Dilith Jayaweera, the presidential candidate of the ‘Sarvajana Balaya’ alliance, took a swipe at his rivals today, labeling their promises to hike public sector salaries as pure fantasy. Speaking at a press conference, Jayaweera dismantled the feasibility of such proposals, emphasizing that what he offers is a realistic program aimed at genuinely improving the standard of living for government employees.
“The current president said just two months ago that there’s no way to pay salaries, yet now the same government magically finds Rs. 2 billion to increase salaries by 25%. How are we supposed to trust this? It’s an insult to knowledgeable public servants,” Jayaweera remarked with pointed skepticism.
He further questioned the logic behind proposals from other candidates, particularly Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s plan to increase salaries every six months. “Where’s the money going to come from? These promises are just empty words,” Jayaweera criticized.
Instead of empty pledges, Jayaweera proposed a more pragmatic approach: performance-based incentives for government employees. “We believe in rewarding efficiency. Those who work well should receive more incentives. This is about having a meaningful, intellectual discussion with the public sector, not just throwing around impossible promises,” he explained.
Jayaweera concluded with a bit of sarcasm, suggesting that even an A-level student with a basic understanding of Sri Lanka’s economy would know better than to believe the impractical promises made by his opponents. “These promises? They’re not worth the paper they’re printed on,” he quipped, advocating for a more grounded approach to public service reform.
