With international lenders shutting their doors, MP Dilith Jayaweera says Sri Lanka’s survival depends on empowering its people to become entrepreneurs, building self-reliance and dignity instead of living off unsustainable loans.
Sarvajana Balaya Leader and MP Dilith Jayaweera has issued a stark warning that there is no one left in the world willing to lend to Sri Lanka, stressing that the country must urgently shift its focus toward building a self-reliant, entrepreneurial population. Speaking at the establishment of a Sarvajana Sabha in the Angammana Division of the Gampola Electorate, Jayaweera declared that Sri Lanka has exhausted its borrowing options and has nothing left to sell except the country itself.
He argued that rather than wasting resources on short-term solutions, the government must create pathways for people to stand on their own strength. Subsidies, he acknowledged, remain necessary for the most underprivileged, but they must be structured to help individuals rise with dignity and long-term independence. He pointed out that empowerment, not dependency, is the only sustainable way forward.
Highlighting the importance of grassroots economic participation, Jayaweera said that a woman who successfully manages her household is, in essence, already an entrepreneur. If this entrepreneurial spirit could be scaled to the national level, he argued, it would provide the foundation for economic recovery. This vision, he explained, is central to the Sarvajana Sabha initiative, which seeks to mobilize communities to embrace self-sufficiency and collective strength.
Jayaweera also reflected on Sri Lanka’s post-independence history, noting that the country has consistently failed to reward those who rose on their own strength. Instead, successive governments fostered dependency, leaving the nation perpetually vulnerable to economic collapse. Unless this cycle is broken, he warned, Sri Lanka will continue to stagnate.
By turning its people into entrepreneurs and fostering a culture of resilience, Jayaweera believes Sri Lanka can rebuild from within. The message is clear: the age of borrowing is over, and the future lies in the entrepreneurial strength of the nation’s people.
