The Hon. Muhammad Faizal

¶ 01 Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim.

¶ 02 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, today’s subjects are important to our country and people.

¶ 03 Exports are vital to a nation’s economy. Since the Industrial Revolution, countries with export‑led economies have advanced and become distinctive. Sri Lanka, surrounded by the sea and rich in natural resources, could have progressed, but past leaders and politicians failed to utilize resources for development and exports. In my Puttalam District, beyond agriculture there is salt production and tourism linked to marine resources. For 76 years, these were not properly harnessed. For instance, ilmenite has been exported as a raw material, yielding little revenue; if we process ilmenite into finished products for export, earnings and development would rise.

¶ 04 For 76 years, leaders acted for personal and political survival, squandering resources and pushing our economy back—we remain a third‑world country. After Independence, Sri Lanka was second to Japan in Asia economically; now many countries once below us have surged ahead via export economies. Though we export tea, rubber and apparel, we still have not achieved the status of an export‑led economy.

¶ 05 Once the “granary of South Asia,” today we face rice shortages. The present NPP Government has had to import rice; Minister Nalin Bandara (Vasantha Samarasinghe referred in debate) has permitted over 160,000 MT of rice imports up to the 9th of this month to address the shortage. Had we properly managed our paddy lands, imports would not be necessary.

¶ 06 The President has assured that under the NPP Government, rice shortages will not recur. Paddy will be procured through the Paddy Marketing Board and properly stored. Many PMB stores are dilapidated; arrangements under “Clean Sri Lanka” have been made to rehabilitate them. Despite recent heavy rains affecting paddy production, we will ensure no rice shortage hereafter.

¶ 07 Our manifesto set out plans to make Sri Lanka an export economy. If we sleep more at night, we fail our duties to God; if we sleep during the day, we fail our duties to the people. Keeping that in mind, the NPP Government is working to transform Sri Lanka into an export‑led economy, protect public assets, curb frauds, and establish good governance so that people enjoy prosperity. Claims that rice prices rose under NPP are wrong; the increases predated us. We will ensure a better life and prevent future rice shortages. Thank you.