Hon. B. Ariyawansha, M.P.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB)· Ratnapura

Profession: Entrepreneur

Roster profile ↗

Speeches 39 #118 of 225·#32 in party

Attendance 1/8 days present (of recorded)

Speech history

39 speeches

5 December 2025 AI summary B. Ariyawansha addressed the impact of the “Dissha” cyclone, floods and landslides, expressing condolences and commending the tri-forces, officials, police, MPs and media outlets for relief efforts. He rejected criticism of Opposition and media interventions, stating that in many affected villages government representation was limited while Opposition members and local officials assisted residents. Referring to Ratnapura District and specific displaced communities, he said government assistance such as Rs. 3,100 weekly payments and seven-perch land allocations was inadequate, and called for sufficient relief, safer land or housing programmes, including possible multi-storey housing. He also requested higher compensation, proposing at least Rs. 2.5 million for fully damaged houses and increased grants for partial damage. Debate - Appropriation Bill 2026 Committee Stage: Budget Debate on Disaster Response and Government Allocations Land & HousingPublic FinanceSecurity & Defence Read →
27 November 2025 AI summary Hon. B. Ariyawansha discussed the Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation Votes, noting large allocations for 2025 and 2026 and arguing that farmers still face unfair prices, import pressures at harvest time, and excessive middleman margins. He urged the Agriculture and Trade Ministers to improve market systems so farmers receive fair returns and consumers pay reasonable prices, and called for action on chemical treatment and wastage of fruits. He also proposed establishing a domestic pepper oil processing plant to increase export value and farmgate prices, and requested stronger measures on paddy storage, wildlife damage, compensation, and effective wildlife management. Appropriation Bill 2026 - Committee Stage - Eleventh Allotted Day (Heads 118, 281, 282, 285-289, 292, 327, 337) AgricultureCost of Living Read →
22 November 2025 AI summary Hon. B. Ariyawansha urged immediate relief for families displaced by landslides, heavy rain, and wind damage in the Kolonna area, noting long delays in past assistance to disaster victims. In the debate on Health expenditure, he highlighted staff, equipment, building, ambulance, and service shortages in rural and estate hospitals across Sabaragamuwa, including Kolonna, Embilipitiya, Godakawela, Rakwane, and related MOH areas. He specifically requested an X-ray technician for Kolonna Hospital, attention to overcrowding at Embilipitiya Hospital, restoration or establishment of MOH facilities, repairs to hazardous hospital infrastructure, and a special programme to support poor rural patients needing cardiac surgery and investigations. Debate: Committee Stage - Heads of Expenditure 111, 210, 211, 220 and 308 (Health and Mass Media) InfrastructureHealthcare Read →
19 November 2025 AI summary Hon. B. Ariyawansha argued that the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government is central to development, but said public administration and local authorities face funding, staffing and governance problems. He criticized reductions in salary reimbursements to low-revenue local authorities, called for chairs and members to be empowered under the Pradeshiya Sabha framework, and urged equitable allocations including for Opposition MPs. He demanded urgent Provincial Council elections after more than eight years, citing the Government’s parliamentary majority to pass required legal amendments. He also called for implementation of recommendations on Management Service Officers, including salary revisions, recruitment to provincial vacancies, higher qualifications, restored senior-grade status and a clear promotion scheme. Debate: Appropriation Bill 2026 - Committee Stage (Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government; Ministry of Labour) Public FinanceEmploymentCorruption & Governance Reform Read →
14 November 2025 AI summary B. Ariyawansha said the 2026 Budget includes some relief measures, including support for increasing estate workers’ daily wage to Rs. 1,750, but argued that wages alone will not address long-standing housing and livelihood issues in estate communities. He proposed allocating underutilized land near estates to unemployed residents for productive use and potential export income. He also raised concerns about shortages of essential medicines, long waiting lists for cardiac surgery, lack of ophthalmic equipment, and rural hospital deficiencies, specifically citing the absence of a technician for the X-ray unit at Kolonna Base Hospital. Debate: Second Reading of Appropriation Bill 2026 – Sixth Allotted Day HealthcareLand & HousingCost of Living Read →
13 November 2025 AI summary The Hon. B. Ariyawansha tabled a petition received from Mrs. W.B.N.S. Marasingha of Godakawela, Pinnakanda. Petitions Parliamentary Procedure Read →
