President AKD’s speech inspires power sector reforms

INhis compelling speech to Parliament ast Thursday, President AKD emphasised repeatedly that there isa deliberate and coordinated disinformation campaign aimed at undermining every major nitiative his Government undertakes and belittling the progress made soar.

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The writer believes that most ofthis ctticism originates from the Opposition anda core group fundamentally opposed to any efforts by the NPP Government to improve Sri Lanka.

Given this realty its often futile to engage directly with their flawed arguments. Instead, a more productive approach iso objectively analyse these projects and suggest improvements where gaps exist. Although the President did not explicitly mention power sector reforms, the essence of his remarks clearly reflected how his Government operates and the economic development path it pursues.

Addressing flawed economic criticisms

Itis useful to unpack some of the President's comments on the misguided criticisms ofthe economy by certain disgruntled groups, which have been proven wrong:

The claim that US tariffs ‘would never be reduced and that Sri Lanka was’sleeping’ while countries like India were working hard

The assertion that the IMF's third tranche would not be disbursed due to dissatisfaction with the lack of cost-reflective pricing in the electricity sector

The claim that economic growth has slowed, despite projections near 5% growth this year anda first-quarter achievement of 4.8%

The allegation that there is no Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), while in reality, $507 million in FDI was recorded in the first six months of this year compared to $ 255 million last year, with $ 1—1.5 billion expected through the BOl and $ 1.313 billion for the Port City project. Foreign reserves are also projected to consolidate at $7 billion by year-end

WThe criticism earlier this year, when vehicle imports resumed after five years, that the Government's tax revenue target of $ 1.5 billion would never be met. Yet, Letters of Credit (LCs) worth $ 1.3 billion have already been opened, with the target expected to be reached by year-end