• NPP Col. District Parliamentary candidate Chathuranga Abeysinghe explained that ‘sources of increasing revenue include widening the tax net & collecting VAT, & improving the Excise Dept./Customs, while reducing wasteful expenditure, & major procurements being done through transparent, open bidding processes’

In a context where national policies in Sri Lanka have often been ignored, when it comes to building the country, establishing effective national policies and also a system that ensures adherence to these policies regardless of Government changes is crucial. This was noted by National People’s Power (NPP) General/Parliamentary Election Colombo District candidate Chathuranga Abeysinghe, who pointed out the importance of stakeholder involvement in establishing national policies. He made these remarks during an interview with The Daily Morning.

Following are excerpts from the interview:

Colombo is a diverse and complex area to represent in the Parliament. Why did you pick Colombo for your candidacy, and what will be your key focus areas?

I have lived most of my life in Colombo. I studied at Nalanda College and at Sri Jayewardenepura University. My place of work is also in Colombo. So, my life has been based in Colombo for the last 25 years, which made it a natural selection to contest from Colombo. 

Yes, Colombo is a complex and diverse District, both economically and socially. When you think about Colombo’s economic contribution, there are the good and the bad. It is the highest contributor to the gross domestic product. However, we also see that Colombo has major issues related to poverty, unemployment, urbanisation, and drug abuse. There are issues about transportation, environmental and air pollution in relation to Colombo. So, Colombo has the potential to be a great and sustainable city, if these gaps are filled and the people are taken care of. Colombo has not been developed according to an urbanisation plan, and development has not been citizen centric. There are many unresolved issues about living conditions and environmental issues, which impact each year. The Colombo District has also not been integrated into the other districts in terms of development to make it a sustainable growth space. There is a need for a national plan to redistribute economic activities out of Colombo and ensure that the city has an efficient transport network. There is much to be done related to urban development and design. There are many who are deprived of education and health, and proper living standards, and those should be priorities for any candidate from Colombo. 

Colombo has widespread poverty, and many issues related to planned and unplanned urbanisation, congestion, etc. If elected as a representative of Colombo, how do you plan to address these issues?

For urban planning, we (NPP) believe that the need for a scientific city planning process for Sri Lanka is a foregone conclusion. There are good plans which were developed by experts, and we need to look at them and agree on what to proceed with. National planning for the entire city of Colombo and for some commercial centres like Battaramulla, Kottawa and industrial areas like Avissawella and Homagama, needs to be revisited, and its efficiency assessed. Areas like Kollonawa, Kotte and Kompannavidiya where living space is now an issue, we need to assess and bring in citizen centric urbanisation while ensuring that the impact on the environment is low, and that the cultural aspects of the local communities are not disturbed. Currently, there are serious issues with the Urban Development Authority taking decisions contrary to what it should be. The housing and development process is one place that the NPP will start with. When it comes to poverty alleviation, there is a need for education and entrepreneurship. We need to provide opportunity and employment options for the youth in Colombo. We (NPP) will bring a very strong education transformation from pre-school and the introduction of up-skilling programmes. We do have a national plan; we need to localise it to best transform the local situation.

There is a change ongoing in the political culture of Sri Lanka. The public are seeking qualified young individuals with integrity and experience to become law makers. Why should your constituents pick you among many others to cast their vote for? What do you bring to the table to represent them?

Firstly, why Colombo should choose me is because I am a member of the NPP. We are an organisation with plans, strategies and are organised, and are collectively accountable. We do our politics based on policies and principles. That is our strongest selling point. Individually, NPP candidates bring honesty, integrity, and the ability to sacrifice and work together to the table. Each of our candidates also brings many individual traits and specialisations to the table. On my part, I have financial and digital skills and experience which have been practised in a corporate environment for more than 16 years. My passion for education and technology will be the drivers for my contribution. My academic and professional experience, alongside my passion for social justice will help me do good for the society as part of the NPP Government. 

Colombo has a myriad of roads, sewage networks and waterways which have fallen into neglect. There are concerns about high-density housing which are fire hazards, and about the construction standards of such structures. What will you and your Party do to address such concerns?

I think that we need to understand as citizens that Sri Lanka does have the required standards. The Sri Lankan authorities have brought in global knowledge and global standards to ensure the safety of citizens, and also the safety of customers when it comes to buildings or structures or any development project. The unfortunate fact is that all these environmental and safety measures have been neglected through a process of bribery and corruption. That is what we will first put a stop to, and then, we need to relook at the current structures and run an audit on risk mitigation. There are enough resources in the Government as well as outside to conduct a current status audit, especially starting from public places including schools. The safety of the children is compromised, and even in State institutions, electric switches have not been upgraded for about 40 years now. I think that an initial audit and current status assessment is what we would initially do. Then, if it is a private organisation, we would pass it on to the owners of that structure. But, if it is a State organisation, we need to ensure that we utilise our tax money in an effective manner, prioritising risks as the foremost need and then spending on other improvements.

Sri Lanka is in a difficult and transitional period. If elected as a law maker, will you work to form a policy consensus to further national interests to achieve economic stability and growth, and improve good governance?

