State Minister of Technology Kanaka Herath has extended his support for President Ranil Wickremesinghe in the upcoming Presidential Election.
Issuing a statement, State Minister Kanaka Herath expressed confidence that a nation with a forward-thinking leader such as President Wickremesinghe can be transferred in less than 10 years.
He went on to note that at a time when the country was facing economic and constitutional crises, only President Wickremesinghe stepped up, accepting the massive challenge of restoring democracy and securing the lives of everyone in the country.
“As politicians, we must stand with our people and give the right guidance and leadership to the country. In 2005, we worked hard to bring Mahinda Rajapakse to power, where we foresaw the need for a leader who took a stance to finish the war. Similarly, I see the need to continue the good work we as the country have put in during the past two years. The benefits of the sacrifices we made as a country need to be reaped by all citizens,” he said.
State Minister Kanaka Herath further said President Ranil Wickramasinghe gave hope to a hopeless country, and in just two years, Sri Lanka was back on track. “Simply because of these reasons, I have come forward to support President Ranil Wickramasinghe in this upcoming election,” he added.
The full statement of State Minister of Technology Kanaka Herath;
In 2022, following months of escalating protests, Sri Lanka faced its worst economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948. The people of the country endured 12-13 hour power cuts and long queues for petrol and other essentials.
The economy had completely crashed, and the general public was distressed. Their anger reached a boiling point, whilst the country descended into lawlessness. Democracy was at stake, and government systems were put at risk.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned, and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was desperately seeking a prime minister to restore order. The so-called heroes who now preach about saving the country and bringing prosperity were nowhere to be found.
Only one man stepped up, accepting the massive challenge of restoring democracy and securing the lives of everyone in the country. In 2023, Sri Lanka achieved a notable turnaround in its primary balance, recording a surplus of 0.6% of GDP, compared to a deficit of 3.7% in 2022. Government revenue is forecasted to increase from 8.2% of GDP in 2022 to 15.0% by 2025. This increase has been enabled by a broad-based rise in revenue from direct and indirect taxes, despite the significant hardships it imposed on individuals and businesses. After years of failure, finally, digitization is on track with Digiecon 2030, a 7-year plan for digitization.
As politicians, we must stand with our people and give the right guidance and leadership to the country. In 2005, we worked hard to bring Mahinda Rajapakse to power, where we foresaw the need for a leader who took a stance to finish the war. Similarly, I see the need to continue the good work we as the country have put in during the past two years. The benefits of the sacrifices we made as a country need to be reaped by all citizens. Now we have moved out of subsidy culture, and institutions such as CEB, Sri Lankan, CPC, etc, are running on their own.
We have a lot more reforms to be done, and as the place where we create the laws, we have passed almost 100 acts during the past two years. As parliamentarians, we are extremely happy to be a part of these legislative changes as a country’s change should start with legislative reforms and modernization.
This was all a possibility because of His Excellency Ranil Wickramasinghe’s Vision. He gave hope to a hopeless country, and in just two years, we are back on track. Simply because of these reasons, I have come forward to support President Ranil Wickramasinghe in this upcoming election. I am sure a nation with a forward-thinking leader such as our president can be transferred in less than 10 years, and we should all get together to make this change happen.
