“I request the Opposition to join this effort of building the country. Leave your personal political aspirations aside. Think of empowering the country before gaining power for yourself. You can follow your own agenda on other political matters. However, it is imperative that you act out of the box politically with regard to building the economy of the country. Help me in the process of strengthening the economy,” President said in a special address in Parliament following the IMF Executive Board’s approval of $ 2.9 billion four-year Extended Fund Facility program.

He expressed the hope to schedule the Parliamentary debate on the IMF Agreement in the third week of March and requested the support of all MPs in this House in this regard.

“We are currently going through a difficult period. We are well aware that a certain section of the society is facing immense hardships due to the tax burden. We also know the entire society is suffering due to inflation. However, we cannot distance ourselves from the policies that have been implemented at this crucial juncture,” the President reiterated in what was yet another special address in the House.

Nevertheless, Wickremesinghe reiterated that the difficulties and hardships will be short lived and the country can reap the benefits of the commitments and toil within a short period of time.

“We have to make these sacrifices for the young people of the country, the future generation who are to inherit this nation tomorrow. Therefore the onus is on all of us to build our country. We have to work together towards this end by setting aside criticism of the past,” the President said.

He said that Sri Lanka cannot simply be satisfied with only the IMF agreement. “This is not the end. This is just the beginning of yet another long journey. We have to traverse that path with vigour,” he added.

It was pointed out that discussing with Sri Lanka’s creditors and restructuring the loans as well as recommencing the process of repayment, is a massive challenge and that increasing the income of the country too should happen simultaneously.

Parliament was told that if Sri Lanka implements the economic reforms with proper financial discipline throughout the next four years in accordance with the IMF agreement, a strong economic foundation will emerge for the future of the country.

“If we deviate from this path, the entire country will find itself in a worse situation in April than it was in, sometime back,” Wickremesinghe warned.

In that context, the President emphasised that the country must prioritise the establishment of a robust social security system for the most vulnerable individuals in our society. Additionally, Parliament was told that the Government is currently executing plans and strategies to enhance the value of the rupee. He stressed the need to focus on implementing necessary structural reforms as well as anti-corruption legislation.

Earlier in his speech, the President also told Parliament that on 9 July last year he took over a country that was on fire and he unconditionally accepted the challenge.

“I had no power in Parliament. I had no Members of Parliament from my Party to call my own. Even though I had none of these, I had just one strength. This was only my own conviction that I am capable of rebuilding my country. I had numerous experiences to support this conviction of mine,” Wickremesinghe emphasised.

He stressed that his duty is not to condemn previous administrations but to concentrate on the development of the country. He also declared his dedication to constructing a better future by creating laws and frameworks that prevent the recurrence of past errors.

He stated that despite allegations being levelled against him that his objective was not to rescue the country from an economic crisis but to safeguard the Rajapaksa family, the international community had acknowledged his efforts to carry the country across the economic vine bridge.

“Some tried to make the country totally dysfunctional before the IMF took the decision regarding our country. There were plans to create a continuous wave of strikes, to destroy the economy and create anarchy in the country. They expected to prevent the receipt of IMF assistance through such sabotage. Certain political parties, some trade unions and some media laboured to cause disruption. They claimed that we will not receive IMF support because the country was unstable.”

“They said IMF support will not be forthcoming because local government elections were not being held. They tried their best to make the people of the country to take to the streets with various false propaganda of this nature,” the President told Parliament.

However he said that the majority of the public did not support such acts of subversion and international community had acknowledged his efforts.

“The majority of the public were not willing to disrupt the progress of the country for misplaced initiatives of various power hungry political parties. The people acted with sheer responsibility for the country. Amidst numerous hardships, bearing all kinds of pressure, and undergoing suffering with equanimity, the people of this country remained calm and patient. Their commitment was a great strength in achieving the IMF facility,” President said and expressed his gratitude to the people, officials and development partners.

Dailyft