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Sri Lanka
10th Parliament· 154 sittings on record · 30,475 speeches · latest 10 June 2026

Sitting of Thursday, 23 January 2025

10th Parliament· 19 debates· 178 speeches· 51 speakers

Source: Hansard PDF (parliament.lk) ↗ ·No. 1738314169039521 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard

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Order of business

Speeches load per item. Summaries shown here are AI-generated and labelled; verbatim text is on each speech page.

  8. 8 Oral question Oral Question: IMF-related Economic Measures and Vehicle Imports Policy 7 speeches
    • The Hon. (Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney-at-Law JJB

      AI summary Asked the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development whether the Government was aware of the IMF Senior Mission Chief’s statement on 23 November 2024 that Sri Lanka had not met IMF social spending targets. She requested details on 2024 Budget allocations and actual spending for Aswesuma beneficiaries, the elderly, chronically ill persons and disabled citizens, including the percentage spent, the IMF-required social spending amount, and the reason adequate funds were not allocated.

      Public FinanceCost of Living Full speech →
    • The Hon. (Prof.) Anil Jayantha JJB

      AI summary On behalf of the Minister, Prof. Anil Jayantha confirmed that an IMF official had commented on social spending and stated that Rs. 205 billion was allocated for 2024, of which Rs. 159.5 billion, or 77.5 per cent, had been spent. He said the allocation was part of broader welfare spending across more than 38 programmes, but acknowledged that fiscal limits and weaknesses in beneficiary identification, data collection, verification, and implementation of the Social Welfare Information System had delayed disbursement. He added that interim short-term measures would begin from 25 January 2025 to address eligible persons who had been left out.

      Cost of LivingPublic Finance Full speech →
    • The Hon. (Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney-at-Law JJB

      AI summary Asked the Government to clarify its position on permitting vehicle imports following reports of a policy decision. She specifically questioned whether the import plan is intended to protect leasing and finance companies or serves a broader policy objective.

      Public Finance Full speech →
    • The Hon. (Prof.) Anil Jayantha JJB

      AI summary Hon. (Prof.) Anil Jayantha stated that vehicle imports would be reopened only gradually under the IMF programme, prioritizing economically essential transport and goods transport before private vehicles. He said foreign reserves, though above USD 6 billion, could not be used to meet accumulated demand at once, and decisions would be guided by the Finance Ministry and Central Bank. He rejected claims that price increases were intended to protect leasing companies, explaining that revisions followed IMF-consistent inflation indexation of administered prices and were not made to benefit any specific group.

      InfrastructurePublic Finance Full speech →
    • The Hon. (Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney-at-Law JJB

      AI summary Hon. Lakmali Hemachandra ceded her second supplementary question to Hon. Najith Indika.

      Parliamentary Procedure Full speech →
    • The Hon. Najith Indika JJB

      AI summary Najith Indika asked the Minister to clarify the Government’s position on vehicle permits for senior officials, noting public debate after the President’s remarks on a television programme. He said vehicle imports had been halted since 2020 and questioned whether previously issued permits for senior officials would be cancelled.

      Public Finance Full speech →
    • The Hon. (Prof.) Anil Jayantha JJB

      AI summary Vehicle imports in 2025 will be managed to support economic expansion while staying within IMF-related reserve constraints and prioritizing passenger, goods, and private transport needs. The Minister stated that the Government has not decided to cancel or invalidate vehicle permits for eligible officials, but allowing all estimated 15,000–20,000 outstanding permits at once would undermine 2025 economic targets. He said any review of past permit arrangements as compensation for inadequate pay or benefits would be considered separately.

      Public FinanceInfrastructure Full speech →