Sitting of Monday, 24 February 2025
Source: Hansard PDF (parliament.lk) ↗ ·No. 1741236032093385 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
Order of business
Speeches load per item. Summaries shown here are AI-generated and labelled; verbatim text is on each speech page.
- 1 Opening Parliament Opening 1 speeches
- 2 Papers Papers: Annual Report of Industrial Technology Institute 1 speeches
- 3 Petitions Petitions 5 speeches
- 4 Oral question Oral Question: Question No. 1 - 445/2025 (Defence) 5 speeches
- 5 Oral question Oral Question: Question No. 2 - 446/2025 (Industrial Zones) 6 speeches
- 6 Oral question Oral Question: Question No. 3 - 447/2025 (Forest Conservation) 6 speeches
- 7 Oral question Oral Question: Question No. 4 - 449/2025 (Housing) 3 speeches
- 8 Oral question Oral Question: Question No. 5 - 453/2025 (Plantation and Community Infrastructure) 3 speeches
- 9 Procedural Ministerial Statement: Prime Minister Response on Colombo Port and Digital Economy 21 speeches
- Mr. Speaker procedural
- The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya - Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education JJB
AI summary The Prime Minister replied to a deferred question, stating that Central Bank monetary easing since June 2023 had reduced policy rates and market interest rates, supported increased private sector credit in 2024, and that any further rate reductions would depend on inflation and growth conditions while affecting depositors. She said the Government was pursuing foreign exchange generation beyond exports, addressing exporter concerns through Budget 2025, and implementing short-, medium- and long-term measures to improve Colombo Port cargo clearance, including 24/7 examination yards, additional holding capacity, Customs risk-management automation, AI-supported scanning and new scanners. She also outlined digital payment and ease-of-doing-business initiatives, citing expanded payments through the National Payment Platform, the launch of GovPay on 7 February 2025, and investment facilitation through the BOI Investor Facilitation Centre and related coordination mechanisms.
- The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Ravi Karunanayake requested the Prime Minister to provide brief clarification on two points regarding a matter for which he had already received detailed information.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya - Prime Minister JJB
AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya stated that the supplementary question raised by the Member would be answered by the Minister in charge of Finance. She indicated that the two related matters could be clarified after that response.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Ravi Karunanayake briefly thanked the Prime Minister. No substantive policy issue, proposal, or question was raised in the recorded remarks.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Speaker procedural
- The Hon. (Dr.) Harshana Suriyapperuma - Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning
AI summary Deputy Minister Harshana Suriyapperuma responded to a supplementary question raised under Standing Order 38 regarding an automated licensing system for the Department of Import and Export Control. He stated that the system is supported by the U.S. EXBS Program as a donation of hardware and software, with Cabinet approvals granted in 2019 for training and technical guidance and in 2023 for provision of the system. He clarified that Rs. 19.88 million in additional provision for 2024 relates to accounting for laptops and software development already received as a foreign grant, and said USAID has not issued any written notice to Sri Lanka of any suspension or impact on assistance following the relevant U.S. Executive Order.
- The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Hon. Ravi Karunanayake questioned the Prime Minister on whether the reported 7.75 percentage point reduction in interest rates was sufficient for Sri Lankan producers to compete regionally. He noted that interest rates in countries such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan were around 5–7 percent, while Sri Lankan rates remained higher, and asked what structural measures could be taken to provide producers with more competitive borrowing costs.
- The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya - Prime Minister JJB
AI summary Requested that the Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning provide further details to the House. The relevant material was placed in the Library.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. (Dr.) Harshana Suriyapperuma - Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning
AI summary Deputy Minister Harshana Suriyapperuma responded to earlier inquiries by Hon. Ravi Karunanayake regarding the Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank and the Regional Development Bank. He stated that the Government is discussing and will implement measures to reduce financing costs, particularly interest rates, for small and medium enterprises to support business expansion, new investment, market access and a production-oriented economic programme.
- The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Ravi Karunanayake asked whether the Government has established the legal and operational framework to enable 24-hour cargo clearance at Colombo Port, beyond Sri Lanka Customs’ existing round-the-clock presence. He noted that administrative functions still operate only during office hours and holidays, unlike competing ports such as Singapore, Port Klang and Dubai, and urged adoption of a continuous 24/7 clearance model in line with references made by the President.
- The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya - Prime Minister JJB
AI summary The Prime Minister stated that a short-, medium- and long-term plan had been presented to address the issue under discussion, including increasing staff and other measures. She added that the Minister for Ports had been requested to provide further details.
Infrastructure Full speech → - The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation and Leader of the House of Parliament JJB
AI summary The Minister stated that the Port of Colombo continues to operate 24/7 and that recent measures have extended weekend operations to shipping lines and relevant inspection agencies, including Customs, Food Control, Plant Quarantine and Animal Quarantine. He said additional officers have been recruited and deployed around the clock, helping to largely clear the container backlog. He also noted that two acres at Bloemendhal were handed over to Customs for inspections, though containers had not yet been moved there, and said the Government plans to introduce a dashboard to improve port efficiency.
Infrastructure Full speech → - The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Ravi Karunanayake urged the Minister to ensure that the matter under discussion is carried out properly. No further details or specific policy proposals were provided in the excerpt.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake JJB
AI summary Hon. Bimal Rathnayake briefly intervened to ask a Member to clarify the matter being raised amid an interruption. The remark was procedural and did not advance a substantive policy position or proposal.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Speaker procedural
- The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake JJB
AI summary Bimal Rathnayake, with the Speaker’s permission, offered to answer a question that had been directed to the Prime Minister. He invited Hon. Ravi Karunanayake to proceed with his final supplementary question.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Speaker procedural
- The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Hon. Ravi Karunanayake clarified that “24-hour” Customs operations should mean the ability to clear goods at all times, not merely to have staff working. He said Customs inquiries currently stop at 5.00 p.m. on Fridays and urged that clearance be enabled on Friday nights, weekends, and holidays. He noted that efforts from 2015 to 2020 had not fully achieved this and called for remaining resistance to be removed.
Infrastructure Full speech → - The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake JJB
AI summary Hon. Bimal Rathnayake stated that the port clearance crisis had been used to advance reforms, including moving Port and Customs operations toward 24/7 service and integrating ASYCUDA requirements. He said banks involved in trade finance and some port-related institutions also needed to adjust to support continuous operations, noting that many containers are cleared in the evening and night. He added that, with the President’s intervention, progress had been made and any emerging issues would be addressed promptly.
- The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya - Prime Minister JJB
AI summary The Prime Minister tabled a response outlining Government initiatives to advance Sri Lanka’s digital economy, emphasizing digitized public services, automated administrative processes, transparency, and cashless transactions. The response identified priority projects including the Sri Lanka Unified Digital Identity linked to the E-NIC and other official systems, online access to civil registration certificates through overseas missions, online applications to the President’s Fund, and the expansion of GovPay and LankaQR-based payments. It stated that these measures are intended to reduce bureaucracy, improve service delivery and accountability, expand financial inclusion, and support more efficient implementation of Government policy.
- 10 Procedural Procedural: Committee on High Posts and Security Concerns 8 speeches
- 11 Debate Debate: Second Reading of Appropriation Bill, 2025 - Sixth Allotted Day 82 speeches
- 12 Adjournment Adjournment Debate: Policy-Driven Programme for Persons with Disabilities 32 speeches
- 13 Adjournment Adjournment 1 speeches