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VoA passed amidst light-hearted banter between Govt. and Opposition members
After almost two months of unprecedented political turmoil, the country took a major step towards stability on Friday (21) when Parliament passed a Vote on Account (VoA) to fund Government expenditure for the first four months of 2019.
Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera presenting the VoA. Pic by Ishanka Sunimal
The motion on the interim budget received 102 votes, with both the United National Front (UNF) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) voting in favour. The six MPs of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) voted against the motion while the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) abstained. Interestingly, the UPFA gave mixed signals over how it would act on the VoA on Friday. Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa told journalists outside the chambers that the party was opposed to the motion. In contrast, UPFA General Secretary Mahinda Amaraweera stated in Parliament during the debate, that his party supports the motion, pointing out that if it failed to be passed, it would not be possible to pay the salaries of government employees from January 1. UPFA MP Dayasiri Jayasekara too said he did not believe anyone could oppose the motion.
When the vote was eventually taken at about 4.15 p.m., no UPFA MPs were present in the chamber.
Earlier in the day, making a special statement before the VoA was presented, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that Government had expected to present the 2019 Budget on November 5, but the events of October 26 meant that there was no longer enough time to do that. The crisis, however, clearly demonstrated that it was Parliament that had control of finances, he said. Mr Wickremesinghe further said that all development activities, including the ‘Gamperaliya’ programme had been halted by the Rajapaksa Government. Officials had been instructed to immediately recommence all such development programmes, he told the House.
The PM also announced that prices of petrol and diesel will be further reduced with effect from midnight on Friday.
Overall, the VoA sought Rs 1765 billion to fund Government expenditure for the first four months of 2019. Presenting the motion in Parliament, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said that the Government now faced the challenge of properly managing the country’s economy after 54 days of political and economic chaos.
The near two-month-long political crisis meant that there was not enough time to present a budget and as such, the Government was presenting a VoA only for the first four months of 2019, Mr Samaraweera stressed. “We however, expect to present the 2019 Budget in January, with the budget debate likely carrying on into February,” he added.
The Minister also pointed out that a VoA was not unusual for Sri Lanka, noting that one had been presented as far back as 1931 when the country had a State Council. In recent times, VoAs had been presented to Parliament in 1995, 2002 and 2010, he further pointed out.
He claimed that the economy had taken a severe beating after the events of October 26. All three of the world’s major credit rating agencies had downgraded Sri Lanka’s credit rating in the aftermath of October 26, while the Government that was appointed could not prevent the Rupee from plummeting against the US Dollar, he pointed out. If the purported Government appointed after October 26 had been allowed to continue, the country would have plunged into a massive economic crisis similar to those that affected Greece and Argentina, he alleged.
Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa however, strongly refuted allegations levelled by Mr Wickremesinghe and Mr Samaraweera that the country plunged into an economic crisis during the weeks his Government was in power. “When we took over, the economy had collapsed and businesses were suffering,” he insisted. If the situation is to be rectified, the current Government needed to implement pro-people policies without continually following the diktats of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mr Rajapaksa argued. “Trying to fill the Treasury by imposing taxes on everything and burdening the people will not work,” he emphasised.
Mr Rajapaksa further warned members of the Government “not to be too comfortable” in their seats as the Opposition could rise up at anytime if the Government implemented anti-people policies.
UNP MP and Minister Kabir Hashim claimed the harm caused to the country’s economy during the past 50 odd days the Rajapaksa Government was in power, would take at least two years to rectify. He further pointed out that Sri Lanka will have to pay off foreign debts amounting to USD 4.5 billion in 2019. “We will all have to make sacrifices in light of this,” he noted.
The UNF’s taxes and economic policies imposed immense burdens on the people, UPFA MP Bandula Gunawardena remarked, adding that he does not personally blame Minister Samaraweera for this. “These unsuitable proposals were drafted by officials who do not understand ground realities,” he claimed, adding that if their Government had been allowed to present a budget, they would have been able to give even more relief to the people. He appealed to the Government to not increase the taxes that had been reduced during the past 50 days and not to reintroduce taxes that had been scrapped.
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Leader Rauff Hakeem opined the Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera’s main challenge was to produce a balanced budget for 2019 while keeping in mind that it will be an election year. He hoped that the minister would devote special attention to the northern and eastern provinces when preparing the budget.
The JVP would vote against the VoA because it had doubts as to why the Government was requesting so much funds from Parliament for only four months, especially as there is no mention of increasing salaries of Government employees in the motion, its leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Parliament.
According to the VoA, the expenditures have been allocated to independent commissions, Parliament, various government departments and offices, and the offices of ministers. Accordingly, the Office of the President has been allocated over Rs. 4 billion while the Office of the Prime Minister has been allocated Rs 503 million.
Allocations for individual ministries and departments coming under them have been listed separately. As such, the Minister of National Policies, Economic Affairs, Resettlement, Northern Province Development, Vocational Training & Skills Development and Youth Affairs will receive over Rs. 31 billion. The Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine has been allocated Rs. 57.7 billion. The Minister of Highways & Road Development and Petroleum Resources Development will receive Rs.71.1 billion. The Minister of Education has been allocated 30.5 billion while the Minister of City Planning, Water Supply and Higher Education will receive Rs. 25.1 billion and the Minister of Megapolis & Western Development has been given over Rs.15 billion.
In marked contrast to the disgraceful scenes witnessed in the well of the House in November, there was plenty of light-hearted banter between Government and Opposition MPs during the debate. The only time things got somewhat heated was when Government MPs referred to what happened on October 26 as a “coup,” claiming that the Rajapaksa Government came to power through a conspiracy. UPFA MPs strongly refuted the charge, insisting that no court had so far ruled that the firing of Mr Wickremesinghe and the appointment of Mr Rajapaksa as PM were illegal. Government MPs though, shot back that the Rajapaksa Government had lost two No-Confidence votes in Parliament, which rendered it an illegal Government.
Parliament is due to reconvene in the New Year at 1p.m. on Tuesday, January 8.