More than quarter of Budget 2018 completed: Eran

• Says 27.6% of Budget 2018 completed, 64.2% in progress and only 8.2% stalled 
• Insists implementation will be higher for Budget 2019
• Wants public to understand time consuming nature of proposals, only 20 proposals not started at all  

By Ashwin Hemmathagama – Our Lobby Correspondent

State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne yesterday said implementation of Budget 2018 has shown marked progress noting that 27.6% of its proposals have been completed, 64.2% in progress and only 8.2% stalled, insisting plans are underway to strengthen the implementation system to improve outcomes for Budget 2019. 

Speaking in Parliament, the State Minister said implementation of Budgets had improved over the last year and called on the public to understand the time-consuming nature of Budget proposals. 

“We are strengthening the implementation process to yield better results this year. Out of the Budget proposals moved in 2018, we have completed 67 in full. There are 156 programs currently getting completed and there are only 20 proposals which we have not started at all. You need to understand that certain programs take time to complete,” he told Parliament. 

According to the State Minister, the Budget 2019 has taken keen interest to encourage small and medium scale entrepreneurs to expand their business and have also invited the females to take employment or start a business with the help of the Government.

Addressing the Parliament yesterday, Wickramaratne said: “Enterprise Sri Lanka is a program that strengthens entrepreneurs, which is less than 3% and 230,000 out of the working class. In Vietnam, this is over 19%, Bangladesh it is 11%, in China it is around 7%. We need to increase the number of entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka. We need to make room for small entrepreneurs which is the backbone of the economy. There can be issues in the Enterprise Sri Lanka but it is a long term program that has already provided 34,476 loans. 

“As for the small entrepreneurs, we have proposed to give 10% of the government procurements. National Credit Guarantee Institution will help them to get guarantees to obtain loans from banks. The female entrepreneurs will have interest benefits for their borrowings. We are removing barriers preventing the female from taking employment.”

The Gamperaliya Scheme was launched in June 2018, to address critical gaps in infrastructure needs that have thus far, prevented villages and cities from becoming the growth centres that they have the potential to be. This initiative was one of the first victims of the 52-day Constitutional crisis to be stopped by the illegal Cabinet.

Gamperaliya happens to be a key project of the Unity Government aimed at rural development. “We have the Gamperaliya program that strengthens the village economy by repairing the roads, tanks, and many other infrastructure developments. We are to provide electricity to all the houses in this country. This is not a dream. About 27% of our Sri Lankans are farmers but their contribution to the GDP is 9%. We have gone beyond the fertiliser subsidy and have allocated money for diverse irrigation projects. Last year, we constructed large warehouses and storages. Taking another step forward, we have proposed cold storages. The first is under construction in Dambulla. The private sector importing freezers trucks are encouraged,” he added.

The State Minister touching upon the dame to the country’s economy due to the Constitutional crisis said: “We were to bring this Budget on 5 November due to the Constitutional crisis. Passing a vote on account we had to move the Budget on 5 March. We have to assess the damage to the macro economy. Moodys reduced our ration from B1 to B2, S&P as well as the Fitch reduced our ratings from B+ to B. With a country rating coming down, the particular country will have to face high interest rates for borrowings. 

“Immediately after the Constitutional crisis, the International Sovereign Bonds basis point went up by 173 which is 1.73%. The foreign investments went out. This was a period the US dollar was getting stronger in many parts of the world and the rupee fell back. The rupee depreciation for this year is 16.36%. But during the crisis, the rupee has gone down specifically by 7.58%. The foreign currency balance we had come down by $ 1 billion.”

“Many ask me the question if we have done any assessment of the economy from the damaged happened from the Constitutional crisis. Actually, this is not an easy task to assess. Economic damage cannot be assessed. Decisions were made and the tourists will go for the next years despite ratings of the Lonely Planet, the investors will go to other parts of the world, and the local businessmen will suspend their expansions and investment decisions. This who are seated in the Opposition are responsible for this. The Budget Mangala moved is an amazing task. All were wondering how he managed to address all sectors in a difficult time,” he added.

“So, the basis of this Budget is to continue with financial discipline. The Budget deficit which was at 7.7% has come down to 5.3% by us. At the time this Budget is presented in the Parliament, we expect to maintain the Budget deficit at 4.5%. For the first time after 1954, we have reported a positive primary account. Last year this went up to 0.6%. This year, we are planning to take it up to 1.45 of the GDP. All this is possible for the financial discipline,” he explained.