24 October 2025 AI summary B. Ariyawansha supported the condolence motions for seven former Members of Parliament, with particular reference to former Ratnapura District MP and Deputy Minister Heenmahattmaya Liyanage. He recalled Liyanage’s background as a teacher, his political work from the 1980s, contributions to roads, electrification, the Ratnapura National College of Education, and public institutions, and extended condolences to his family and the people of Ratnapura. He also paid tribute to former Sabaragamuwa Provincial Councillor and Provincial Minister Y.G. Padmasiri for his long service in local and provincial government, especially in agriculture, and conveyed condolences to Padmasiri’s family and the families of the other former Members named in the motions. Votes of Condolence: Seven Former Members of Parliament Parliamentary Procedure Read →
25 September 2025 AI summary Hon. B. Ariyawansha argued that export development is essential for economic growth, citing past support for village-level apparel and minor export crops. He called for renewed assistance to revive agarwood cultivation, including support for saplings and industry development, noting its export potential and recent price recovery after earlier declines and import competition. He also welcomed the halt to clove re-exports but requested faster Agriculture Ministry export permit approvals, saying delays affect exporters, traders, farmers, and foreign exchange earnings. Debate Continuation: Vehicle Import Regulations Public FinanceAgriculture Read →
25 July 2025 AI summary Hon. B. Ariyawansha joined the vote of condolence for several former Members, with particular focus on the late Hon. Abeyratne Pilapitiya of the Ratnapura District. He recalled Pilapitiya’s parliamentary career from 1960, his later service as a Deputy Minister and Chief Minister, and his contributions to tea cultivation, road development, and the establishment of the Kalawana Divisional Secretariat. He also noted Pilapitiya’s political magnanimity in allocating land for a statue of Sarath Muttetuwegama after an election petition led to the loss of his seat, and extended condolences to all bereaved families. Condolence Debate: Late Hon. Members (R. Sampanthan, A. Pilapitiya, W. B. Ekanayake, Lucky Jayawardana, Malani Fonseka) Parliamentary Procedure Read →
23 July 2025 AI summary Hon. B. Ariyawansha supported the Companies (Amendment) Bill, stating that it would help address past practices such as importing caraway and pepper for re-export, which he said disadvantaged local farmers. He highlighted the sharp decline in Sri Lanka’s pepper harvest and the resulting hardship for farmers in districts including Ratnapura, Matara, Monaragala, Kandy, and Matale. He called for a targeted programme through agricultural and export development institutions to provide technology, fertilizer, agro-chemicals, and knowledge transfer to improve pepper yields and increase foreign exchange earnings. Debate: Companies (Amendment) Bill – Second Reading AgriculturePublic Finance Read →
9 May 2025 AI summary Hon. B. Ariyawansha supported the Motion but argued that importing only luxury buses would not address rural and hill-country transport needs because such vehicles are costly and unsuitable for some routes. He requested concessions for private bus operators to purchase compliant buses, noting their significant role in passenger transport alongside SLTB. He also called for improvements to poor road conditions, citing the Embilipitiya–Sooriya Kanda and Colombo–Ratnapura–Embilipitiya roads, and urged SLTB to deploy more buses for rural communities and schoolchildren. Private Members' Motion (P.37/2025): Public Transport Standards and Bus Specifications EmploymentCost of LivingInfrastructure Read →
9 May 2025 AI summary Hon. B. Ariyawansha supported the Private Member’s Motion on food security while urging greater attention to vegetable and fruit farmers, who he said receive low farmgate prices despite high consumer prices and significant post-harvest waste. He raised concerns about chemical ripening of fruits in Ratnapura District and called for regulation and cold storage facilities, particularly for banana farmers in Embilipitiya facing unsold and rotting produce. He also questioned the reliability of the wildlife census on crop-damaging animals and requested a practical plan, including regulated support through farmer organizations, to protect cultivation from peacocks, toque macaques, porcupines and other animals. Private Members' Motion (P.12/2024): Enhancing State Sector Involvement in Food Import and Distribution EnvironmentCost of LivingAgriculture Read →
12 March 2025 AI summary Hon. B. Ariyawansha highlighted problems across agriculture beyond paddy, including high input costs for vegetable and fruit farmers, crop losses, wildlife damage, marketing failures, and the lack of fertilizer support outside paddy cultivation. He questioned whether rice could be maintained at around Rs. 220 per kilogram given current paddy purchase prices, and urged measures to protect both farmers and consumers. He called for action against chemical fruit ripening, better marketing and price support for banana, cinnamon, pepper and clove producers, and an investigation into the closure and debts of the Spices and Allied Products Marketing Board, while expressing support for effective government programmes for farmers. Appropriation Bill 2025 - Committee Stage: Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation AgricultureCost of LivingEmployment Read →
