Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Dr. Harsha de Silva requested the House to agree to a short-term All-Party Government (APG) in order to find solutions to the serious economic crisis suffered by the country.
Dr. Harsha de Silva stressed that honesty is vital when it comes to forming such a Government.
He pointed out that the House needs to form a solid team that could win the confidence of the national and international platforms.
Dr. Harsha de Silva made these observations joining the third day of the debate on President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Policy Statement.
“Some may say I am saying this to get a ministerial position. That is not so. My intention is to get the Government and the Opposition to agree to a common goal. What we need is an All-Party Government which will work towards resolving the current crisis. An All-Party Government or a programme is vital,” Dr. de Silva noted. “I was in charge of a committee of the opposition MPs to prepare a program to revive the economy. It is the first time the opposition has come out with such a program to revive the economy.” he said.
“I propose to set up an economic revival office in Parliament by amending standing orders and those in Opposition should be given a role in it.
Therefore, the role of the Opposition in a multi-party arrangement should not be just holding positions in Parliament Committees,” Dr. de Silva added.
“We warned so many times at the beginning of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa Government. I said this plan is wrong. Nobody can deny it. Some people requested me not to use the word IMF for political reasons,” Dr. de Silva noted.
“A Government that has no confidence cannot implement major economic reforms. I hope this information is wrong, but I have got to know that the Government is considering continuing with the Emergency Regulations during the period where the major economic reforms are carried out. This means, if people are not ready to accept the reforms, are you going to implement them by force using the Emergency Regulations? Do you think that you can implement economic reforms by forcing or terrorizing people?,” Dr. de Silva questioned.
“There needs to be a plan to make Sri Lanka a centre which brings Indo/pacific regions together. Even President Ranil Wickremesinghe stressed the need for such a programme and for a social market economy. Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa agreed for such a programme when he was a minister during the Yahapalana Government. Yet we could not implement it, as those in the Government today would not allow it when they were in the Opposition. I agree with what President Wickremesinghe said in his recent policy statement in Parliament.”
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