Policy
The United Centenary Front is committed to building a Sri Lanka that is fair, just and prosperous. To achieve this will require a commitment to sensible, long-term, people-centric policies with ambitious goals. With this policy statement, we intend to begin a dialogue and discussion with the people and together shape the first manifesto of the ‘United Centenary Front’.
- Provide direct financial and nutrition assistance to families in distress until the economy recovers. Use technology and strong oversight to eliminate corruption and waste, and ensure that funds are directed only to those who are most in need.
- Invest in and enable community organisations and not-for-profit organisations to deliver welfare services and assistance to families that are vulnerable or in distress.
- Resolve the supply side issues in areas such as fuel, fertiliser and animal feed, which have constrained production and driven up prices.
- Mandatory asset declarations and regular audits for politicians and senior government officials, with strict penalties for corrupt practices.
- Political interference with law enforcement to be made an offence.
- Electoral reforms to increase MPs’ accountability to their electorate, reduce the amount of money needed to campaign and make campaign finances transparent.
- Independent, credible investigation and prosecution of past instances of corruption. Establish an independent public prosecutor.
- Restore government finances by eliminating waste and corruption in government expenditure and widening the tax base.
- Restructure our foreign debt, regain Sri Lanka’s access to the global capital markets, and strive to stabilise the exchange rate and bring down inflation and interest rates.
- Devise and implement a long-term national economic strategy.
- Unshackle private enterprise by streamlining or removing unnecessary regulations and approvals.
- Build stronger and more open trade linkages with regional economies.
- Improve SME productivity through the dissemination of industry-specific management and technical best practices (leveraging global expertise).
- Mandatory high-quality English and IT skill development in schools. Expanded access to science education. Establish a learning and curiosity mindset in our youth.
- Expand the number of places for technical university degrees and diplomas.
- Widespread skill building via expanded vocational training for critical, in-demand skills and trades.
- Reform the education system to support the above via updated curricula, delivery and assessment methods, and widespread teacher-training to reflect global trends and employment opportunities. Improve teachers’ pay.
- Provide career guidance, mentorship and entrepreneurial funding for young people.
- Mandate that all people are treated equally under the law, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, religion, status or wealth.
- Take steps to ensure that women are free from harassment and abuse in public, at work and at home.
- Ensure effective and full implementation of the national languages policy.
- Instill inclusivity and tolerance in law enforcement agencies and establish a strong law enforcement oversight body to take disciplinary or legal action as required.
- Ensure the safety of the nation from genuine security threats by enabling our military to become more streamlined, modern and agile.
- Strengthen police investigative ability but also subject the police to strong oversight. Require any arrest or continuation of arrest to meet a minimum evidentiary test.
- Increase the capacity and efficiency of the judicial system.
- Enhance private citizens’ ability to initiate private prosecution for criminal wrongdoing and extend the 7 day limit of challenging Bills in the Supreme Court.
- Strengthen the independence of the public sector and protect it from undue political interference.
- Recruitment and promotion based on talent and merit and governed by independent committees. Empower permanent secretaries to administer ministries.
- Invest in training and skill-building state sector officials and establish a culture of public service, efficiency, impartiality and accountability.
- Implement anti-corruption measures and resolve conflicts of interest within government agencies.
- Streamline regulation and enable competition and private investment in key sectors such as railways, power and energy, bus transport, airports, ports, logistics and petroleum.
- Evidence-based planning, design & economic appraisal, procurement, and monitoring of all infrastructure projects.
- Revise SOE legislation to curb the powers of Ministers, make SOE Boards accountable to deliver on their budgets, establish independent regulators under parliament and allow the Auditor-General to act against malpractices.
- Encourage a healthier physical and mental lifestyle.
- Significantly increase investment in preventive health care, leading to a decreased need for more costly curative healthcare spending in the long term.
- Greater investment in geriatric care and mental health care.
- Reform state healthcare apparatus to ensure greater efficiency and transparency.
- Increase awareness and support the adoption of new agricultural innovation and technology to increase production and value addition.
- Improve agri-food sector logistics, minimise post-harvest losses and work to eliminate agricultural sector mafias and bureaucracy.
- Address and resolve issues pertaining to land rights, land use and land ownership of agricultural lands.
Ensure the protection of biodiversity.
- Harmonise relationships with key regional powers.
- Strive to make all foreign policy decisions based on long term national interest, in keeping with a National Foreign policy.
- Proactively engage Sri Lankan expatriate communities to leverage on their network, expertise and donations to develop Sri Lanka.
The policies outlined above are an initial programme of changes that we believe are essential to restoring our nation and transforming it into a country that we can be proud of. In the coming months, we will launch a series of public consultations as well as engagements with subject matter experts to collectively build out our party’s manifesto. We invite all of those who want to see a change in Sri Lanka, to participate.
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