Hon. Sajith Premadasa - Leader of the Opposition

¶ 01 Hon. Minister, thank you for the response. I will not initiate a debate, but I must say: poverty is not properly measured; Aswesuma has been implemented without clear poverty statistics—no updated HIES-based poverty line—leading to inclusion and exclusion errors. As I told the President as well, LIRNEasia’s survey indicates 7 million people—one third of the population—are poor. Even in the Budget Speech, poverty figures cited rely on World Bank statistics. Where are our national statistics? Without them, how were Aswesuma beneficiaries identified?

¶ 02 You also acknowledge Aswesuma is not a comprehensive poverty eradication programme. Therefore, you must integrate consumption, savings, production, exports, etc., into a real poverty-exit strategy. We must move to a more efficient, data-centric, scientific approach.