The reason we joined the NPP was because of this particular reason, as the NPP is the only party that always brought in national policies to election platforms. Since 2019, those policies have been crafted and improved to date. But, those are not national policies yet. We will invite the relevant stakeholders within the next six months for them to be part of this policy formulation process and to sign off on a common, agreed agenda for the country. That is why we say that the country will be developed based on a national blueprint or a national plan, where the roles of the Government and the private sector will be clear to everyone. A high-level NPP policy book also gives the direction as to where we want to go, but, there is always room for experts and people with other diverse opinions to come and make the best plan for the country. That plan will continue regardless of the Government that comes to power after another few years.

What is your view of the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, and the repeal of legislative provisions pertaining to the Executive Presidency and statutes such as the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act as amended (PTA)?

On the 13th Amendment, our party's stance has been very clear. We don’t see the 13th Amendment as the solution to the problems in the North and the East. However, the Northern and Eastern citizens do believe that the current Provincial Council (PC) system is some sort of a solution. Therefore, we will hold on to the current structure until we come up with a new Constitution that talks about the best solution going forward for the country. So, our intention is to bring a new Constitution to resolve the issues that we have had historically. But, we will not be pushing for any furthering of the 13th Amendment within the next few years. In terms of the Executive Presidency, we are a Party that does not believe in the Executive Presidential system in Sri Lanka. That is not because the Executive Presidential system is bad, but because there is a probability that it can be misused in a country like Sri Lanka, where democracy is not so strong. What we want to do is to do away with the Executive Presidency and move to a Parliamentary system through the next Constitution, and such change also warrants change in the PC system, the powers vested with the President, and also in the election system. The PTA has historically been used to threaten people who are against the rulers. We are very clear that such law has to be repealed and requires changes. Changes may be required to prevent terrorism in a proper manner, but, this particular law needs to be repealed as we have said in our manifesto.

Anti-corruption and the need to address loss-making State-owned enterprises (SOEs) have been frontline issues over the last three years. Do you subscribe to the International Monetary Fund – Sri Lanka agreement on the SOE reforms and introducing anti-corruption and transparency-related measures into the law? If not, what approach will you take, and what risks would be involved?

I think that all SOEs and even departments need to go through reforms and a restructuring process. There is no doubt about it. Inefficiencies and corruption have led to the failure of services, the deterioration of public wealth, and have also made some institutions loss-making ones. Among the reforms that have been initiated by the previous Government, there are good ones which we will continue. But, apart from that, mostly, what we will do is ensure that the rules of the institutions and proper disciplines are executed, and that the people who have violated them are held accountable through an audit process. Going forward, there are strong financial and operational disciplinary processes, which we already have and which we can improve. We will also bring in technology for transparency. All these institutions, not only SOEs, but even government departments, will have to go through a digital transformation that will ensure that going forward, corruption is not a possibility.

What is your policy stance on improving education, public transportation and health services, including mental health for Sri Lankans in general, and in particular for your constituents in Colombo?

In terms of health, the identified issues are very much covered in our health policy. Primary healthcare is the biggest problem that we are having now. Sri Lanka has lost the primary healthcare process and structures, and therefore, our foremost priority will be to establish primary healthcare so that every family has access to a responsible medical professional. Secondly, we will look at food safety and other health-related activities like sports and leisure. Those things will be looked into through the health policy to ensure that we have a process of continuing to keep a healthier population in terms of food patterns, and being active citizens. Apart from that, on the health side, the other big issue that we need to address is the non-communicable diseases (NCD). NCDs have been a widespread issue because of the lack of knowledge, and also the lack of continuous follow-up processes. So, at the national level, we will work on NCDs with a target, because NCDs also add a lot of cost to the Government and reduce the productivity of the entire workforce. So, NCDs will be a key area that the Government will look at, and this is applicable not only to Colombo, but across the island. 

When it comes to mental health issues such as depression and related concerns, Colombo is very prone to them due to stress and the type of lifestyle that people are having. To add to that, drugs have become a bigger issue in Colombo. So, there are various things that we need to address from multiple angles in order to improve mental health. In addition, the provision of easily accessible facilities for the people to get help in terms of personal and mental issues is something that the Government will push for very strongly. We do have a comprehensive healthcare policy that can mitigate these problems across the island. But, when it comes to Colombo, we will have to pay more attention to the areas where the problems are severe.

You represent the NPP, which has advocated new relief measures such as public sector pay increments and tax relief. If such is implemented, State revenue needs to increase substantially, or cuts need to be made elsewhere. Where will a Government led by your party find the funds to carry out such promises? What areas of State expenditure do you plan to trim to finance the programmes that you plan to enact?

We will have to find a balance either through revenue increases or expenditure cuts to the tune of about Rs. 150 to 200 billion a year. That is very much a calculated proposal that we have put in the manifesto. So, currently, we are looking at sources through which we can increase revenue, especially in terms of widening the tax net and the collection of value added tax (VAT) as an additional income source. Secondly, the improvement of the Excise Department and the Customs also can give us a certain portion of additional revenue. But, apart from that, there are various wasteful expenditures that have taken place historically, starting from the Ministerial portfolio maintenance to rent that you pay for government offices, which are huge. 

Other issues that we are seeing today include some of the major procurements for the military, the education sector, and the healthcare sector, which have not been done through transparent, open bidding processes. So, there seems to be 5-10% savings in each of these procurements as well. I think that we need to have a way to ensure that the promises that we made to the public when obtaining power, and expenditure reduction will work from top to bottom. We will see all these reductions and changes in the upcoming Budget for 2025.