Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation and Leader of the House of Parliament

¶ 01 With regard to the Auditor-General’s Report, I move, “That the said Reports be printed.”

¶ 02 Question put, and agreed to.

¶ 03 With regard to the Special Audit Report, I move, “That the said Report be printed.”

¶ 04 Question put, and agreed to.

¶ 05 I move that the sittings today be from 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and from 1.00 p.m. to 5.30 p.m., and at 5.30 p.m. Mr. Speaker do adjourn the Parliament without question put.

¶ 06 Question put, and agreed to.

¶ 07 BUSINESS OF THE PARLIAMENT

¶ 08 I move that consideration of Items 1 to 13 under the Main Business Paper be exempted from Standing Orders 27 and 121(2) for today’s sitting.

¶ 09 Question put, and agreed to.

¶ 10 On behalf of the Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, I move:

¶ 11 “That, under Article 150(2) of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and in terms of Section 23(1) of the State Finance Management Act, No. 44 of 2024, this Parliament resolves to approve a Vote on Account to provide for the services from 01 January 2025 until the date prior to the date on which the Appropriation Act for the financial year 2025 comes into operation or 30 April 2025, whichever date occurs first, as follows:

¶ 12 (a) For the services specified in the First Schedule to this Resolution (being services for which provision has been made by the Appropriation Act, No. 34 of 2023 and by Supplementary Estimates), a sum not exceeding Rupees One Thousand Four Hundred Two Billion Eight Hundred Eighty-Six Million Two Hundred Sixty-Three Thousand (Rs. 1,402,886,263,000) shall be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and may, within the said period, be applied in the manner specified in Columns 8 and 66 of that Schedule;

¶ 13 (b) For the services specified in the Second Schedule to this Resolution (being expenditure which, by law, shall be a charge on the Consolidated Fund), a sum not exceeding Rupees Four Thousand One Hundred Ninety-Seven Billion One Hundred Thirteen Million Seven Hundred Thirty-Seven Thousand (Rs. 4,197,113,737,000) shall be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and may, within the said period, be applied in the manner specified in that Schedule;

¶ 14 (c) For the services specified in Column 10M of the Third Schedule to this Resolution, a sum not exceeding Rupees Five Billion (Rs. 5,000,000,000) shall be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka as an advance, and during the said period any such expenditure for such services shall not exceed the maximum limits specified in the corresponding notes in Column 11M of that Schedule;

¶ 15 (d) A sum not exceeding Rupees Four Trillion (Rs. 4,000,000,000,000) may be raised, in or outside Sri Lanka and in accordance with applicable law, as loans by or on behalf of the Government, for the purpose of providing for the expenditure on the services specified in the Schedules to this Resolution; and the particulars of such loans shall be included in the Reports to be laid before Parliament under Section 50(2)(d) and Section 51(2)(d) of the State Finance Management Act, No. 44 of 2024;

¶ 16 (e) Under Head 240 – ‘Department of National Budget’, under the Programme ‘Development Activities’, the allocations for Recurrent or Capital Expenditure may, subject to the guidelines set out in Schedule B0D to this Resolution, and on the direction of the Secretary to the Treasury or a Deputy Secretary to the Treasury authorized for the purpose, or the Director-General of the Department of National Budget, be transferred to any other Programme under any other Head in the said Schedule. Such transferred sums shall be deemed a supplementary allocation to the relevant Ministry; and a Report containing the amounts so transferred and the reasons therefor shall be laid before Parliament within two months from the date of such transfer.

¶ 17 This Parliament so resolves under Article 150(2) of the Constitution.”