Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa used his April 8 parliamentary response to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to call for a renegotiation of Sri Lanka’s IMF agreement, arguing that the country “could not repay its debts by shrinking the economy.”
Speaking during the adjournment debate on the country’s economic situation, Premadasa said the government had previously promised to revise the IMF programme but failed to deliver on it. He pressed for a production-led recovery rather than continued austerity, warning that proposed new tax measures would further burden households already squeezed by the cost-of-living surge.
The Samagi Jana Balawegaya leader described the Rs. 100 billion concessional relief package unveiled by President Dissanayake on April 7 as inadequate, saying approximately 2.5 million people had been excluded from sufficient support and that gas consumers in particular had been left out altogether. He accused the administration of taking 38 days before responding to the crisis, and said relief was only announced after sustained opposition pressure forced the government’s hand.
Premadasa also said this was “the first time in history” that electricity generation had fallen so sharply, attributing the shortfall to poor-quality imported coal — an allegation that aligns with the Auditor General’s COPE-requested report on Lakvijaya procurement irregularities tabled the previous day. He claimed urea, MOP and TSP fertilisers remained in shortage despite official denials, raising the prospect of disrupted Yala season planting for paddy farmers.
The parliamentary session, scheduled from 11am to 5:30pm, was convened by the Speaker following a Committee on Parliamentary Business decision and forms part of the run-up to the no-confidence motion against Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody on April 10.
