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“Is there a lot more to go? “ This appears to be the question that House Leader Kiriella is asking Minister Karunanayake as he did a marathon read of the Budget. Pix by Indika Handuwala

Not many would envy the job of the Finance Minister when the Budget comes around, and not many in particular could have envied the task entrusted to Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake of presenting a people-friendly Budget, along with one that would set the country on the road to better fiscal management.

Hence, as predicted, while the Minister won kudos from those in government for the Budget, some Opposition members, particularly those of the JVP and the “joint Opposition” group loyal to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, saw no good in it.
The JVP came down hard on the Government when the debate on the second reading of the Budget began yesterday, with its National List MP Sunil Handunnetti saying what was announced was essentially a UNP Budget. “I don’t think the SLFP members in this Government can support this Budget, because this is going to lead to more privatisation and cut into many welfare measures of the public already in place,” he said.

UPFA Colombo District MP Bandula Gunawardena used much of his time to justify the economic policies adopted by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and accused the Government of adopting policies that would burden the common man. “The proposals to earn revenue presented in the Budget are impractical,” he said.
However, Mr. Karunanayake’s Cabinet colleague, Enterprise Development Minister Kabir Hashim praised the Budget. “What the Finance Minister inherited was a very sick patient in the form of the economy. It was ailing with cholesterol, pressure and diabetes, and was on the verge of being afflicted with cancer. The Minister has managed to save the patient from certain death in the nick of time and set it on the road to recovery,” he said.
Mr. Hashim also said the Government does not want to hoodwink the people with fairytales like the previous government did and hence, what has been placed before the public is the bitter truth regarding the state of the economy, and what measures will be taken in the next year to put things on track.

The second reading of the Budget debate was opened by TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran, who said the Budget had many positive features. Other than the contests of the Budgetary proposals, the highlight on Budget day was the marathon speech Minister Karunanayake delivered lasting nearly four-and-half hours.

Among those who made a quick entry and exit from the chamber, as the lengthy speech continued, was former President Rajapaksa who told reporters later that he saw little in the Budget for the public at large.President Maithripala Sirisena who remained in the Parliament building on Budget day, but did not come into the Chamber, instead went for the post-Budget tea party which, this year, was opened while the Finance Minister was still continuing his lengthy speech in the Chamber.

With 14 days allocated for the second reading of the Appropriation Bill, the Budget will be further dissected, both by those for it and those opposed to it. With the vote on the second reading set for Dec. 2, what remains to be seen is if the ‘national government’ has been successful in winning over its detractors.