• SJB renews call for Gota go home for new all-party Govt. to take SL out of crisis
• Says every day President stays in power constitutes an extra day of suffering forced on people
• Opines present President and Govt. has little credibility within local and international community
• Questions legality as it includes the very people who had made way for this crisis
• Says urgently needed political and deep economic reforms to resolve crisis can only be done by a proper all-party Govt.

By Darshana Abayasingha: Daily FT 1st July

Main Opposition the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) yesterday renewed its call that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa must step down enabling an all-party Government to urgently implement deep economic reforms required to resolve the country’s worst crisis.

“Sri Lanka is in urgent need of deep economic reform to find sustainable and meaningful solutions to its crisis, but this not a task for the present Government or one single political party; it is a task that must be spearheaded by an all-party Government that is fully committed to this process,” MP Dr. Harsha De Silva told journalists at a briefing by SJB’s Economic Centre along with MPs Kabir Hashim and Eran Wickramaratne.

He noted there is no way the country can escape such a process and reforms need to be enacted for tax, State expenditure, welfare spending, pensions, State enterprises and policies governing the State service.

“If we don’t do that, there is no coming out of this hole in a sustainable manner. Even when we arrive at a staff-level agreement with the IMF, their hands are tied unlike before because they must negotiate with third-parties who include our lenders. They will only agree based on how far our Government will implement much-needed deep economic reform. 

“All political parties will have to agree and work together to implement these deep economic reforms. This is why all parties need to come together and form an all-party Government. This is no longer a request but an urgent requirement for the country,” MP De Silva said.

However, he remarked, there is no confidence in the current Government and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and every day the President stays in power constitutes an extra day of suffering forced on the people of Sri Lanka. 

De Silva said the President had not heeded warnings of the grave economic crisis since 2020, and he bore responsibility for the present predicament. “The President has to step down. If not tomorrow, there has to be a time frame set out and agreed with all political parties,” de Silva emphasised.

The former State Minister also said the country was in need of $ 4 billion in assistance over the next six months, and Sri Lanka must engage with friendly nations to obtain this assistance on a priority basis. He noted that despite the country suspending debt payments, some loan payments to agencies such as The World Bank, IMF and the ADB had to be met, in addition to costs to import fuel, gas, medicines and food.

SJB MP Kabir Hashim, pointed out the present Government has little credibility within the local and international community, in addition to questions over its legality as it includes the very people who had made way for this crisis. The President must step down, he said, and this must happen to kick off the necessary political and economic reforms.

“This is not a task that the SJB can do alone. Everyone must come together to find answers as there are no easy solutions to this crisis. Politicians, doctors, lawyers, civil servants, teachers all have vested interests who are all trying to safeguard their status quo. But considering where we are now as a country, politicians must lead by example and not just pursue benefits. Else this cannot be done,” Hashim said.  

He added the Government must allocate at least $ 2 billion to support imports of raw materials and other essentials for the SME sector. Productivity in the country has been seriously impacted by the crisis, and the SME constitutes 50% of the production, and this in turn impacts exports he pointed out.

MP Eran Wickramaratne explained how the Government had scuttled an existing IMF program in addition to slashing state revenue, ignoring the sound advice and warnings that were given. Despite the turmoil they created, the President remains in power and is now brazenly reversing the programs that existed in 2019, he charged. 

Wickramaratne explained the Government and certain political parties had resorted to spew lies over impacts of State sector reforms to cling on to power, and these are some of the reasons behind the prevailing crisis. He called on the public and political players to act with responsibility to overcome the difficulties.