The Hon. Darmapriya Wijesinghe

¶ 01 Madam Deputy Chairperson, today’s debate concerns the Supplementary Estimate by the Prime Minister as Minister of Education to grant Rs. 6,000 per eligible student for 2025 school supplies. The Opposition questioned this grant. I will address our economy to clarify.

¶ 02 First, there exists a segment that genuinely needs assistance. The reason this nationally important proposal was brought is the state in which past rulers—those now in Opposition—left the country: bankrupted, pushing people into poverty so that parents cannot afford education costs.

¶ 03 Second, programmes to identify the needy have existed but have failed to accurately identify beneficiaries—again reflecting the incompetence of those who ruled.

¶ 04 Third, the people have been pushed into extreme vulnerability; empowerment programmes are necessary. Past efforts—the Janasaviya in the 1980s, then Samurdhi, now Aswesuma—failed to eradicate poverty. We need effective empowerment. This proposal is an initial step to remove barriers for the next generation to participate in the economy—by ensuring a Rs. 6,000 school supply grant in 2025. Do not reduce this to past practices of distributing rice, tin sheets, or building materials for votes. Recognize it as the start of a genuine empowerment pathway.

¶ 05 Yesterday, during the adjournment on ISB restructuring, Hon. Harsha de Silva and other “economic experts” of the former rulers claimed that by 2028 the haircut would reduce from about 27% to about 14%, implying an agreement favourable to bondholders and unfavourable to us. Their worldview assumes we must remain weak. We believe by 2028 Sri Lanka’s economy will be stronger, charting a new course. Those who hoped to be in power in 2024 still cling to that mindset. A mountain does not crumble because you throw pebbles; I say this respectfully.

¶ 06 Thank you.