Namal launches his election manifesto
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Presidential Candidate MP Namal Rajapaksa’s manifesto on the theme ‘A developed country for you’ was unveiled yesterday (02) at a special ceremony in Colombo.
The manifesto is titled ‘Namal Dekma’ (Namal’s Vision).
The election manifesto was launched in the presence of former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, together with former Ministers Chamal Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa and Johnston Fernando, and Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.
Following are some of the key areas mentioned in Namal Rajapaksa’s manifesto:
Lower the tax burden – Value Added Tax (VAT) and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) levied on people will be progressively revised. It will immediately correct the defects in the Customs, Income Tax and Excise Departments to generate the expected government revenue.
Samurdhi relief – Steps will be taken to continuously provide sufficient subsidy amounts to provide food for three meals to the people who earn low daily wages and who don’t have a fixed income.
A prosperous youth – Information Technology zones will be established to cover every Divisional Secretariat to provide young men and women with the knowledge and training needed for jobs available in the international market in the field of information and communication technology that can be done in Sri Lanka. Taxes imposed on internet facilities essential for those jobs will be revised immediately.
Expedited foreign investment – Special investment facilities will be provided to obtain essential foreign exchange. Under this scheme, a special visa system will be introduced for investors bringing investments of more than US$ 250,000 million.
A tourism boom that brings in US Dollars – A special tourism promotion project will be launched with the priority to attract tourists to increase the foreign exchange income which is essential presently for economic stabilisation.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) target – In the next decade, the SLPP’s target is a GDP exceeding US$ 180 billion. Accordingly, by 2035, the GDP per capita will cross the US$ 8,000 mark. In the next 10 years, the contribution of the agriculture and livestock industry sector at 10 percent, the contribution of the manufacturing industry sector at 25 percent, and the contribution of the service sector at 65 percent will be maintained.
A debt repaying economy – The SLPP’s goal is to gradually reduce public debt to 80 percent of GDP by building an economy capable of repaying all forms of debt as quickly as possible.
A stable value for the Sri Lankan Rupee – It is the SLPP’s policy to maintain a stable value of the rupee against the dollar through the growth of Gross Domestic Product, trade balance and budget deficit management.
Solution to unemployment – To create jobs in sectors that will be in high demand in the next decade such as health, construction, education and training, software engineering, data analytics, cyber security, e-commerce, product design and digital marketing. Priority will also be given to provide tax relief and investment facilities for the companies.
Inflation and interest rates in single digits – The economic growth rate will be maintained at an average level of nearly 7 percent and a strategic plan will be implemented to reduce the increase in the cost of living. The goal is to maintain interest rates at a single value through budget deficit management and growth in GDP.
Some of the other key factors stated in the SLPP Presidential Candidate’s manifesto include e-governance which is the easiest and fastest way to implement various interrelated sectors by installing them on electronic systems providing facilities for real-time information exchange between government institutions in digital mode, re-develop state enterprises without selling them, respect for the Armed Forces and Police, a special programme for retired state employees, modernisation of the financial sector, shaping the creative economy, taking Sri Lankan art to the cultural world, modernise transportation services and provide necessary capital and other facilities for the development of local entrepreneurs.
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