• President lays out Govt. Policy in Throne Speech 
• Claims ‘ready to make unpopular decisions for nation’
• Says curing economy takes precedence over punishing wrongdoers

Emphasising that religious leaders, political parties, trade unions, academics, non-Governmental organisations and all other parties should unite and commit to implementing one policy with one objective within a certain period of time, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that a social convention should be established in this regard while a change of the lifestyles should be adopted by everyone for the sake of the nation.

Delivering the Government's Policy Statement at the inauguration of the fourth session of the ninth Parliament yesterday (8), he said that due to the measures taken, the Government has been successful in reducing the economic burden gradually. He said that there is stability in the economy, and that the people are comfortable.

Referring to tax reforms, he said: "Remember, I’m not here to be popular. I want to rebuild this nation from the crisis situation it has fallen into. I’m ready to make unpopular decisions for the sake of the nation. People will realise the importance of those decisions in two to three years." Noting that during an economic crisis, taxes increase, he said that it is therefore difficult for all sections of the society to survive. However, if everyone endures this hardship for another five to six months, he said that the country will be able to reach a solution. "If we continue in this manner, we will be able to give an additional allowance to public servants in the third and fourth quarters of the year, and give concessions to the private sector. The interest rate can be reduced."

He noted that the welfare system in the country is distorted. "Even those with higher incomes are subsidised. We are taking measures to change this situation. Those in absolute poverty are identified. A programme is being prepared to finance them directly through a welfare bank account. However, some groups are trying to disrupt this process. They uphold the reduction of taxes, the raising of wages, etc., if they come to power, and at present, attempt to organise various activities to sabotage the present process."

"I am currently implementing all the pledges in the Budget speech. Through this, we have been able to create some stability in the economy. We are now moving from a negative economy towards a positive one. By the end of this year, we can achieve economic growth. We will strive to make inflation a single digit by the end of this year," added the President.

By the end of last year (2022), Wickremesinghe said that the Government was able to increase the export income to United States Dollars (US $) 13 billion and that local entrepreneurs worked hard towards making it possible. He also said that the Government was able to limit the cost of imports to a level of US $ 18 billion and added that migrant workers have been extremely supportive at this critical juncture. "Our entrepreneurs and migrant workers made this commitment in the context of political parties and groups influencing them on diverse fronts. We have now been able to increase the foreign reserves which had fallen to zero up to US $ 500 million (mn). We were able to revive the tourism sector. Tourists visited Sri Lanka even in the midst of political street protests. The number of tourists who visited Sri Lanka in January was over 100,000, which is a record, he said.

"If we continue according to this plan, we can rise out of bankruptcy by 2026. As I have been continuously appealing, if all the parties in this Parliament join the process to build the country, we would be able to extricate ourselves from this crisis even earlier. Now, we are negotiating debt restructuring with our creditors. The only other way is to get the support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which could be progressed based on the negotiations. We have no other way but this process. I request the political parties criticising our course of action to please present their alternative solutions." Noting that the Government has also discussed with the Paris Club, the President said that they have continued negotiations with India and China. "India has agreed to debt restructuring and has extended financial assurance. On the one hand, the Paris Club and India are continuing discussions. We are in direct discussions with China. We have received positive responses from all parties. We are now working towards unifying the approaches of other countries and that of China. The Paris Club announced that they will extend unstinted support for the agreement with the IMF and debt restructuring. With that announcement, we received the Paris Club’s endorsement. They took this decision after a round of discussions with their member countries, and in addition, India as well as the World Bank and the IMF." "With the certification by the IMF, we would be able to receive loan assistance from other international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Accordingly, the confidence of investors will also be established. Therefore, there will be a tendency for foreign exchange to flow into the country. We should use such financial aid for the development of the country through efficient management. Together with this, we can get significant growth in the tourism industry. A number of development projects that have been halted can also be resumed. Currently, the revenue of the country is 8.15% of the gross domestic product. It is our expectation to increase this to 15%."

"The collapsed agriculture and plantation sector is recovering. It is predicted that the harvest will increase in the Maha cultivation season. Financial provisions have been allocated to purchase the crops. A plan has been implemented to process paddy to rice worth Rs. 20 billion with its distribution free of charge to low income families. Power cuts have now reduced. School activities are returning to normal. Children have commenced undertaking educational trips and exams are being conducted," he said while power cuts are still being carried out during the ongoing Advanced Level Examination.

As soon as this critical condition is addressed, he said that the Government will take another step to eliminate the recurrence of acts of corruption. For this purpose, he said that the Government will be introducing an Anti-Corruption Bill. "We are taking steps to include the Stolen Assets Recovery Initiative (StAR) into this Bill, together with the World Bank and the United Nations."

Stating that economic reforms required for our country should be implemented, he said that the Governments had neglected economic reforms for the sake of narrow political agendas. “The burden of loss making Government institutions was borne by the people. Last year, the loss of State owned enterprises was approximately Rs. 800 billion. The people have been bearing all that loss for many years. However, they do not realise this situation. Even the most destitute have to bear the cost of maintaining these institutions. We need to accurately identify the role of the Government in these reforms. The strategy of the Government should be to guide the private sector in business activities, while being in the background. The Government should intervene only in areas such as monitoring functions, public facilities and the maintenance of law and order. The private sector should be used as the driving force of the economy. Also, private entrepreneurship should be utilised to strengthen foreign economic relations."

