The Hon. Upul Kithsiri

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, at the second reading of the Budget, I am reminded of a few opening lines of a song sung by Pandit Amaradeva. Its first line says, “They take the beam of the plough to the field,” and it ends, “Then the pain in the heart is eased.” Listening to the speeches of the previous Opposition over recent days, one wonders whether they now speak from the pain in their hearts, hoping to take power. Before the last Presidential Election, think of the grand lies they told about us.

¶ 02 After the President was elected and a General Election came, the Opposition said this government would fall in six months. They also made various claims about the dollar. Had what they said come true, as they now claim, this government would already have fallen. In that case, the current Leader of the Opposition or Dr. Harsha de Silva would be delivering this Budget as Finance Minister. They even named a shadow cabinet then — President was named, but not a Prime Minister; the Leader of the Opposition did not name a PM, though others named ministers for Agriculture, Sports, and Power. That is how they behaved.

¶ 03 Let me clarify fuel prices as at August 2024, when we took office. Then, a litre of Octane 92 petrol was Rs. 332; today it is Rs. 294, down Rs. 38. Octane 95 was Rs. 377; today Rs. 335, down Rs. 42. Diesel was Rs. 307; today Rs. 277, down Rs. 30. Super diesel moved from Rs. 352 to Rs. 318, down Rs. 34. Kerosene dropped from Rs. 202 to Rs. 180, down Rs. 22. Our opponents thought queues would reappear after we took office. Instead, we have reduced the prices of all fuel categories.

¶ 04 They also spoke about electricity. They said we would raise bills by 30% or 40%. In September 2024, a customer using 90 units paid Rs. 1,824. From September 2025, a 90-unit user pays Rs. 1,720. Not as much as we would like, but there has been a reduction. They claimed we didn’t know the dollar. On the day of the Presidential Election, 21 September 2024, the dollar was Rs. 301.48. As of yesterday it was Rs. 303.99 — no big change. Yet they claimed it would go to Rs. 600 and the country would collapse.

¶ 05 They also predicted shortages of essentials and ration queues. Let me recall current retail prices of essentials. Rice per kilo was Rs. 200–220; today it’s about the same. Potatoes were around Rs. 280; today Rs. 220. Dhal was Rs. 380–420; today Rs. 250. Big onions were Rs. 220–260; today Rs. 175. Chicken was Rs. 1,050–1,200; today around Rs. 1,000. An egg was Rs. 55–60; today Rs. 30. A loaf of bread was Rs. 160; today Rs. 120–130. They said people would queue for food. We recall this only because they branded us as a group that did nothing.

¶ 06 In yesterday’s debate, Hon. Nizam Kariapper made a deeply regrettable statement regarding the Rs. 200 increase proposed for estate workers. We know about 100,000 estate workers have laboured for roughly 130 years. Typically, they can work about 22–25 days per month, yielding a monthly wage of roughly Rs. 29,700. The Government discussed with plantation companies to set an increase so that overall monthly income would rise by Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 20,000. Even a Rs. 10,000 increase is substantial; hence, we are disappointed that the Opposition speaks against wage increases for estate workers. We must resolve this knowing their lives are difficult and current pay is insufficient. The Government intends to deliver a higher wage; many in the Opposition say various things, but we believe they too act on behalf of the plantation workers.

¶ 07 Yesterday, one Member tried to lecture us about liberalism. He seemed confused. Rather than lecturing schoolchildren-style, he should read the books properly first. Amid many objections raised by the Opposition, we are debating this Budget.

¶ 08 The 2026 Budget is driven by six key strategic goals. Chief among them is sustainable, inclusive economic growth. Next is higher income through export diversification — we expect to build the economy via diversified exports in the coming period. Ensuring debt sustainability is another aim; we are repaying about USD 2.2 billion this year, a legacy of historic debt. We also aim to strengthen the productive economy — both revitalizing traditional industries and starting new ones, while eradicating rural poverty. We intend to advance a digital economy, as that is how the world is developing, and this is a central policy for national development.

¶ 09 We recognize large vacancies in the public service. Hence, in this Budget we are proceeding to recruit roughly 70,000 officers. There are shortages of technologists and engineers that must be filled urgently. This is one reason last year’s Budget progress was around 50%. With another month or two ahead this year, we will move further. We are cutting waste, theft, and corruption in procurement; tenders that would have cost fixed sums earlier are now coming in much lower, while delivering more. Therefore, this Budget contains concrete plans to rebuild the economy. We will discuss and set the country on the right path, making the right changes. Thank you.