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‘Do not fear us, we can prove ourselves only once we come to power’: NPP’s Vijitha Herath
NPP will continue with the ongoing IMF programme: Vijitha Herath
The National People’s Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, if elected president, will run the country sans a cabinet until the conclusion of the general election through 25 newly named ministries, which will be headed by ministry secretaries, the party’s Executive Committee member and Gampaha District MP Vijitha Herath said.
He said that parliament will be dissolved immediately after the conclusion of the presidential election, and the cabinet too will stand dissolved.
“We will name 25 new ministries and appoint 25 secretaries to them. All the ministries will come under the purview of the president in the interim period as provided by the Constitution. The general election will be held within two months, and after a new parliament is constituted, ministers will be appointed to the new cabinet,” Mr. Herath told the Sunday Times.
He said there will be changes to the current lineup of ministry secretaries, with some of the new secretaries appointed from the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS) as well as suitable persons drawn from specialised areas such as engineering services.
“Our short-term policy plan is roughly for 80 days. This covers the two months it will take to conclude the general election and for the period just preceding the appointment of a new parliament,” he said.
The NPP MP said that tax cuts that have been promised by the NPP candidate and which can be given without parliament approval will be implemented immediately.
“We will go with this budget and then bring a vote-on account to finance spending till next March. This will be followed by a new budget,” he said.
Mr. Herath said the new president will need to allocate funds for the general election as no allocations have been made so far, and this could be done using the provisions in the constitution to draw from the consolidated fund.
He also confirmed that the NPP would continue with the ongoing IMF programme and would discuss the party’s budget proposals with them before finalising it.
“We will take the dialogue forward and keep them informed of our main budget proposals. We will not allow the IMF process to break because if it breaks down, it will affect the restructuring process. We understand that, and we explained it to them when we met IMF officials,” he said.
The NPP will launch its election manifesto tomorrow and will give a firm commitment to abolish the executive presidency and enact a new constitution when they take office.
“We will enact a new constitution that addresses the national question and brings about national unity. We will go for a referendum and get the people’s approval for the new constitution. We want to do it within the shortest time possible,” the NPP MP said.
The NPP manifesto will also detail its economic policies and the economic path it will take. “We have already released our policies for different sectors. It is a compilation of these that will be included in the manifesto,” he said.
Mr. Herath said the private sector will be the engine of growth under their administration, with state intervention being minimal.
“The private sector has no need to fear us.There is a lot of fear mongering by our opponents saying we will disrupt businesses. This is not true. Under us, the private sector will be able to function more efficiently without political interference. If their businesses run well, only then can the government run well,” he said.
Mr. Herath said that the business community is warming up to the NPP more than before and that many of the apprehensions they had have been dispelled.”There will be economic democracy under us. What we have to say is do not fear us. We can prove ourselves only once we come to power.”
He described the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) as the heart of the economy and said the NPP government’s target is to increase tax revenue by at least 30%.
“The malpractices and corruption in the IRD have to end. We have spoken to officers there, and with their support and participation, we will implement a simple tax structure,” he said.
The NPP MP, who is also the propaganda secretary of the JVP, said that they are confident of victory for their candidate on September 21. “We are drawing bigger crowds than we ever expected, and this time support has come from all segments of society. Although it looks like a three-tiered fight, it is actually two tiered as the two other main candidates (President Ranil Wickremesinghe and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa) are both on the same side. safeguarding the corrupt. We are the only ones against corruption and with a commitment to fight the system that safeguards thieves.”
He also said that those voting for the NPP candidate should not make a preference vote for any other candidate.“We don’t want anyone to mark preference votes because we have no preference for any of the other candidates. We can get more than 50%. We are confident,” he said.
Mr. Herath said that the failure of Gotabaya Rajapaksa convinced people that there was an urgent need for system change. “His policies hit both the head and the belly of the public. We as a party kept faith in the public, and instead of getting demoralised after the three percent votes we won in 2019 and 2020, we seized the opportunity that came our way,” he added.
He also made it clear that all election-related decisions are taken by the NPP, which is the broad alliance formed encompassing the JVP, professional organisations, trade unions, etc.
“The JVP is also there as a separate party, but our government decisions are taken by the NPP. There are no contradictions between the two parties. They are not two, but one,” he said.
Asked about the secrecy with which the JVP seems to operate, Mr. Herath said that there is no secrecy but there is party discipline. “The same discipline is there in the NPP as well. When we make a decision, we keep it confidential and don’t go out and give contradictory views. This is what happens with other political parties,” he said.
Mr. Herath added that there is internal democracy in the JVP and the NPP. “In other parties, if the leader makes a decision, it is the final word, but in our parties, we have discussions and disagree on issues and then come to a collective decision. After we take a decision, it is relayed to all the party members with an explanation on why such a decision was made,” he added.
The NPP MP also added that when in power, they will not stray from the current practice of keeping family members away from the public eye.
“We have never involved our spouses or family members in official work. We will maintain that in the future as well. There is not a rule but a custom we follow,” he added.
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