He further said that projects based on credit will be implemented in the future only based on an evaluation process. “It is imperative to stop the practice of directing public investment for political reasons. In the past, the banking system has been weakened since these institutions have given grace periods for the recovery of loans. Now, that the grace period is over, the banks are revitalising."

"Remember that currently, we are facing an economic crisis which is more decisive than the past conflict in the North and the East. Though ethnic groups were divided during that conflict, all Sri Lankans have to cooperate in this current struggle. If we ignore the problems without a solution, we will lose overcoming this economic catastrophe, and therefore will be dependent economically. Therefore, it is our responsibility to bear the hardships and provide the necessary support to win this economic crisis”.

“It is alleged that due to certain practices of the Central Government, the powers of the Provincial Councils (PCs) have been reduced in the fields of education and health. Therefore, we envision bringing new laws regarding the implementation of the powers of the PCs in these fields. Amendments will be introduced to the following Acts in order to regularise and streamline the delegation process: The Transfer of Powers (Divisional Secretaries) Act, No. 58 of 1992, the Provincial Councils (Consequential Provisions) Act, No. 12 of 1989 and the Provincial Councils (Amendment) Act, No. 28 of 1990. We expect to establish a modern system for the District Development Councils to streamline the coordination functions between the PCs and the Central Government. We will present all these Ordinances and Bills to the National Council of the Parliament. The responsibility of making the final decision is assigned to the National Council. Divisional boundaries are currently not based on Provincial boundaries. Due to this, a number of practical difficulties have arisen. Therefore, we expect to determine the boundaries of Deputy Inspector General of Police divisions according to the Provinces. There is no change in the Police powers."

"Special attention is being paid to the upcountry Tamil community. Many problems related to economic and social rights still remain. To solve these problems, we expect to discuss with the Parliamentarians representing the plantation sector and take necessary measures. The plantation community should be integrated as a whole into the Sri Lankan community. We know that the Muslim community faces various problems from time to time and they have our full support. The Sinhalese community is also facing issues of their own which require open discussion. We expect to recognise the communities that are marginalised in the society especially due to caste discrimination. Considering all the facts, we expect to devolve power within a unitary State. However, I wish to reiterate a fact that has been emphasised on many occasions. There will be no division of the country."

"I don't have a political group in this Parliament. Therefore, I do not engage in party politics. I will implement all these proposals through the National Assembly of the Parliament. In addition, we will regulate the Jana Sabha Act for the function of representing public opinion."

Noting that political parties, the Parliament, the Executive, the Judiciary and the public service should change for the better, he said that the Government has already established the Parliamentary Oversight Committee System for that purpose. "Youth representatives have still not been appointed to these Committees. I request this Parliament to implement this system at the earliest."

"We should pay close attention to the political parties currently operating in Sri Lanka. Rather than political parties, political alliances created to win elections are represented in the current Parliament. Most of these political parties have been sold for cash. The party and the logo are being sold, as on the pavement in Pettah. Some get sold. Cases have been filed before Courts regarding the ownership of parties. I will appoint a Presidential Commission to look into the political parties and submit a report regarding the methodology which they should implement. This Commission is entrusted with the responsibility of looking into matters such as party registration, transparent functioning, membership rights, obtaining funds and income, expenditure on election campaigns, the use of the mass media, etc. In this regard, it is expected to be based on the Political Parties’ Acts of Kenya, Germany and Norway, the European Public Accountability Methodology, and the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act of the United Kingdom," he said while commenting on the political party system in the country,

Wickremesinghe further said that several Acts will be introduced including the National Commission on Women’s Act, the Gender Equality Act, the Women’s Empowerment Act, the Child Safety Act, the Youth Parliament Control Act, the Narcotics Command Headquarters Act, the Climate Change Act, the Social Justice Commission Act, the Reforestation and Tree Cover Act, the Living Entity Act, the Law for Ocean Resources Exploration and Management, the Muthurajawela Conservation Act, the Truth and the Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the National Security Act, while the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act and the Public Performance Board Ordinance currently in force will be repealed.

In order to succeed in such economic, social and political reforms, he said that it is essential to make the community aware, based on accurate facts and that the main role of making the society aware belongs to the media. Therefore, he said that journalists should be given national and international level training and that the Government would urge to establish a system of institutions ranging from an institute of journalism to a university for journalists, in order to receive international level training. "Looking closely at the past decades, the question arises as to whether the role of the media has been properly fulfilled. Therefore, our country needs media reforms. We have to consider both the traditional media and social media. That is the reason for preparing a national policy on mass media. I’m of the view that it is important for the Government and the media industry to take care of a collective self regulation system. In the cyberspace, we are experiencing not only fake news, but hate speech, misinformation, child and female harassment, fraud and corruption. We believe that a transparent regulatory system that includes social media network companies is required in this regard. An important point that we need to focus on is to reach an agreement on policies," he added.

"This is just the beginning of a system change. We need to make more changes. We expect to implement those changes according to the views of the Sri Lankan community, especially the youth. Therefore, I request all of you to submit proposals on the policies and practices that we should follow in the next 25 years. I am making that request not only from you, but also from all Sri Lankans. Submit your ideas whether you are in Sri Lanka or abroad. Join this collective exercise of rebuilding the nation. We expect to establish the Social Justice Commission to implement this social consensus. The new policy framework for the next 25 years will be created based on this social consensus."