The Hon. Ajantha Gammeddage

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, thank you for the opportunity to speak briefly on our Government’s Budget. Listening to the Opposition today, their comments were shallow and childish—stuck in the past. They claim this is the same old Budget, a continuation of Ranil Wickremesinghe. But this is a Budget of a Government that thinks anew and has learned. Before presenting this Budget, our Hon. President Anura Dissanayake addressed the inaugural session and set the economic direction. In the Hansard of 21.11.2024 (col. 338) he said our economy is shallow, fragile, and cannot withstand big shocks; thus our first task is stability and confidence.

¶ 02 We understood the destruction you caused over 76 years and will carefully reform the economy. This is not Ranil’s Budget; it is a new path. We did not give relief to cronies, unlike past Budgets; we managed funds properly to take the economy to the innocent rural poor. We cut state waste. Those from every corner who stood with us must benefit; this Budget reflects that.

¶ 03 We have allocated the largest-ever amount to health—Rs. 604 billion—for a healthy society, because rural people lack hospitals, medicines, and timely surgeries. We must stop this by investing in health. The Opposition is hurt because they once took for themselves when they held the ladle; we have changed that.

¶ 04 In education, rural parents sacrifice much, selling cinnamon and tea to educate children, yet schools lack desks, chairs and buildings. We must change this; hence we allocated Rs. 619 billion to education. This is a Budget focused on health and education to create a healthy and intelligent nation. Yesterday, as it was a holiday, I walked through villages from one end of Matara to Deniyaya and spoke to people. Everywhere they said they had never before heard of a Budget that gives them so much relief. Therefore, we say this Budget has truly reached the people.