Foreign exchange wasted on luxury vehicle imports; Frontline Socialist Party

11-Nov-2025

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The government has pushed Sri Lanka’s economy into a severe crisis by squandering foreign exchange earned through workers’ labour on the import of luxury vehicles, said Pubudu Jayagoda, Education Secretary of the Frontline Socialist Party.

He made these remarks at a press briefing held in Colombo on November 11.

He further stated:

Although export income increased by 7.3 percent, import expenditure rose even more sharply by 12.2 percent. As a result, the country’s trade balance has deteriorated, with the trade deficit widening to 1.2 billion dollars.

Despite warnings that lifting restrictions on vehicle imports would plunge the economy into a deeper crisis, the government ignored such concerns.

Garment workers and tea plantation workers together earned an additional 700 million dollars compared to last year. Yet nearly twice that amount has been spent on importing luxury vehicles.

Even as the President continues to claim there is no crisis in the country, the government has imposed heavy taxes on essential items such as lentils, onions, soap, and schoolbooks for children. In stark contrast, significant tax concessions have been granted to property owners and large corporations.

In the past eight months, only 84 million dollars have been added to Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange reserves. It is impossible to earn 953 million dollars in the remaining four months. This is the fundamental crisis facing the country. Meanwhile, 700 million rupees have been spent from state funds for the Kotelawala Private University.

Sri Lanka is among the three countries in the world that spend the least on education. The only countries that spend less than Sri Lanka are Haiti and Laos. If this situation continues, Sri Lanka will soon set a world record for the lowest education expenditure. This will have serious social consequences, he warned.