• NDF’s Ali Sabry welcomes public sector salary hike but finds no concrete measures for econ. trajectory improvement   
• SJB’s Kabir Hashim says its’ Ranil’s Govt.’s 3rd Budget per IMF, Harsha notes rampant neoliberalism and hypocrisy  
• SLPP’s Sagara Kariyawasam points to investments’ exodus 

Following the National People's Power (NPP) Government's presentation of its first Budget yesterday (17), Parliamentary Opposition parties expressed concerns about its practical implementation and deviation from the NPP's original political ideologies.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday, former Finance and Foreign Affairs and Justice Minister, and incumbent New Democratic Front (NDF) member, President's Counsel M.U.M. Ali Sabry stated that he had yet to see concrete measures to improve the country's economic trajectory. He however appreciated the Government's commitment to adhering to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) parameters in making the Budget. "Given the circumstances, I am pleased that they are adhering to the IMF parameters. I am also happy that they have increased the public servants' salaries, as we couldn't do that since 2022 due to the country's economic issues. However, I am yet to see concrete measures to improve the economic trajectory of the country," he added.

Meanwhile, the main Parliamentary Opposition party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) claimed that the NPP Budget proposed by President and Finance Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake was an extension of the economic programme implemented by the Government of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, which directly contradicted the NPP's policies presented during the last national Elections.

Speaking to the media, SJB Parliamentarian and member of its economic council, Kabir Hashim stated that this confusion of ideologies was clearly visible in the Budget, leaving voters feeling hopeless about the change that they had hoped for. "President Dissanayake presented the third Budget of Wickremesinghe. People hoped for an ideological difference. That cannot be seen in this Budget. The proposals on State-owned enterprise (SOE) reforms, the amendments to the Economic Transformation Act, and the stance on the Trincomalee Oil Tanks are no different to the Wickremesinghe Government. This is a Budget made according to the IMF and Wickremesinghe's policies," he added.

SJB Opposition MP Dr. Harsha de Silva, also questioned the ideological shift of the NPP Government, claiming that the NPP was now proposing the same neoliberal economic reforms that they had previously opposed.

 "They talked about a neoliberal programme today. If they now say that these reforms are good, what happened to the last 40 years of opposition? If they opposed these reforms for decades and now suddenly accept them, that means that our 40 years were in vain. That is a crime," he claimed. Dr. de Silva also pointed out that the recent Budget did not reflect any significant ideological change from past economic policies. "The last Budget and this Budget have no difference. If the country has been destroyed for 75 years, then change is necessary. If their ideology is different, it should be reflected, but that has not happened. I am not saying that this is wrong; what I am saying is that this should have been understood decades ago," he remarked. Highlighting specific policy reversals, he questioned the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna-led NPP’s stance on SOEs and economic policies. "If they now support establishing a holding company for SOEs, why did they oppose it earlier? If they now agree to fuel pricing formulas and electricity tariff hikes, why did they resist them before? de Silva further noted that the Government’s stance on reducing the number of public sector employees aligned with past economic recommendations, which they had staunchly opposed. "Now, President Dissanayake says that Government employees should be reduced. If this was their fight all along, why didn’t they acknowledge it before? Had they accepted these policies earlier, the country could have developed successfully," he said.

Meanwhile, claiming that Sri Lanka is losing investors and has found itself in a situation where attracting more investors is challenging, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) said that the NPP Government’s first Budget is unlikely to be implemented. Speaking to the media during a media briefing yesterday,SLPP General Secretary, attorney Sagara Kariyawasam added: 

“Investors that came and were brought to Sri Lanka are leaving the country. They are telling the entire world that there is no proper environment here to invest. In that context, there is a question whether new investors would come to Sri Lanka. In such a context, it is impossible to prevent President Dissanayake’s first Budget from being limited to a paper.” Explaining his remarks, Kariyawasam noted that the key issue that Sri Lanka is facing is a foreign currency issue. 

He added that there is no sign of the Government bringing in new investors or moving forward with the investors that were brought during the former Government’s tenure. In this context, he added, regardless of what was promised through the Budget, they are unlikely to be implemented in reality.