5 March 2025 AI summary Hon. B. Ariyawansha reviewed rural poverty alleviation programmes since 1948 and said Aswesuma, while covering over 1.2 million households, has not always selected the most deserving beneficiaries. He requested a clear GN division-based verification process involving local State officers to reduce omissions. He also called for targeted infrastructure, sanitation, education, healthcare, and water-access improvements in disadvantaged districts, particularly Ratnapura and estate areas, and urged progress on the Ruwanpura Expressway and restoration of the Avissawella–Opanayake railway line to improve connectivity and transport of produce. Appropriation Bill, 2025 – Committee Stage Continued: Heads 124, 151, 331 Cost of LivingAgricultureInfrastructure Read →
4 March 2025 AI summary Hon. B. Ariyawansha seconded the Adjournment Motion and highlighted repeated flooding in Ratnapura District, especially along the Kalu Ganga in Ratnapura and Ayagama, calling for renewed action on the earlier Kalu Ganga reservoir proposal at Gilimale/Malwala and smaller flood-control measures such as cross canals and tanks. He requested future Budget allocations for such works and criticized the inadequacy of compensation for flood and landslide damage. He also urged action on long-delayed land, housing, and school restoration needs for landslide-affected communities in Suriyakanda, Panana, Sapugaskanda, and the closed Lankaberiya school area. Adjournment Motion: Flood Mitigation in Ratnapura District Land & HousingInfrastructureEnvironment Read →
20 February 2025 AI summary Hon. B. Ariyawansha argued that the 2025 Budget, framed within the IMF programme, does not deliver the direct consumer relief or development commitments expected from the NPP manifesto, citing rising prices of rice, coconuts, salt and other essentials despite welfare increases. He called for specific support for three-wheeler operators, whose vehicles are ageing and whose livelihoods have been affected by import restrictions and high replacement costs. He also urged greater attention to Ratnapura District, including assistance for estate and export crop farmers, action against clove re-export practices affecting local producers, and legal reforms to support gem mining livelihoods. Budget Bill 2025 - Second Reading Debate Public FinanceCost of LivingEmployment Read →
7 February 2025 AI summary Hon. B. Ariyawansha seconded the Private Member’s Motion on developing estate roads, citing severe access problems in estate areas of Ratnapura District such as Kolonna, Rakwana, Balangoda, Ratnapura, Nivithigala and Kalawana. He said poor road conditions impede emergency transport and agricultural activity, affecting both estate communities and smallholders, and argued that estate roads should be vested in the Government and developed through Provincial Councils and local authorities. He also called for a programme to improve basic infrastructure, including roads and housing, for poor estate communities. Private Members' Motion 1: Acquisition of Estate Roads to the Government EmploymentInfrastructure Read →
7 January 2025 AI summary B. Ariyawansha argued that welfare and relief programmes must be better targeted to poor households, citing cases in Godakawela where wage labourers were excluded from Aswasuma while wealthier households received benefits. He proposed that future Aswasuma selection be conducted transparently at GN division level by a committee of six state officers ranking households for graded payments of Rs. 15,000, Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 5,000. He also requested an increase in the Rs. 110 per-child school meal allocation, action on high retail kekulu rice prices and shortages in Sabaragamuwa and the South, and lawful, traditional procedures for appointing the Basnayake Nilame of the Sabaragamuwa Maha Saman Devalaya following protests. Adjournment Debate: 2024 Mid-Year Fiscal Position Report Religion & CultureCost of LivingEducation Read →
6 December 2024 AI summary Hon. B. Ariyawansha thanked voters in the Ratnapura District and outlined his political background with the UNP and SJB, expressing support for Hon. Sajith Premadasa’s service programmes such as Sakwala, Husma and Janasuwaya. He rejected any blanket accusation that the entire Opposition was responsible for the country’s bankruptcy, attributing the crisis to corruption and waste, and said many responsible persons had been rejected by voters. He highlighted rural infrastructure problems, including poor roads affecting patient transport, and urged the Agriculture Ministry to include support for banana farmers in the forthcoming Budget, specifically proposing fertilizer subsidies in response to falling banana prices. Debate on Vote on Account for Ministry of Public Administration and Related Matters Cost of LivingAgriculture Read →