The Hon. Nanda Bandara

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, yesterday our Party Leader, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, presented the National People’s Power Government’s inaugural Budget, charting a path of renewal and changing Sri Lanka’s political history. Five months since his election as Executive President and three months into governance, we have presented our first Budget.

¶ 02 A Budget is a structured document setting out the Government’s expenditures for the year and the revenue measures to finance them. In this inaugural Budget of the Malima Government, substantial capital investments are laid out for the public sector, private sector, plantation sector, farmers, industry and tourism. While the people, long pained by hardship, have welcomed it, some Opposition MPs, failing to understand it, have issued negative voice cuts to the media—representing the old ruling class that oppressed the people with taxes and debt traps.

¶ 03 Those who treated power as their birthright were cast out in two successive elections by Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers and Malays. Today, deprived of power and privilege, they find this hard to bear. A few in the Opposition have acknowledged positives, but most portray this as the worst Budget due to their internal disunity.

¶ 04 Some even claimed this is Ranil Wickremesinghe’s third Budget or an IMF draft. We are saddened by such comments from leaders like Kabir Hashim of my own Kegalle/Mawanella area. This Budget grants no perks to MPs or Ministers; instead, it channels benefits to the entire people. It is a Budget for all.

¶ 05 We see it as a relief-filled Budget that cuts politicians’ comforts and raises spending on the people. Our party identifies two main pillars for rebuilding the nation: health and nutrition, and education. Without a healthy population, we cannot build a strong future workforce.

¶ 06 Accordingly, the largest allocation is to ensure primary health facilities, essential medicines and hospital upgrades. Next is education—after health, the largest allocation. From early childhood through primary, secondary and tertiary, substantial funds are provided: for preschool teachers, children’s meals, school infrastructure, and quality education; reopening closed teacher training colleges to deliver structured teacher training; and improving university facilities and student assistance including Mahapola.

¶ 07 I represent teachers and the education sector, and many here do as well, so we bear a responsibility to speak up. This Budget provides a fair salary increase for all grades of teachers, with over two-thirds uplift—highly valued by the teaching community. About 95 percent of heavily indebted public servants are teachers, principals and other education staff—working under great stress. We are happy that this Budget eases their burden.

¶ 08 Pensions too are significantly improved, aligning pre-2018 retirees appropriately with later increases.

¶ 09 We will combat fraud, corruption and theft, and ensure that funds allocated down to the village level are not misappropriated or diverted to cronies. We commit to transparent open tender processes for construction and other works, investing these funds for the people.

¶ 10 Hon. Presiding Member, grant me a few more seconds.

¶ 11 As my colleague said, this Budget addresses long-neglected issues of children, persons with disabilities and the elderly. We have presented expenditures and revenue with full responsibility. Until we achieve our goal of “A Prosperous Country – A Beautiful Life,” we will continue our struggle for the people—raising living standards, health and education—laying the foundation for a strong future generation. Thank you.