Public Finance

## Summary Hon. Mahinda Jayasinghe highlighted the government's economic achievements, citing foreign reserves of USD 6.8 billion, growth in worker remittances, and strong tourism performance, while arguing that overseas workers' foreign exchange earnings are being prudently protected — contrasting this with what he characterised as wasteful foreign travel expenditure by previous administrations. He specifically noted that President Dissanayake conducted seven official visits to eight countries at a total cost of only Rs. 14.94 million, compared to what he described as billions spent on foreign travel under the Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe presidencies. Jayasinghe rejected opposition criticism, arguing that the Leader of the Opposition — a senior minister in the 2015–2019 government — presided over a decline in GDP growth from approximately 5% to 2% and accumulated USD 12 billion in International Sovereign Bonds, and was therefore not credible in offering policy advice. He also accused the opposition and allied media of deliberately manufacturing and amplifying the recent fuel queue crisis to gain political advantage, characterising the opposition as unable to mobilise public support independently. He concluded by contrasting his party's parliamentary conduct with what he described as disruptive behaviour by previous government benches.

## Summary Deputy Minister Ariyarathne defended the government's economic management record while presenting a Regulation under the Foreign Exchange Act to relax capital outflow limits, raising business outward payment limits from USD 200,000 to USD 500,000 and personal foreign currency account limits from USD 20,000 to USD 25,000, reflecting improved foreign reserves of approximately USD 6.8 billion by end-2025 under the IMF programme. She cited January 2026 export and remittance data as evidence of economic recovery, while acknowledging risks from the Middle East conflict to oil prices, remittances, tea exports, and tourism. On cyclone relief, she confirmed LKR 25,000 payments had been largely completed for affected families, with further LKR 50,000 tranches in progress. She also outlined a LKR 47.6 billion fuel infrastructure investment, including LKR 31.9 billion for tank refurbishment and new construction to double storage capacity, and clarified that the President's "pawn shop" remarks referred to the inherited state of the economy rather than current policy.

Hon. Ravi Karunanayake argued that Sri Lanka must prioritise long-term national economic development over short-term economic management, advocating for high-growth strategies modelled on Southeast Asian economies. He proposed deeper economic integration with India — drawing an analogy to Hong Kong's relationship with China — suggesting that capturing even 3% of the Indian market could drive Sri Lankan growth of 10–12%. He criticised the Central Bank's monetary policy stance, arguing that raising interest rates to control inflation suppresses economic activity, and called instead for policies that empower SMEs, youth entrepreneurship, and women's economic participation domestically. He also urged a focus on strengthening the capital account to attract investment inflows, which he argued would strengthen the rupee and reduce the cost of living.

## Summary Deputy Minister Abeysinghe defended the Government's economic management record, contrasting what he described as the National People's Power's structured, resilience-focused economic approach against the previous administrations' failures to secure food, energy, or financial stability, which he argued culminated in the country's bankruptcy. He rejected the Opposition Leader's claim that Sri Lanka cannot meet a USD 3.5 billion debt obligation in 2028 as unfounded, citing improved economic indicators including a better trade balance, USD 751 million growth in remittances, and import cover of approximately 3.8 months. The Deputy Minister announced the approval of a regulation under Section 22 of the 2017 Act raising the Business Foreign Currency Account ceiling for capital transactions from USD 200,000 to USD 500,000 and increasing the Personal Foreign Currency Account limit from USD 20,000 to USD 25,000, framing these measures as tools to facilitate outward investment and business expansion by local entrepreneurs. He concluded by calling for Opposition cooperation in the country's economic development.

## Summary Hon. Kugathasan delivered a detailed speech supporting the regulation gazetted on 17 February 2026 under Section 22 of the Foreign Exchange Act, No. 12 of 2017, which partially relaxes restrictions on outward remittances while maintaining safeguards on foreign exchange reserves during Sri Lanka's post-crisis recovery. He outlined the key provisions, including investment limits of USD 500,000 for listed companies and USD 150,000 for unlisted companies, and noted that this marks a significant shift from the full suspension of Outward Investment Accounts that was in place from 2020 to 2024. The speaker contextualised the regulation by comparing the 2017 Act with the predecessor Exchange Control Act of 1953, highlighting the shift from a punitive, state-controlled regime toward a liberalisation-oriented framework. He also identified several ongoing concerns — including unpredictability caused by frequent temporary orders, mandatory export proceeds conversion, and investment caps he considered insufficient — and benchmarked Sri Lanka's framework unfavourably against India's FEMA regime and Singapore's fully liberalised system, calling for further reforms to position Sri Lanka as a regional financial hub.

Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe provided assurances regarding gas supply security, stating that Sri Lanka's suppliers source gas from the Southern African region and have provided written guarantees of uninterrupted supply for the year. He cautioned against spreading fear or inciting public panic over gas or fuel shortages, acknowledging global supply pressures while asserting that the government has the situation under control.

## Summary The Hon. Sunil Rathnasiri submitted Parliamentary Question No. 1174/2025 to the Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, seeking detailed information on the operational status and integrity of the Sri Lanka Police. The question requests quantitative data on police infrastructure, including the number of police stations, total serving officers, and rank-wise vacancies, along with a commitment on whether and when those vacancies will be filled. Additionally, the member seeks figures on organized criminal arrests for the period 2024 to May 2025, and asks whether internal irregularities within the Police have been identified and what corrective measures have been implemented.

Minister of Energy Kumara Jayakody addressed questions about the Trincomalee oil storage tanks and the Norochcholai power plant. He stated that refurbishment of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation's 24 tanks is underway — with two completed and two in progress — and that the pipeline system is also being fully repaired, asserting that storage operations will only commence once this work is finished. He attributed the reduction in the number of tanks to the previous government's sale of the remaining tanks to India, and indicated that any environmental concerns at Norochcholai would be addressed by the relevant authorities in due course.

Hon. Appuhamy raised a supplementary question regarding Sri Lanka's energy security, highlighting that the government's own admission of substandard coal imports has reduced Norochcholai power plant output from 900 MW to 600 MW. He warned that with only approximately one month's fuel stocks remaining, reliance on costly diesel generators as an alternative is precarious given global supply uncertainties, and demanded that the Minister outline concrete steps to prevent a severe power generation crisis and its consequent impact on the public.

Minister of Energy Kumara Jayakody responded to a parliamentary question regarding generators at the Norochcholai (Lakvijaya) Power Plant. He clarified that no generators were purchased for this purpose; however, two generator sets donated by the Chinese Government in 2015 — originally received by the Ministry of Disaster Management and subsequently transferred to the plant — are available. The Minister noted that the plant's cooling system normally draws auxiliary power from its own generating units or the national grid, and that engineers, together with the plant's construction company and design entity, are currently conducting tests to assess the feasibility of using the donated generators to power the cooling system during a total grid blackout, with necessary modifications to follow.