• Confident that voters will make last-minute decision
• Will introduce a ‘fresh team’ for Parliamentary Polls based on people’s mandate
• None of the candidates have a strategic plan; other contender manifestos are archaic policy documents
• Digitalisation, targeted welfare programmes and empowerment needed

Sarvajana Balaya presidential candidate, entrepreneur-turned-politician Dilith Jayaweera last week said that only he had a comprehensive National Strategic Plan drafted with public consultation that could deliver the change the people of Sri Lanka demand at the Presidential Elections.

In an interview with The Sunday Morning, Jayaweera said that nearly 40% of the voters were yet to make up their minds about who they would entrust with governance of the island nation, adding that if elected, he would field a ‘fresh team’ at the upcoming General Election to create a government that would enact the policies of the Strategic Plan he had put forward. 

Jayaweera stressed on the need to completely digitise Sri Lanka’s governance, services, and trade sectors to ensure a more efficient, fiscally disciplined, and corruption-free Sri Lanka. He also warned of the risk of “irreversible mistakes” Sri Lanka would make if certain political parties, which operated on “a culture driven by malice and dark human emotions,” came to power.

Following are excerpts from the interview:

How would you describe the 2024 Presidential Election and the campaigns of the key contenders?

The 2024 Presidential Election is a pivotal one for Sri Lanka. As for the other candidates, they have put forward archaic policy documents which they call their manifestos. It is disappointing that the other candidates have not even taken the trouble to draft a strategic plan, a detailed plan like the National Strategic Plan that I have put forward, through which I explain to the people the change which I promise to bring.

The Strategic Plan I have drafted came through broad stakeholder consultations. Our National Strategic Plan was drafted with public consultation. None of the others, even the key contenders, have presented such a plan; they have tinkered with old policies and come up with manifestos, which shows that they have no centrally-driven strategy. What Sri Lanka needs is a clear and consistent strategy as the way forward and I don’t see other candidates bringing that to the table.

None of the other candidates explain through their manifestos how they plan to make the change they envisage. That is why our Strategic Plan is fundamentally different from what others are doing; it shows the way and explains how we will make a paradigm shift in Sri Lanka. If you look at our plan, be it in terms of education, health, or agriculture, we are proposing a paradigm shift, a change for a better life, and our plans are practical, they are not mere theoretical possibilities.

How confident are you of your campaign for the elections as we enter the last few days of the campaign?

I believe that the Sri Lankan people are mentally ready to accept that there should be significant change in how we govern, in our political culture. There is a thirst for change. In that context I believe that there will be a last-minute reaction, when the voter is in the line to the ballot box; then they will do the right thing, they will do the right thing by their children, by the future generations that are yet to be born, who deserve a better, happier, and stronger Sri Lanka. Therefore, I believe that those who do the right thing will boldly mark a cross in front of the ‘star’ sign.

Do you think the people have been encouraged by the campaigns to come out and vote on election day? Do you think they have, by now, decided on whom to vote for?

Yes, there is a lot of enthusiasm to vote this time. I think many will make up their minds closer to the election. I think 40% of voters have yet to decide whom to vote for. My reading is that current predictions can change.  

How do you plan to improve State revenue in the next five years and maintain State fiscal discipline, which Sri Lanka needs?

Fiscal discipline is a key focus. This is why it is central to our Strategic Plan that we carry out a complete digitalisation of our State apparatus and State services. Without such a comprehensive conversion, you can’t expect to roll out the change we plan to bring about.

Digitisation is a fundamental tool to ensure fiscal discipline, improve revenue collection, and root out corruption. We will start by introducing a unique ID for every citizen and digitise every activity of this nation, including trade. We need to completely digitalise our economy. Once the entire system of our country is digitalised, State revenue collection and compliance will become much easier and corruption almost non-existent.

If I become president, I plan to enact the full digitisation of Sri Lanka within a period of six months. It will change the way we govern and regulate and change the way people access services. It will improve compliance.

Do you have a competent team to enact your Strategic Plan given all the ongoing campaign talk about who has the ‘best team’?

On the current political stage, the ‘best team’ means that that team has been in politics for a long time and they have been ‘sufficiently’ corrupt. What have the so-called ‘best teams’ that the other candidates talk about done for the country? Can they say this team has done X, Y, and Z for the nation?  

We will bring in a fresh team, who will be the best in their professions. When the General Elections come and a new Parliament is picked by the people, we will field the team and form a government.

Your political trajectory is not only aimed at the Presidential Election?

Certainly not. It’s a long-term plan. We have plans for long-term change and policy consistency, which will take Sri Lanka to a better standing, an economically robust Sri Lanka, a happy Sri Lanka.  

You have warned of “irreversible mistakes” if wrong decisions are made. Whom exactly do you refer to in this? Who made the wrong decisions?

I have concerns about the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) coming to power, not that I have anything personally against it individually. But the JVP’s fundamental thinking, and what it has been promoting over the years, especially for historical reasons, and the culture it has been promoting, are destructive.

The culture that it promotes is driven by malice and all the dark human emotions, which is not the kind of thinking we can have in governance. That kind of corrosive and hate-driven culture will not help Sri Lanka move forward.

You have also spoken of a black economy in Sri Lanka that is larger than the actual economy. Why do you think successive governments have failed to address it and how will you address it?

Governments thus far have been part of the culture of corruption. Politicians have been part of the culture of corruption; they have enabled it at varied levels. Those in power have benefited from it.

We will address it by making fundamental changes to how governance is carried out and the economy runs, by first digitising the entire processes and services involved. With the introduction of ‘smart governance’ and of course the appointment of people with credibility and ethics to key regulatory and management positions, corruption will become extremely difficult.

There is a need to update some of the laws alongside digitisation to make the process more effective and stamp out corruption. However, we already have multiple laws to combat corruption. The problem is implementation – compliance. We need to build up procedures and strengthen the systems which will improve implementation and compliance.

Lastly, but most importantly, a government under my leadership will bring the needed political will to enforce the laws and regulations to stamp out corruption.

Your presidential campaign took a change of direction when you entered an alliance with a group of nationalist politicians. People have questioned why you decided to ally with such a group. 

Perception wise I guess there will be a small impact. However, the decision came due to advice I received that our campaign would need some politically experienced hands behind it. They were the politicians who were closer to our beliefs in terms of their core beliefs of nationalism.

When you move to introduce the ‘fresh team’ for the next Parliament, will it include these allied politicians or not?

That is up to the people of Sri Lanka. It will depend on the choice of the people.

What are the key welfare programmes you plan to enact, strengthening the social safety net as many Sri Lankans have been pushed below the poverty line? How will you find funding for such programmes?

By empowering the people, including the less fortunate and vulnerable communities, through programmes we have planned, such as ‘Hithe Haiya’ (willpower) which will add value and bring in more revenue to such communities. Meanwhile, it will improve GDP and increase productivity.

Also, we plan to move towards targeted welfare programmes. The legacy systems and the current ones have a lot of leakage and waste. We must give relief to the people who deserve it.

How will you manage Sri Lanka’s foreign policy and national security policy if elected?

According to our detailed Strategic Plan, a government under my leadership will follow a multi-aligned foreign policy based on national interest. It will function according to the strategic objectives Sri Lanka wishes to achieve. 

The national security policy of Sri Lanka will go in line with the foreign policy. Sri Lanka has not had a proper national security policy before. We have a national defence policy.

PHOTOS KRISHAN KARIYAWASAM