2019-11-18 ➔ 2022-07-14Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)

Gotabaya Rajapaksa Administration

ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ පාලන කාලය (2019–2022) • கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ நிர்வாகம் (2019–2022)

Executive President

Gotabaya Rajapaksa (Resigned July 2022)

Prime Minister(s)

Mahinda Rajapaksa (Resigned May 2022) / Ranil Wickremesinghe (Appointed May 2022)

Finance Minister(s)

Mahinda Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa (July 2021-April 2022), Ali Sabry (April 2022), Ranil Wickremesinghe (May-July 2022)

Avg GDP Growth

-1.6%

Avg Inflation

22.8%

Start Debt/GDP

86.8%

End Debt/GDP

128.1%

Peak Reserves

$7.6B

FX Trajectory

Rs. 360

Major Economic & Governance Policies Enacted

November 2019 Sweeping Tax CutsYear: 2019

Slashed VAT from 15% to 8%, abolished Nation Building Tax (NBT), Economic Service Charge (ESC), withholding tax, and raised PAYE income tax exemption thresholds to Rs. 3M/year.

Documented Impact: Eliminated over 33% of state revenues (~Rs. 500-600B annually), triggering immediate sovereign credit rating downgrades from Fitch, Moody's, and S&P, locking Sri Lanka out of international capital markets.

Chemical Fertiliser & Agrochemical Overnight BanYear: 2021

Cabinet decision banning the import of synthetic chemical fertilisers, pesticides, and weedicides to enforce organic farming.

Documented Impact: Severe collapse in paddy (rice) output (-34%) and tea production, forcing emergency food imports, worsening forex drain, and harming rural incomes.

Artificial Rupee Peg (203 LKR/USD) & CBSL Money PrintingYear: 2021

Held exchange rate artificially fixed at ~203 LKR/USD while printing over Rs. 2.2 Trillion in Treasury bills to finance budget deficits.

Documented Impact: Exhausted Central Bank foreign reserves to defend the peg; diverted worker remittances to the black market; triggered sudden 80% currency depreciation when peg broke in March 2022.

Pre-Emptive Sovereign Debt Standstill AnnouncementYear: 2022

Ministry of Finance officially announced an interim moratorium on all external debt service payments on April 12, 2022.

Documented Impact: Sri Lanka's first sovereign default in post-independence history, entering formal restructuring negotiations.

Documented Achievements

Rapid and effective nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
Digitization initiatives in select public departments.

Documented Criticisms & Policy Failures

Unscientific macroeconomic policy: massive tax cuts, unhedged money printing, and artificial currency peg.
Arbitrary chemical fertilizer ban destroyed agricultural food security.
Delayed IMF engagement by over 18 months despite warnings from independent economists and rating agencies.
Supreme Court historic ruling (SC FR 212/2022) found top officials responsible for mishandling the economy.

Audited Controversies & Judicial Records

⚖ Supreme Court Economic Mismanagement Judgment (SC FR 212/2022, November 2023).

⚖ Sugar Import Special Commodity Levy Reduction Scam (audited Rs. 16B revenue loss).

⚖ Qingdao Seawin Chinese Organic Fertilizer shipment controversy ($6.9M LC payment for rejected stock).