The Hon. Nalin Bandara Jayamaha

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chair, like the song that says we always looked at the cover first, I too looked at the cover of this Budget book—“Budget Speech 2025 — Anura Kumara Dissanayake.” But turning the pages, this is not Anura’s Budget; it is Ranil Wickremesinghe’s. So in this debate, are we discussing Ranil’s Budget or Anura’s cover?

¶ 02 In 1970, Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s Government’s first Budget by Dr. N.M. Perera was the opposite of the preceding Dudley Senanayake economic program. In 1977, Ronnie de Mel’s Budget overturned 1970–77 policies. But President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s Budget seems only to have changed the cover.

¶ 03 We hear endlessly about a “76-year curse.” In 1947 the main problem was agriculture—only one-third of rice needs were met domestically. D.S. Senanayake focused on agriculture; without the Gal Oya scheme there would be no Ampara as it is today. J.R. Jayewardene later completed Mahaweli. These are not a curse; agriculture advanced to self-sufficiency.

¶ 04 S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike turned to industrialization, though mainly import substitution rather than export orientation. A key mistake in those 76 years was expelling Caltex and Esso in the 1960s; those companies went to Singapore’s Jurong and helped build a global oil hub. We lost that opportunity—this contributed to our “curse.”

¶ 05 Likewise, private bus companies like “Lanka Matha” in Udubaddawa and Mendis in Colombo were nationalized; did SLTB reach the standards of Singapore/Malaysia transit? No. Had those firms continued, today’s low-floor buses might have been provided domestically. Nationalization errors contributed to setbacks. Similarly with coconut plantations—after state takeover, productivity fell.

¶ 06 On the positive side, in 1977 J.R. Jayewardene created Free Trade Zones even before China, and we entered global markets, became a top apparel producer, and Premadasa took industry to villages. But after 1993 we didn’t move beyond apparel into higher-value sectors. Later policy reversals hindered momentum.

¶ 07 We lost other opportunities: Malaysia captured the international higher education market we could have built; our students now go there. You opposed private universities, including SAITM, and demonized FTAs with India and Singapore, scaring away integration opportunities.

¶ 08 Mahinda Rajapaksa focused on construction—some good decisions like Norochcholai power plant despite controversies—but largely non-tradable sectors expanded with corruption. Yet the JVP helped bring him to power in 2005; you too share the 76-year burden. In 1988–89, your politics inflamed the country—this too is part of that “curse.” Let us move beyond this narrative and develop the country.

¶ 09 I note allocations to the Jaffna Library—good—but the North and East expect more: meaningful power devolution beyond 13A, as you promised. Is this Budget laying that foundation? People want rights protected through real devolution.

¶ 10 You spoke of “Malayagam” and focusing on the plantation community—then first eliminate line rooms with proper housing. Allocate significant funds to end that hardship immediately.