JVP projects a new image to business community in Colombo.

Key remarks made by JVP Leader anura Kumara Dissanayake:

NPP’s Galadari meeting (24th January 2023)

The NPP had a crowded meeting at Hotel Galadari in what seemed an exercise to project a new image to the business community. The leading partner in the NPP, the JVP, could no longer be considered a poor party. Its coffers have grown to match any other political party in the country. NPP parliamentarian Harini Amerasuriya explained that the NPP is a coalition of 28 entities “for a progressive platform of like-minded ideas to find solutions affecting the people.”

NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake noted that “you might have suspicions about us in some areas like our economic policies. You will need to learn what would happen to your businesses and economy. These are the areas where you have concerns and suspicions.”

He added, “We can see the collapse of the economy from many areas of the country. Inflation has affected people. We have become a country unable to pay our debt. People are losing their jobs. The collapse of the businesses too is indicative of the economic crisis.”

Other highlights of what Dissanayake said: “We are incapable of earning the dollars needed for the country. If we study 2021 statistics on imports and exports, there is a disparity of 8.1 billion dollars. The annual debt servicing is around 6.7 billion. Therefore, we have to annually spend 14.8 billion dollars additionally for the import of goods and repaying the debt. We are incapable of earning that. Therefore, we need to find ways to come out of this crisis.

“When it comes to resolving the economic crisis, many say that the government’s tax and import policies and its planning are wrong. But we think that even though the economic factors play a role in creating the crisis, the main factor of the issue (core of the issue) is the political culture of the country. The political culture is behind everything, from tax policies, projects of the government, obtaining of loans and even on deciding on foreign relations. If we are to develop this country, we need a base. We are giving you an assurance that we are changing this collapsed political culture. We cannot move forward without that base.

“We believe that our country needs a new constitution. The governance centralised on the executive presidency is not suited for our country. There is nothing flawed with the executive presidential system, but because that position is too heavy for our leaders. The leaders of the country are not mentally mature to handle such a powerful position.

“We will create the base by bringing a new constitution which would abolish the executive presidency. The country needs a constitution that would limit the number of ministers, restrict crossovers of members of parliament, strengthen the fundamental rights of people, and protect the rights of all ethnic groups and religious communities.

“We should turn the corrupt government into an anti-corrupt government. For the country to develop the Rule of law must prevail and the law has to be the same to the powerful and rich as well as weak and poor. Today we can say the court decisions when the name of the person who is involved in the case. The collapse of the judiciary would impact us whether we have a case or whether we need to appear in court. The existence of society relies on the rule of law. Therefore we have to use civilised ways to resolve our issues. We should trust legal institutes and resolve matters.

“The country’s state service is inefficient. It has become so because of the political culture. We have heard that in 1970s, Sri Lanka had one of the strongest state sectors in Asia. If we are thinking of developing the country, we need to strengthen the state sector and make it efficient.

“We must be recognised by governments of other countries. Today we have filed to be recognised by other countries in a positive manner. All the international institutes, the International Monitory Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Human Rights Council, and the committee on external affairs of the United States have bad reports on Sri Lanka. We must convert this country to an internationally recognized country if we are to develop it.

Apart from that, we should create peace and equality among the Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher and all the other communities to develop the country.

“The businessmen at the audience could have differences regarding economic matters. However, the factors I mentioned are matters that we all can agree on without any debate. Without fulfilling those factors, we cannot create a beautiful developed state. Making it a reality is the task of a politician. When we are resolving the economic situation, we need to create a base for the economy just as we need to create a base for the country. We will create the situation where a person could obtain services from the state or a state institute efficiently without allowing people to seek political relatives’ favours…….”