Finance State Minister Dr. Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said that the “Economic Transformation Act” which will prevent Sri Lanka from becoming a bankrupt country again will be debated in Parliament today (25).
Siyambalapitiya said that this act is a policy decision with the primary goal of achieving debt sustainability in Sri Lanka, and it can be called an Act with a very strict financial discipline and a roadmap for economic growth with a programme to achieve it.
Commenting on the basic matters expected from the new Act, he also mentioned that this Act is mainly focused on three things.
This aims to establish government debt sustainability in three main areas.
Sri Lanka currently has an external debt burden of 128 percent as a percentage of GDP. It is targeted to reduce to 95 percent level. Currently, the government’s foreign debt as a percentage of GDP is 9.4 percent. It is targeted to reduce to 4.5 percent.
It is also targeted to grow the total gross domestic product by more than 5 percent year on year. Aims to reduce unemployment and increase women’s labor contribution to economic development. The Act aims to increase the female workforce contribution to 25 percent by 2025, 40 percent in 2030 and 50 percent in 2040.
The Economic Transformation Act aims to overcome two challenges that Sri Lanka has been facing for some time. These goals are to reduce the high budget gap and reduce the foreign trade deficit. To overcome this, export earnings should be increased. Foreign direct income should be increased, he added.