliver benefits. He argued that instead, the public was left facing greater hardship without fully realizing the consequences. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 The Hon. Muhammad Faizal JJB AI summary Hon. Muhammad Faizal supported the Fiscal Strategy Statement, arguing that it is needed to address Sri Lanka’s debt burden and guide economic recovery. He criticized past governments for imprudent borrowing and spending on non-essential projects, and urged that future borrowing be planned, limited to essential needs, and directed toward productive sectors such as local manufacturing, agriculture, transport infrastructure, and tourism. He highlighted the development of Kalpitiya as a tourism hub as an example of the current Government’s approach. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 The Hon. S.M. Marikkar SJB AI summary Hon. S.M. Marikkar said the Fiscal Strategy Statement is a statutory requirement under the Public Financial Management Act, No. 44 of 2024, but argued that it lacks clear methods, targets and timelines for achieving its stated objectives. He asked the Government to provide time-bound plans on poverty reduction, rising household expenditure, job losses among business operators, SME relief with the reactivation of parate law, debt reduction, urban cost-of-living pressures, electricity tariff policy, and IMF exit targets. He also questioned the alleged USD 1 million penalty over delays relating to the FAO research vessel, future borrowing needs to bridge the budget deficit, expected revenue and investment targets, and whether senior citizens would receive the promised additional 3 per cent interest on fixed deposits from 1 July. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 Documents tabled AI summary Documents tabled set out forthcoming Fiscal Risk Statement disclosures, including IMF SOE Health Check Tool assessments for 41 non-financial State-owned enterprises and associated risk ratings. They outline recent SOE risk-mitigation and reform measures, including cost-reflective utility pricing, liability restructuring, sectoral competition reforms, SriLankan Airlines and water sector restructuring actions, and governance strengthening across major SOEs. The documents also detail statutory Fiscal Strategy Statement requirements under the Public Financial Management Act, No. 44 of 2024, and policy measures to support fiscal sustainability, including new debt and fiscal management laws, tax base-broadening and indexation measures, personal income tax adjustments, and modernization initiatives at the Inland Revenue Department, Customs and Excise Department. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 The Hon. Sunil Handunnetti - Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development JJB AI summary Minister Sunil Handunnetti defended the Fiscal Strategy Statement as a legally grounded framework under the Public Financial Management Act to guide the 2026 Budget, manage fiscal risks, and prevent arbitrary overspending, particularly in relation to SOEs, macroeconomic shocks, legal exposures, and local government entities. He said the Government had already taken fiscal sustainability measures including tax reforms, tax administration modernization, abolition of SVAT, and institutional reforms in revenue agencies, and requested that relevant pages of the Statement be incorporated into Hansard. He stated that the Government aims to resolve 2025 fiscal risks within the year, outperform revenue targets, and exit the IMF programme by 2028 while maintaining transparency. He also highlighted tourism, regional development in the North and East, revival of factories such as National Paper, and the need for rule of law and safeguards against narcotics and youth migration. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 The Hon. Gnanamuththu Srineshan ITAK AI summary Gnanamuththu Srineshan said Sri Lanka’s economic failures stemmed less from choosing capitalism or socialism than from corruption, waste, mismanagement and discriminatory development, and he welcomed the Fiscal Strategy Statement and action against those accused of looting public assets. He urged the Government to rebuild the economy by reopening and rehabilitating closed industries in the North and East, including the Valachchenai Paper Mill and other factories affected by the war, to create jobs and reduce poverty, especially among female-headed households and migrant workers. He argued that past tax cuts under Gotabaya Rajapaksa caused major revenue losses and called for progressive, strategic economic action at national, provincial and district levels while noting that reported growth had not yet resolved poverty and price instability. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 The Hon. Ramalingam Chandrasekar - Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources JJB AI summary The Minister supported the Fiscal Strategy Statement for 2026–2030, arguing that the Government has restored economic stability after the 2022 bankruptcy through improved fiscal management and renewed investor confidence. He cited growing interest from Tamil diaspora investors in the North, including proposed projects in poultry, export vegetables, coconut cultivation and industrial zones, as evidence of changing conditions. He also addressed the Chemmany mass grave investigations, stating that the Government has allocated funds for excavations, sought forensic support following the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ visit, and is committed to proper inquiries while continuing land releases and infrastructure work in the Northern Province. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva SJB AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva addressed concerns about electricity sector reforms, including the proposed unbundling of the Ceylon Electricity Board and the role of a national transmission company and distribution companies. He cited the Supreme Court’s determination that such reforms are policy matters for Government and Parliament, not questions of constitutionality, and noted that concerns from the World Bank, ADB and JICA had been sent to the relevant Sectoral Oversight Committee. He argued that attracting domestic and foreign private investment is necessary if public capital investment is limited, and questioned whether the proposed amendments would restrict investment and thereby constrain growth beyond a projected 3 per cent. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva SJB AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva addressed the adjournment debate on the Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026, questioning whether the Government’s medium-term fiscal framework can deliver development when it projects growth falling from 5% in 2024 to 3.5% in 2025 and averaging about 3.1% through 2030. He argued that the cap on primary expenditure at 13% of GDP and slow capital expenditure implementation, despite a stated Rs. 1,400 billion allocation, would limit growth unless accompanied by significant domestic and foreign investment and economic reforms. He also contrasted earlier NPP-linked arguments on the IMF and “odious debt” with the Government’s present fiscal policy commitments, and called attention to unclear or inconsistent claims about investment inflows. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →
- 30 June 2025 Hon. Chandima Weerakkody AI summary Hon. Chandima Weerakkody defended the Presidential committee report on alleged Customs wrongdoing, stating that it was appointed by the President to determine whether misconduct occurred and to recommend corrections if necessary. He urged members not to politicize or prematurely publicize the report before the President acts, contrasting it with past controversies such as the Central Bank bond issue. He argued that the Government should focus on transparent policy, good governance, and democratic reforms rather than what he characterized as sensationalist opposition politics. Debate: Motion to Adjourn on Fiscal Strategy Statement 2026 Read →