Joint Opposition lawmaker Dr. Bandula Gunawardena yesterday warned of dire consequences unless the candidate fielded by a coalition led by the UNP at the 2019 presidential election was defeated to pave the way for a Gotabaya Rajapaksa presidency.
Former Education Minister Dr. Gunawardena alleged that the current dispensation had failed the country on the two most vital fronts, national security and economy. Security lapses that led to the Easter Sunday attacks proved beyond any doubt the country couldn’t under any circumstances depend on the UNP to guarantee security, MP Gunawardena told media at the Opposition Leader’s Office.
Colombo District MP dealt with problems confronting the economy in the run-up to the Dec 2019 presidential polls. Asserting that the economy would further deteriorate rapidly during the next three months, Gunawardena said that the continuing depreciation of the rupee vis-a-vis the USD reflected a volatile situation.
Gunawardena pointed out that the rupee had depreciated by only Rs 26 to the dollar from 2005 Nov – 2014 Dec during the Rajapaksa presidency. "When the electorate voted us out in 2015 January, rupee stood at Rs 131 against USD. Last week, USD fetched Rs 181.53. Next three years are going to be crucial."
Gunawardena alleged that the State Finance Minister Eran Wickremaratne, last week, had in parliament dodged his query on the amount of foreign reserves spent in a bid to save the local currency.
Gunawardena said that unprecedented depreciation of the rupee since the change of government had increased the national debt by a staggering Rs 1,760 bn. The JO’s economic expert compared the increase in national debt with Rs 300 bn spent on eight major projects undertaken by the previous Rajapaksa administration.
Responding to a spate of media queries, MP Gunawardena said that the next administration under the presidency of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and premiership of Mahinda Rajapaksa would undertake the daunting task of rebuilding the economy ruined by incompetent current political leadership.
MP Gunawardena dismissed Premier Wickremesinghe’s repeated claims that the UNP had revived an economy ruined by the Rajapaksa administration.
When The Island Gunawardena whether those who had been at the helm of the previous administration had cared to inquire into waste, corruption and irregularities under their watch before seeking public office again, he defended the previous administration. The Island cited the ruination of the national carrier under the Rajapaksa watch as a glaring example of corruption. Dr. Gunawardena said that those responsible should answer the accusations.
MP Gunawardena said that they were now contemplating tougher laws to tackle waste, corruption and irregularities.
Dr. Gunawardena admitted that drastic changes were required to rebuild the abused economy.
Claiming that the economy suffered due to issuance of sovereign bonds, Gunawardena said that the previous administration had issued sovereign bonds worth USD 5.5 bn whereas the current dispensation issued sovereign bonds worth USD 10.2 bn. According to Gunawardena, the total debt remained at a staggering Rs. 13 trillion. Of that amount, Rs 6 trillion accumulated during the current dispensation. MP Gunawardena said that by bringing in Gotabaya Rajapaksa they were trying to completely change the system. The MP compared the move to replacing both the horse and its rider simultaneously.
MP Shehan Semasinghe alleged that Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera was busy causing turmoil in the UNP instead of properly handling the economy. He said that Samaraweera always undermined leadership.
