Saturday Nov 08, 2025
Saturday Nov 08, 2025
Saturday, 8 November 2025 02:13 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
President and Finance Minister Anura Kumara Disanayake yesterday told Parliament that the Government’s Balance Sheet of 2025 demonstrates positive results of its operations apart from a new values system breaking away from the past regimes.
“Government’s one-year balance sheet demonstrates positive results of Government’s operations; strong belief that this is a Government that has not compromised the aspirations of the people,” the President said during the presentation of the 2026 Budget in Parliament.
In his speech, the President also took a dig at past regimes amidst Opposition criticism of the National People’s Power (NPP) Government’s performance in its first year in office.
Disanayake said Sri Lanka has a “Government that has not misused public funds or used improper privileges.”
“We have ruled the country during the period we passed, making it clear that political power and State power are not ownership but only a stewardship,” he said.
“We have made optimal decisions instead of popular decisions. We have made transparent decisions instead of opaque decisions. We have completely wiped out illegal activities that took place in the history of this country under the shadow of politicians. We have defeated the political power with an organised theft ring that was tainted by terrible fraud and corruption and transformed our country into a responsible governance system that bows to the law and loves the country,” the President stressed.
This, the President pointed out, is in contrast to experienced regimes that robbed the Central Bank within a few months of coming to power.
“We remember the history of the regimes that gave privileges to their friends and cronies within the first few months of coming to power. Regimes that gave tax concessions worth trillions to their friends within a few months of coming to power... bent the law and judiciary to suit their political agenda… We changed that terrible, immoral, and ugly system,” Disanayake pointed out.
He also recalled how previous Governments have set examples of tightening the belt for the people and loosening the belt for the politicians. “But today, what has happened is an example of loosening the belt for the people and tightening the belt for the politicians. What we need is not a bigger Government but a more productive Government,” President Disanayake emphasised.
“The people expected a clear change in the nepotism that had existed until now and the corrupt political culture associated with it. Today, we can be proud of the transformative steps we have taken to preserve that trust. We have embarked on a continuous mission to modernise the economic and political structure, create a people-centred governance, establish the rule of law and order, strengthen governance, and bring our economic achievements to the people living at the grassroot level,” he added.
His presentation of the 2026 Budget includes a wide range of significant improvements in the economy, of macro-economic indicators, social stability and good governance achievements post-political and economic crisis in 2022.
