The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake
Hon. Ravi Karunanayake questioned delays in the State medicines procurement process despite Rs. 155 billion being allocated for 2025, citing a 189-day procurement cycle and litigation that can delay tenders for years. He asked whether the private sector could procure more efficiently and argued that overregulation, committee delays, and officials’ fear of legal exposure were preventing timely purchases. He called for urgent reform of procurement procedures to avoid recurring shortages and implementation delays.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, the Minister notes Rs. 155 billion allocated for medicines this year. Yet the procurement process takes 189 days to buy even a packet of paracetamol, and litigation can drag tenders for up to three years. Despite funds being ready in January 2025, committee processes prevent realization. Hence my Question No. 10 asked whether the private sector can do this more efficiently. Overregulation and fear have paralysed CATBs and TECs; officials hesitate to sign due to legal exposure. This must be urgently reformed; otherwise, we will be here next year with the same answers.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Friday, 25 July 2025 ·No. 1754382585021621 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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/lk/speeches/11146
Cite as: The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 25 July 2025. No. 1754382585021621. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/11146